https://blacknerdproblems.com/the-case-for-angela-abar-or-why-the-world-needs-more-sister-night/

So, the first (and most likely, only) season of HBO’s Watchmen series is done. It will be remembered as an across-the-board success that not only maintained loyalty and reverence for its source material, but was also unafraid to innovate within that time-honored universe. And despite the Emmy snub, the risk mostly paid off…which is why I’m waiting on DC to fully commit within the panels as well as the screen.

Sister Night Comic

Played by Regina King, Angela Abar is one of the most intriguing, likeable protagonists I’ve ever seen in science fiction. Capable, competent, determined and refreshingly vulgar, I’d easily put King’s ass-kicking heroine up there with the likes of Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor. Put simply, there’s no reason for there to not be an impending Sister Night comic series. DC Comics seems to make a pass at diversity about as often as they do at rebooting (or at least semi rebooting) their entire universe, both of which usually have mixed results. Meanwhile, Marvel has had a pretty decent run selling us on Black characters such as Miles Morales, Luke Cage, and the Black Panther. And sure, DC has some success Duke Thomas, Vixen, and everyone’s favorite Green Lantern, John Stewart, but introducing readers to Sister Night would be a creatively fulfilling venture on a couple of levels.

The Marvel Example

In 2003, Marvel dropped a limited series entitled Truth: Red, White and Black that would alter the history of the Marvel Universe with the reveal that the super soldier serum that created Captain America had been tested on a Black man, Isaiah, during the Tuskegee experiments. A couple of generations later (in comic time), the grandson of Isaiah Bradley took up the mantle of Patriot after growing up hearing of his legend. This brief summary alone brings about the possibility of so much world building about the secret history of the Marvel Universe. Now, imagine this kind of push for a limited comic series for Sister Night, a direct descendant of the first superhero in the Watchmen universe, now revealed to be a black man who wanted to wage war on police corruption. DC would be doing itself an enormous favor in the diversity game to add a character of such nuance to its roster and fictional history.

Don’t Stop Now

Now, certainly the argument could be made in the wake of the Watchmen show’s nigh-unanimous success and the critical praise for King’s performance that DC has already done itself said favor. We’ve already seen that there are those in the industry that will do anything to dismiss any mainstream success and popularity of Black characters as either a fluke or a fad. Less enlightened comic fans could very easily dismiss Sister Night and the direction the show took the Watchmen universe as a “version” of the story and not canon. A comic series would be doubling down on a diverse character that has been proven to be successful. And in a time when the Big Two are notorious for retreating to centering more familiar white franchises at the first sign of dissent in the readership, what better character to run with than an ass-kicking nun-themed detective that rides out in a Buick to Knight Rider-esque EDM music? Face it. The world needs more Sister Night.

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The post The Case For Angela Abar (or Why The World Needs More Sister Night) appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.