Black Superheroes first started adorning the pages of comic books as major characters in the late 1960s. Companies such as Marvel, Valiant, and DC have characters that bolster feats of strength that are off of the charts due to the devastating damage they can afflict.
The vast roster of Black comic book characters is often stronger than the more well-known staple of heroes such as Superman, Spider-Man, and The Hulk, yet often they are more obscure. While it's hard to imagine condensing the most powerful Black heroes to just a few, there are several heroes of color who have proved their strength throughout the years.
Updated by Sage Ashford, February 22nd, 2023: Comic book companies continue to introduce impressive Black superheroes who wield enough power to take down entire supervillain groups on their own. This list has been updated with more Black superheroes who could serve as a powerhouse on any super-team.
15 Miles Morales
While he might be young, Miles Morales has made a splash among Marvel's next generation of heroes. The character debuted in Ultimate Fallout #4 by Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Nick Spencer, Sara Pichelli, Salvador Larroca, Clayton Crain, Justin Ponsor, Frank D'Armata, Cory Petit, and Clayton Cowles. At the time, Miles wasn't yet ready to step up, but it didn't take him long before he was inspired by Peter Parker to become a hero himself.
These days, Miles is a member of the Champions, working alongside other teen heroes to do more than fight supervillains. He has some of the same powers as the original Spider-Man, including superstrength and stamina, but he's gifted with more than that. Miles can generate powerful bursts of electricity known as a Venom Strike, and he's capable of activating a natural camouflage. Even though he's still learning the ropes, he's got the guidance of the original Spider-Man and will likely become one of the best Marvel heroes of the future.
14 Vixen
Mari McCabe is proof that when a woman sets her mind to it, she can accomplish anything. Introduced in Action Comics #521 by Gerry Conway, Curt Swan, Frank Chiaramonte, Gene D'Angelo, and John Costanza, her first appearance featured her working with Superman to stop an illegal fur smuggler.
Though Mari started as a young girl from a tiny village in Zambesi, her ambition pushed her to become a famous fashion model who eventually operated out of New York. With the power of her Tantu Totem, Vixen can tap into the animal abilities of any animal she knows exists. Because her powers come from The Red, it means Mari can also pull powers from any animal creature, occasionally replicating the powers of other superhumans.
13 War Machine
James Rhodes is one of the earliest heroes to take the role of another hero's identity, only to step into his own mantle later. First appearing in Iron Man #118 by Dave Michelinie, Bob Layton, John Byrne, Glynis Wein, and Irving Watanabe, Rhodey was just supposed to be Tony Stark's helicopter pilot.
After years working alongside each other, James Rhodes and Tony Stark developed a brotherly bond. There was no one Tony Stark trusted more, which Stark to give Rhodey the Iron Man armor. With the War Machine armor, Rhodey's one of the strongest and most durable heroes in the Marvel Universe. He's even briefly had legitimate superpowers thanks to the power of the alien Eidolon Warwear.
12 Cyborg
Vic Stone is one of the most recognizable Black superheroes in comics. Introduced in DC Comics Presents Vol. 1 #26 by Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Dick Giordano, Adrienne Roy, and Ben Oda, Cyborg helped to usher in a new era for the Teen Titans.
In the modern era, Vic was a talented high school athlete with major potential to become a scientist when an explosion from an attack by Darkseid nearly killed him. Relying on Apokolips technology, Victor's dad Silas was able to rebuild Vic, making him into a cyborg. Vic's new body grants him super-strength and a wide array of weapons, making him a master of technology.
11 President Superman
President Superman is proof that not every alternate universe hero has to be a joke. Calvin Ellis was introduced in Final Crisis #7 by Grant Morrison, Doug Mahnke, Tom Nguyen, Drew Geraci, Christian Alamy, Norm Rapmund, Rodney Ramos, Walden Wong, Alex Sinclair, Tony Aviña, Pete Pantazis, Travis Lanham. There, he worked alongside the Supermen of the Multiverse to battle against the vampiric Monitor Mandrakk.
Much like Clark Kent, Calvin Ellis had developed the same Kryptonian superpowers that grant him super-strength, flight, super-speed, invulnerability and more. Unlike Clark, Calvin took things a step further and also used his skills to help run his world's America. Perhaps his biggest obstacle was how often he found himself stretched thin. Not only was Calvin Ellis the President of the United States, but he also led the Justice League, and was a member of the Justice Incarnate team.
10 Rage
Elvin Haliday had a rough beginning, but has risen to become one of the most feared and respected heroes in the Marvel Universe due to his strength and bravery. Haliday first appeared in the pages of Avengers #326 by Larry Hama, Paul Ryan, Tom Palmer, Max Scheele, and Bill Oakley.
Rage has superhuman strength, invulnerability, and regenerative capabilities thanks to a mysterious chemical exposure at a young age. Elvin's powers first manifested at the age of 14, and while he often got into lots of trouble due to his newly discovered abilities, he was inspired to join the Avengers in the hopes of changing his life. The Avengers rejected Haliday, but he was able to join the New Warriors after helping the team to defeat the Sons of The Serpent.
9 Cloak
Better known as Cloak, Tyrone Johnson's partnership with Dagger remains iconic. Johnson first appeared in the pages of Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #64 by Peter Mantlo, Ed Hannigan, Jim Mooney, Joe Rosen, and Bob Sharen. Tyrone is a living portal into the dark force dimension, allowing him to absorb any amount of light he is exposed to.
Cloak can summon large amounts of dark matter, allowing him to muster unfathomable amounts of strength. As a conduit to the dark force dimension, Cloak's abilities are limitless, making him one of the strongest beings in the known Marvel Universe.
8 Bishop
Bishop's mutant abilities afford him some of the most versatile strengths in the Marvel Universe. Lucas Bishop first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #283 by Whilce Portacio, John Byrne, Art Thibert, Joe Rosas, and Tom Orzechowski.
Bishop's abilities include power absorption, making him invulnerable to all physical and psionic attacks. Lucas has also shown the ability to manipulate the powers of other superhuman individuals. Bishop has served alongside groups such as the X-Men and The Avengers, making him an immensely powerful team member.
7 Blue Marvel Is Both Brains And Braun
Adam Brashear is a Korean War hero and scientist who is one of the foremost minds in the Marvel Universe. Brashear first appeared in Adam: Legend of the Blue Marvel # 1 in 2008 by Kevin Grevioux, Matt Broome, Sean Parsons, Alvaro Lopez, John Rauch, and Dave Lanphear.
Adam's powers are linked to mutagenic radiation directly stemming from a laboratory accident. Brashear is a conduit for anti-matter, giving superhuman strength and other attributes. Blue Marvel can also expel millions of tons of anti-matter energy, giving him the explosive force of several atomic bombs.
6 Thunder's Strength Is Unshakable
Anissa Pierce is one of the strongest yet obscure heroes in the DC Universe. Pierce made her comic book debut in the pages of Outsiders #1 by Mike Barr, Jim Aparo, and Adrienne Ray. Anissa's powers were passed down from her father, Black Lightning.
Thunder's strength is a byproduct of her ability to manipulate her body's molecular density. This genetic gift allows Anissa to become an unmovable wall, able to stop moving vehicles, things, and people. She is also impervious to knife and projectile-based attacks. Thunder has the amazing ability to grow her muscle mass at will, increasing her size and build in seconds.
5 Blade's Strength Is Inhuman
Blade is not a superhero people readily associate with being super strong. However, the Daywalker has immense superhuman strength and durability, stemming from his mixed human-vampire DNA.
Eric Brooks can lift up to one ton due to his physiology, making him an invaluable asset to teams such as MI13, the New Avengers, and The Nightstalkers. Blade has been shown as strong enough to break free of Spider-Man's webbing and has cut Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze's motorcycle in half in one fell swoop.
4 Divinity's Strength Is Divine
Abram Adams is a Russian cosmonaut known more commonly as Divinity. Adams first appeared in Divinity #1 in 2015 by Matt Kindt, Trevor Hairsine, and Ryan Winn. Abram acquired his vast power after returning from a 30-year space mission.
Divinity's powers include planet-shattering strength along with a spectrum of godlike abilities, making him one of the strongest superheroes in any universe. Adams's feats include time and space manipulation, as well as the ability to control reality and the molecular structures of others. Divinity is also Immortal and can survive the vacuum of space without a spacesuit.
3 Luke Cage's Strength Is World Renowned
Luke Cage is regarded as one of the Marvel Universe's most famous strongmen. Cage has very few actual powers, but his superhuman strength, durability, and impenetrable skin result from a prison experiment gone awry. Despite his past, Luke Cage proved himself a valuable asset time and time again for teams like the Thunderbolts, New Avengers, and Heroes For Hire.
Luke Cage's unbreakable skin makes him extremely hard to kill via conventional methods, which proves to be the bane of most villains he encounters. Luke's feats of strength have placed him on par with fellow heroes such as Hulk, Jessica Jones, Thor, and Captain America.
2 Nubia's Strength Is Of The Gods
Nubia ranks among the strongest female superheroes in the DC Universe. Her raw power and combat prowess are gifted to her by a pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses. Nubia first appeared in the pages of Wonder Woman #204 by Robert Kanigher, Don Heck. Dick Giordano, Gaspar Saladino and Vince Colletta.
Nubia's host of mystical strength and abilities comes from being born of the very soil of her Amazonian homeland, Themyscira. Nubia is often depicted as being stronger than her sister Diana and is known for her brutal defeat and dispatch of would-be adversaries.
1 Icon Is Milestone's Superman
The long-term debate of superheroes on par with or superseding Superman in raw strength, power, and abilities often leads to Milestone's Augustus Freeman, aka Icon. Freeman shares a similar backstory as The Man of Steel. Icon's DNA was augmented and altered upon his arrival on Earth after spending a substantial amount of time in his life-pod.
Augustus has superhuman strength and invulnerability, in addition to the ability to generate powerful energy blasts through his eyes, hands, and chest. Icon has bested Superman on multiple occasions, even in some Justice League comics, and is essentially immortal.