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WHERE ARE THE GOOD BLACK VILLIANS IN FANTASY AND SCI-FI?

Posted by H. Wolfgang Porter on September 15, 2010 at 4:12pm in Kids Books, Movie & TV Characters
A long time ago as a kid I sat in a darkened theater and watched a black man and his henchmen destroy an entire people in the first ten minutes of the film. The film was "Conan the Barbarian" and the villain was 'Thulsa Doom' played by James Earl Jones. Unlike his voice being part of 'Darth Vader' (and to my infinite disappointment when the mask came off and it wasn't him) there before my eyes was a powerful and deadly villain that escaped the typical pimp, gangster, and thug role I had been bombarded with all my life. In many ways I love villains far more than heroes. But to finally see a man who could have been my father or uncle holding legions of people in thrall and sitting upon a throne of empire was exactly what I needed at the time. Of course I cheered when the villain got his in the end, but I was both happy and sad. Villains make heroic stories. A hero is only as powerful as his/her villain.

I've watched a lot of sci-fi and fantasy movies since then and except for Wesley Snipes in "Demolition Man" the only memorable and powerful black villain that jumps to mind was Samuel L. Jackson's 'Mr. Glass' in "Unbreakable". If any of you have seen any other black villains in the two genres, please sound off.

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