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, though apparently Kirby was responsible for his bright hues. I always assumed back in the day that the production guys at DC had screwed the King yet again.
It always seemed likely to me that Kirby was trying to repeat the success of the Silver Surfer with another bizarre character who was hugely powerful and who used a motif drawn from sports. The trouble is that the Racer has to use too many of the accoutrements of the skiing to sell his concept. The poles never really worked for me.
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Apparently, the Racer was originally unconnected to the Fourth World, but, for reasons I either never knew or now can't remember, Kirby decided to throw him into the mix. The character never really worked for me, due to the daft, too-bright costume, and the skiing theme.
ReplyDeleteI've read that Infantino was liking the freshness of the new characters in the early days of the Fourth World and pressured Kirby to add more, hence the Black Racer before the New Gods storyline really had taken form. I agree with you about this one, the Black Racer was a rare clunker for Kirby.
DeleteThere always seems to be the urge for creators to add the word "black" to any character with black skin which is just silly -Spider-Man wouldn't be called the White Spider-Man just before she is white . The Black Racer ski theme just looked clumsy and poorly thought out. Not one of Kirbys best ideas or designs.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the "Black" name thing. It's why the Falcon was a relief. As to the Black Racer design, I'm convinced he tried to evoke the Silver Surfer. But the Surfer's board can be imagined to just happen to look like a surfboard while the skis and poles are just too specific.
DeleteI've always liked the concept of the Black Racer as an avatar & herald of Death, but I do agree that the design was not one of Jack's best. The Silver Surfer is impressive for being free of ornamentation—sleek, pure, powerful in an understated way that never needs to posture or proclaim. But the various elements of the Black Racer's look never quite seem to come together.
ReplyDeleteIn Grant Morrison's Final Crisis, I do like the redesign of the Black Racer, retaining the ski motif but turning it into part of his costume—or maybe his integral being? He looks implacable & relentless there, as he should look to the gods he comes to claim.—And it's seldom that I take issue with Jack Kirby, but there it is!
He was a herald of another kind, not of "God" (Galactus) but of Death itself.
DeleteRe: McScotty's CT-- I wonder if Kirby had some sense that the "Black Power" of the sixties movement was beginning to validate the idea of using "Black" names as a marker of identity. In 1970 I found only one independent flick which used the term to describe the ethnicity of the characters as a marker of their identity, and that was a super-obscure biker film called THE BLACK ANGELS. There's like next to no possibility that Kirby would have noticed such a minor effort. But he must have paid attention to efforts to market stories to the Black audience, or he wouldn't have attempted SOUL LOVE in 1971. Is it just coincidence that, within the next four years, a lot of films, both independent and Hollywood produced, began to use "Black" as a term of marketing via positive associations of the word? The list includes (sucking in breath) BLACK GUNN, BLACK GODFATHER, BLACK MAMA WHITE MAMA, BLACK CAESAR, BLACULA, BLACKENSTEIN, and (perhaps the weirdest) THE BLACK GESTAPO.
ReplyDeleteI don't know that anyone every asked Kirby straight out, "why did you coin the name "Black Racer?" With the Black Panther, the color could have described his costume as well as his ethnicity, but Kirby might have felt comics fans validated the use of the Panther's name, and that DC fans would have the same attitude. Remember that he sort of double-downed on the name thing by naming a Forever Person "Vykin the Black," though I think that was a labored pun on the historical figure "Eric the Red." All that said, I still don't think he had any denigrating intent.
I'd certainly agree that there was not intention to demean by using the name. "Vykin the Black" is another good and example and I'm pretty certain your assumption is correct. But calling the only black character black all the time is a move they'd likely avoid today.
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