NuPerspective Black History Month: Day 7- KWAME

For Black History Month I've decided to re-release the characters posted from last year's Nu-Perspective column as a "character-a-day". What IS Nu-Perspective you ask? Well, it's a bi-weekly column  I started with my writing collaborator Fabian Wood with the purpose of revamping and updating different underdeveloped, underutilized and all-but-forgotten Nubian (black) comic book and pop culture characters.

 

With this repost, you get the same full bio, art and our storyline concept, but also some behind the scenes thoughts on how and why Fabian and I went about doing what we did.

 

 

This revamp was a dedication to one of my favorite cartoons growing up- Captain Planet. And one of the coolest Nubian cartoon heroes ever, KWAME!! I really like what me and Fabian did with this guy.

Real Name: Kwame (Last name unknown) 
Current Alias: None 
Identity: Public 
Occupation: Environmentalist, Activist, CEO, Planetary defender 
Place of Birth: Unknown village in an undisclosed African country 
Base of Operations: Worldwide 
Affiliations: The Planeteers 
First Appearance: Captain Planet and the Planeteers cartoon September 15th, 1990 Voiced by: LeVar Burton 

Story: There was a time when the world was in peril, and the spirit of the Earth chose five special young people to defend and protect the environment. One such man was Kwame of Africa, the unofficial leader of the Planeteers. But then things changed, and the hero known as Captain Planet no longer formed when their powers combined. The Earth Goddess Gaia fell silent, and as their powers waned, the world no longer seemed to have a place for the Planeteers. Kwame moved back to his homeland, and as the days turned to years he went back to school, eventually becaming an accomplished architect and renowned agriculturalist, starting his own company specializing in cutting-edge environmentally friendly technology to increase fertility and soil productivity in the most arid lands of his continent. One day, Kwame was approached by a little girl who seemed familiar. She was the resurrected Earth Goddess, who told him it was time to reform the Planeteers. But in a new age of corporate exploitation, social media and environmental terror from a boardroom, Kwame knew it was time to fight a smarter fight. He relabeled the group as environmental “superheroes”, and combined that with strong social media tactics, powerful branding, and the leverage of his company to attack corrupt companies on their own turf. Kwame sets out to create a new era of Planeteers for a new generation. 

Powers: Kwame’s ring element is Earth. This gives him the powers of terrakinesis and botanokinesis, allowing him to create small, localized earthquakes, move rocks, turn mud to solid ground, control plants, and more. It has become known that Kwame possesses these abilities innately, and that the ring only enhances and allows him to focus these powers. The full extent of Kwame’s powers has not been demonstrated. In his years of retirement, Kwame has gained impeccable knowhow in the field of engineering, geology, petrology and mineralogy. He also has a keen intuition on weather patterns and sudden changes in the atmosphere gleaned from his years as a farmer. 

Paraphernalia/Weapons: Power ring

What do you like most about the original character? – Fabian: I mean, growing up in the 80s and 90s was a blast. Kwame stood out to me growing up because he was Black, from Africa and was the leader of a superhero team. The fact that no one could summon Captain Planet without his say so was very influential to say the least.

Shawn: I loved how calm and collected he always was. 

What made you choose this character? – F: As the de facto field commander of the Planeteers, it was very rear to see a Black man in a leadership position, especially back then, even though Black characters (and Black-esque characters) were coming into prominence during that time period. I think I and Shawn would be remissed if we didn’t pay tribute to Kwame, especially since Captain Planet has fallen into obsolescence after the cartoon ended.

Did the character pose a challenge to update and if so what was the hardest part of the redesign? – F: It was very easy to update the character. Personality-wise, he was a natural-born leader, so it was a given he would train the next generation of Planeteers, even if his comrades left under different circumstances. The challenge would come in what had he been up to since the initial Planeteers and where we find him. And I think we did him justice.

S: Once again I had such a clear vision of where I wanted to take the character it was easy. And truthfully, I didn't feel the need to change much. Everything I needed was there, just waiting for the modern spin. 

In hindsight is there anything you would do differently now? F: I had mentioned to Shawn in his portrait that I wanted Kwame to be a bit older, maybe some white at the temple or some facial hair. I think the clean-shaven look betrayed his maturity. He ended up giving Kwame a quick touch up with some help from his pen and Rogaine.

S: LOL! True Fabian...and he was spot on in suggesting I add a little facial hair. I

Did this character resonate with you in anyway? Yeah he did. What haven’t I said already about Kwame. Outside from him, Roadblock from G.I. Joe, Zack from Power Rangers and Winston Zedmoore from Ghostbusters (maybe we’ll see them here *wink*) There wasn’t that much in the way of Nubian representation. And again out of those mentioned, Kwame was the leader, and the one the other Planeteers looked to for guidance and instruction.

S: You summed it up Fabian


Fine Print: Nu-Perspective is a column focused on revamps and updates of various underdeveloped, underutilized and all-but-forgotten Nubian (black) characters specifically. We aim to showcase these chosen characters in fresh, contemporary and exciting ways both visually and story-wise to show just how awesome they can truly be. All characters are copyrights and trademarks of the respective publishers and creators. This column is used solely for artistic enjoyment.