As the superhero story has grown into the most dominant genre on the planet, there’s been an increase of diversity in terms of protagonists. From Sam Wilson taking up the mantle of Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to Idris Elba’s Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad and upcoming projects including Static Shock, there’s no shortage of Black heroes on the screen. However, the honor of “the first Black superhero on TV” goes to the short-lived M.A.N.T.I.S.
The show followed Dr. Miles Hawkins (Carl Lumbly), who was paralyzed by a police sniper’s bullet when he saved a young girl from the line of fire. After he discovers a vast conspiracy, Hawkins decides to pursue justice on his own terms-using a specially designed exoskeleton called the Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interception System (or M.A.N.T.I.S. for short.) While wearing the M.A.N.T.I.S exoskeleton, Hawkins possessed superhuman strength and agility along with wrist-mounted darts that paralyzed his foes.
M.A.N.T.I.S. is probably best known for the creative forces behind the camera, as well as its star. Sam Raimi developed the series with Sam Hamm, with Hamm even penning the teleplay for the pilot movie. Both were coming off of a major film success, and both of those successes happened to involve superheroes,: Raimi had directed the thriller Darkman starring Liam Neeson and Hamm had scripted Tim Burton’s first Batman film. The original TV spot for the pilot even hypes up Raimi and Hamm’s creative pedigree, calling M.A.N.T.I.S. a “different kind of superhero.” Raimi would also become well known for helming the first Spider-Man trilogy, and Hamm recently made his own return to Gotham, penning the Batman ‘89 comic book miniseries. Other crew members include show runner Bryce Zabel (Atlantis: The Lost Empire) and director David Nutter (Smallville, Arrow) who helmed the first episode.
Lumbly would continue to be a major player in other superhero media over the years. He’s best known for providing the voice of the Martian Manhunter in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and other DC projects including Injustice: Gods Among Us and Supergirl, where he played J’onn J’onzz’s father. Most recently, Lumbly portrayed Isiah Bradley-who was a super-soldier like Steve Rogers-in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. M.A.N.T.I.S. serves as a springboard to those roles, with Lumbly playing Hawkins as a measured and intelligent man who developed a strong sense of justice after his near brush with death; to say nothing of the reasonable chip on his shoulder.
However, Lumbly wasn’t the only notable Black actor on the show. The pilot alone featured Gina Torres as Dr. Amy Ellis, a potential love interest for Hawkins; Wendy Raquel Robinson played one of Hawkins’ lab assistants; and the late Galyn Görg played Lt. Leora Maxwell, another confidant/love interest for Hawkins. Torres would later star in genre fare including Firefly, Star Wars: Rebels, and Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, and Görg appeared on Twin Peaks in addition to small roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Xena: Warrior Princess.
In addition to having a predominantly Black cast (at least in the pilot-more on that in a bit), the series didn’t flinch away from the fact that Hawkins was a Black man wounded by a police officer. And Hawkins decides to take matters into his own hand after learning of the conspiracy within the police department of Ocean City. These elements resonate even more strongly in recent year, especially with how Black communities tend to be overly policed and the deaths that are suffered at the hands of the police.
What ultimately did in M.A.N.T.I.S. was the constant retooling, as well as the poor reception to the pilot. The latter led to massive recasting across the board; Görg played the only person of color throughout the series run. The original M.A.N.T.I.S. design included a trench coat and hat as a nod to Darkman, but was later retooled into a sleeker, more hi-tech uniform. The conspiracy angle was revamped to be the machinations of Hawkins’ former business partner Solomon Box (Andrew J. Robinson). And the series took a sharp turn into more fantastical elements as it went on, including alternate dimensions and time travel.
However, the kicker was the series finale “Ghost of the Ice”. Both Hawkins and Maxwell are hunted by an invisible dinosaur that escaped from a thawing iceberg. The CGI budget for a visible dinosaur wasn’t available. They are killed while battling the predator. With Raimi returning to the world of superheroes with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, maybe there’s a chance he could consider a revival of M.A.N.T.I.S.; its themes are more timely than ever and the technology to bring a cutting-edge superhero to life is definitely available.