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DC's Response To Black Panther Was ... A White Guy As The Only Superhero In Africa
Six months after Marvel debuted Black Panther (the first black superhero in mainstream comics), DC presented an Africa-based hero of their own by the catchy name of "B'wana Beast, the Jungle Master." Here he is in his secret identity:
DC Comics"Now that I know about these fancy square caps I'm never wearing anything else!"
Rupert Zambesi Kenboya was the son of a rich tribal chief ("rich" meaning "he's got more leopard claws than anybody in Africa!") who becomes a hero and a leader to his people, and then ... uhh, wait, sorry, that's just B'wana Beast's helper pal. The actual hero of the story is that generic blonde guy next to him. Michael "Mike" Maxwell (the whitest possible name calculated by six room-sized 1960s computers) uses his superior physique and animal-related powers to save African villagers who either ignorantly hate him or rabidly idolize him, depending on the page.
DC Comics
DC ComicsDC should have gone with a more descriptive name, like "Giraffe Surfer."
"Bwana," by the way, means "boss or master" in Swahili and was a word often used by dumb natives in old jungle movies to praise their brave white saviors. B'wana Beast was supposed to have a five issue miniseries in 1967 but it was cancelled after the second one because none of DC's artists wanted anything to do with this racist crap (so, no, "it was a different time" isn't the magical argument you think it is, dear commenter).