The Black Racer is arguably the oddest part of the Fourth World. Sgt.Willie Walker becomes the alter ego of the Black Racer after the enigmatic figure finds the paralyzed Vietnam veteran and fuses with him.
The Racer appears to be the impending presence of death itself, appearing to chase those who are about to die and even takes after the beaming Lightray himself at one point. Ultimately the role of the Black Racer is left unclear as the sage comes to an abrupt halt.
I always assumed, for whatever reason, that the bright blue, red and gold armor the Racer wears was a mistake. He is the "Black Racer" after all and that leaves only the color of his skin and his grim mission to justify his name. Later incarnations have made the armor darker, which is probably a good choice.
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Never thought he was one of JK's better ideas, to be honest. He was throwing too much into the mix at the same time, seemingly without knowing what to do with some characters. The Forever People's Infinity Man was in the same category.
ReplyDeleteI might grant that the Black Racer was a bit too much on the nose, but I am a huge Infinity Man fan. I think both were set up in the first act of the Fourth World opera and would've been further developed in later acts, but alas we never got to those.
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I always thought the blue part of his outfit was supposed to be a shiny black, like how they colored black hair blue in those days.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense, though it always seemed a bit bright.
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