CULTURE CLASSICS – The Meteor Man – Creators For The Culture

#RunTheCulture

With ComicCon upon us once again, it’s imperative we celebrate black superheroes that rep for The Culture and today’s #CultureClassic does just that. Check out one of the first black superheroes to fly into the box office with their own solo film, The Meteor Man.

The Meteor Man is the superhero comedy film that came out in 1993 and was the brainchild of legendary black director/producer and creator for The Culture, Robert Townsend. In fact, Townsend wrote, directed, co-produced and stared as Meteor Man himself. It is the story of a mild-mannered schoolteacher, who is struck by a meteorite and becomes a superhero and begins a quest to protect his neighborhood from dangerous gangs. His powers include flight, x-ray/laser vision, superhuman strength, speed, and hearing, invulnerability, healing powers, the ability to absorb a book’s content by touch, super breath, telepathy, and telekinesis.

The film is filled with a sense of optimism and do-goodism, and intends to inspire pride in one’s self and in their community. The movie contains big laughs and moments of genuine feeling that make it relatable and allows viewers to forgive some of it’s cheesier aspects. Plus a who’s who of creators for The Culture made appearances including Eddie Griffin, James Earl Jones, Luther Vandross, Sinbad, Naughty by Nature, Big Daddy Kane, and even Another Bad Creation!

Watching a black man fly through Washington, D.C. standing up to the people and circumstances that affect too many black communities is an image we can all get behind. Black superheroes matter and The Meteor Man was one of the first and has earned respect and his place as a #CultureClassic.

#FunFact: After the film’s release, Marvel Comics produced a 6-issue limited series titled Meteor Man and he even teamed up with Spider-Man!