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If you’ve watched Luke Cage, Misty was most likely your favorite character. Misty Knight was created by Tony Isabella and Arvell Jones in 1975. She was a police officer whose arm was blown off in a terrorist attack, she received a bionic arm from Stark Industries and later quit the force to become a private detective. Though she does not have any superhuman abilities, Misty is an excellent detective and martial artist. She has teamed up with a number of heroes over the years such as Spider-man and the X-men. Currently, she is a regular in Sam Wilson’s Captain America series. She is most known for being Iron Fist’s girlfriend and a supporting character for ‘Heroes for Hire’.
Misty is one of the few black women in Marvel comics, yet has never had her own story told. Whenever she is appears in story arcs, it is always as a supporting role. The closest thing that has had to her own series is when she led Heroes for Hire in. She is constantly begrudged her own storyline, and this is added to the lack of representation of women of colour in comics. Misty’s storylines tend to always be about someone else while she is kept in the background. Her origin has been barely featured, we only know things about her after she lost her arm.We do not know why Misty became a cop or anything regarding her childhood.Misty is a strong character who deserves to be developed in her own series.She has just as much wit and complexity as any other marvel character. Therefore she deserve the chance to star in her own comic just as much as any other marvel character. We have seen marvel rehash the same stories of protagonists like Tony Stark and Steve Rogers over and over again. Many comic book readers have likely lost count of how many times they’ve seen Uncle Ben die or Bruce Banner get him by a gamma bomb. If Marvel can write 30 years worth of stories about Peter Parker crying about Mary Jane, there is no reason they can’t give Misty Knight a series that explores her personality and origin.
There is so much which could be done with Misty Knight series. The black community has been depicted from the perception of black male heroes in marvel comics many times. Although it has never been shown from a black woman’s point of view. Misty’s comic could explore issues which black women go through. The plight of black women is even greater than the plights of black men. While black men have to deal with racism, black women have to deal with misogyny in addition to gendered prejudice. Misogynoir is when gender and race both factor into a bias against a woman of color. The term was created by a black woman named Moya Bailey. Examples of it can be the sassy black woman, the hypersexualitized diva black woman, and the strong black woman. These stereotypes dehumanize black woman and a Misty Knight series could do so much to deconstruct them. Misty is a determined and ambitious person but she also has emotions and flaws as well. There are times that she is strong and there are times that she just wants to quit too. Her comic book could show that black women do not have to be strong or sassy, they are just as human as everyone else.
A Misty Knight series could also touch on the great amount of sexism in the black community. Through history, a large number of black men have mistreated black women, even though they have always been on the frontlines of black resistance. Black women have often been forced to put race before gender, thus the sexism of black men is constantly overlooked. Misty’s comic could show just how wrong and damaging this is to black women. It could also go against the myth that race and gender do not go hand and hand. This issue is something that is rarely depicted and needs to be addressed.
Marvel has been somewhat decent in giving black starring roles in comics, such as Black Panther and Luke Cage. However, it is time to give a black woman the spotlight. By giving Misty her own comics; it shows black women that they are more than just supporting characters. It tells them that their stories matter, it iis the first step in giving more women of color leading roles in comics.
Finally, A Misty Knight series needs to be written by a black woman. Men, no matter what color, can not fully understand the problems black women go through. They can empathize and be allies to black woman, but they can never understand since they’ve never gone through it. The experiences of a black woman are subjective and a woman that has experienced this can only do her story justice. It should go without saying but since Michael Brian Bendis is writing Riri Williams, it apparently does.
Women of color have been overlooked in representation in comics for decades. A Misty Knight series can be the start of changing that. Hopefully someone at marvel is reading this and will get her comic made.
Author: Jaylen Pearce
Editor: Najma Hersi
Keshav Kant, aka Mx. KantEven, is a med student tuned Executive Director of Off Colour!
You’ve probably seen her on Twitter and TikTok, both @MxKantEven, or caught her work on Off Colour's many channels.
From consulting on films & shows, manuscript review, conducting interviews, or hosting podcasts & panels, if there is some way to bring sensitivity and authenticity to diversity, inclusion and equity conversations, Keshav will be there.