I watched the new Marvel-movie, Black Panther, a few days ago, and I must say that I absolutely loved it. Not as much as I loved ‘Thor: Ragnarok’, but that  film had space-travel and monsters, so it had quite the advantage on me!

It is the first superhero-movie, to my knowledge, that is set in Africa, and features mostly african characters.

The main location of the movie, the fictional country of Wakanda, is a technological utopia built on the customs of african tribes.

That got me thinking about what superheroes inspired by other indigenous peoples from around the world would be like.

My thoughts immediately went to the indigenous peoples of my own country, the Sami people.

They reside in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland, and a little into Russia. In a fictional setting, who knows what sort of hidden ice-kingdoms could be hidden up there.

One of the really cool parts of the movie was how traditional african clothes were used as a basis for the “afrofuturistic” designs of the costumes. I would really like to see how the same costume-designers would take on the traditional garb of The Sami.

I’m not sure what the name or powers of a Sami superhero should be, but including their thousand-year old practice of reindeer-herding in some way could lead to some cool stand-out superhero stuff.

I’ll stop now, and let this idea sit where it is.

Making a hero like this should be up to the individuals that are actually from the people in question.

What other cultures could make some new and interesting superheroes? Continue Reading →