| Black Vulcan | |
|---|---|
Black Vulcan as he appeared in Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends TV series in the 1970s and '80s. | |
| Publication information | |
| First appearance | The All-New Super Friends Hour "The Whirlpool" |
| Created by | Hanna-Barbera |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Super Friends Justice League |
| Partnerships | Apache Chief Samurai El Dorado |
| Abilities |
|
Black Vulcan is an African-American superhero on the animated series Super Friends created by Hanna-Barbera, voiced by Buster Jones.
Black Vulcan debuted on the Super Friends show (The All-New Super Friends Hour) in September 1977. Unlike most of the Super Friends, Black Vulcan was not a pre-existing DC Comics character. This is particularly notable since DC Comics' roster did include an African American superhero with electricity-based powers, Black Lightning, who could not be used on the show due to disputes between DC and Black Lightning's creator Tony Isabella.[1] In retaliation, Isabella wrote the story "The Other Black Lightning", which was published in Black Lightning #10, in which a criminal named Barbara Hanna (a pun on Hanna-Barbera) and her circus hire a Black Lightning imposter named Jocko. At the end, Black Lightning and Jocko make up and the former believes the latter could strike out on his own, that is, if he stops imitating him, of course. Isabella has said "I don't think anyone noticed what I was doing there". The costume, model sheets, and early storyboards for Black Vulcan were designed by cartoonist Alex Toth, responsible for the look of most Hanna-Barbera superheroes.
Black Vulcan appeared in The All-New Super Friends Hour cartoon series (episode "The Whirlpool"). His catchphrase was "Great Lightning!" and in the earlier episodes, he shouted his name a la previous Hanna-Barbera superheroes Space Ghost and Birdman.
In the final incarnation of the series, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, he was replaced by Cyborg, another black superhero who is already well-established in the DC Comics.
Black Vulcan's powers include the ability to project bolts of electricity from his hands. By charging his lower body with energy, he can fly at superhuman speeds. On a few occasions, he has exhibited capabilities not shown before, such as converting his physical form into pure energy and traveling through lightspeed (in an unsuccessful attempt to escape a black hole).[2] He was able to open a rift in spacetime[3] via energy fluctuation. Black Vulcan is capable of spot welding microelectronics.[4]
