Happy Black History Month! For each of the 28 days of February, we at The Mary Sue will have a post about a black woman you should know about—some you may have heard of, some a little bit more obscure, and some fictional who still deserve a lot of love.
Day Twenty-Six: The Black Girls of SciFi/Fantasy of TV
Images of black womanhood in science fiction and fantasy have a problematic history. For a long time, it was just Uhura and then alien races that were standing in for minorities. That’s why when we do get female heroines in the genre, people really get excited and stand by them even when the writers are the worst. Here are some of my personal faves. Blessed are y’all even when the fandom hates you.
Abbie Mills (Sleepy Hollow):
Oh Sleep Hollow, remember when people thought you were good? And then you played yourself by getting rid of sweet baby angel Abbie Mills played by Nicole Beharie who was the lead for three seasons. What was so dope about Abbie Mills, when the writers remembered she was a lead on the show, was that she was a fully realized person. Her experiences with her mother’s mental illness, the distance she had with her sister Jenny, and her sense of humor were all highlights of the show. Seeing as how I never watched the show after she left, I cannot speak to its quality after they killed her off, but considering it was canceled… 💩.
That’s what happens when you ruin our black female-led shows for no reason.
Zoe Washburne (Firefly):
I have already talked about how amazing Gina Torres is, and so I absolutely had to put her on the list. Zoe is an Amazon, a wife, a leader, and most importantly a survivor. Through her relationship with Wash, we were able to see a powerful, tall as hell, black woman being a First Mate to a space pirate ship while also being love and adored. See, you can have both.
Martha Jones (Doctor Who):
When I first got into Doctor Who, all the forums were warning me that Martha was the straight up worst and I should be prepared to hate her. Lo and behold, I love Martha and have gotten into frequent arguments with people about why Martha isn’t wrong they are wrong. Seriously, though. Martha Jones is a seriously underrated character. Yes, I get it. 10 and Rose had an epic romance, so Martha falling for 10 so quickly was jarring. But at the same time, how is that Martha’s fault? Let us not forget 10 came out of nowhere, kissed Martha, and was offering her exciting space adventures.
Martha’s pining is maligned, but no one cares that the Doctor treats her like an emotional body pillow. He doesn’t talk to her about his feelings for Rose; he just strings her along because he likes to feel wonderful and adored. Which Martha does, until she realizes that he’s emotionally manipulative and she needs to get out of that situation. That moment, more than anything else, makes Martha a boss.
Gwen (Merlin): Gwen was the reason I watched Merlin. I loved Colin, Bradley and the rest of the cast, but Gwen/Angel was the reason I HAD to watch the show every week. She was the character I had been looking for since I was a child. It might seem odd and pathetic for a 20-something to feel this way about a fictional character, but I honestly feel so lucky to have experienced her. Gwen fulfilled many of the roles white women often play in these period fantasy dramas: she was the damsel-in-distress, she was the heart, the good one, the person everyone wanted to protect; she got to be heroic and strong, but also be fragile and hurt. Most importantly—in the end—she got to be Queen! It was her, not Arthur or Merlin who was going to have to set things right and make the kingdom that was prophesied come to pass. Despite getting screwed, Gwen won in the end and got to break a lot of racial boundaries in terms of what black women could be seen as in fantasy. So take that, racists.
Iris West-Allen (The Flash):
My sweet baby angel. How The Flash underuses you and never really knows what your job skills are, but you are still an amazing character … when you are allowed to be a character. I think the burden with Iris is that the CW already sucks at writing WOC, and it sucks at writing women (with the exceptions of JTV and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), so Iris is doubly screwed as a black woman on a CW show. Plus, she is also a race-bent version of a character and has to deal with that backlash. Still, Iris has slowly become one of the best characters on the show for her commitment to the team, her readiness to lead, and her bravery in the face of danger even without having powers. Iris West-Allen is a damn hero.
Bonnie Bonnett (The Vampire Diaries): Bonnie’s treatment on the Vampire Diaries has been the bane of my existence for almost a decade and it will haunt me until the end of my days. Constantly denied good plots, a decent hair stylist, or a top-billed love interest, Bonnie has had to play third fiddle to Elena and Caroline despite being a powerful witch, hot as hell, and based on white book counterpart who was given a lot more romantic agency. Those issues just make it transparent that they could do more with Bonnie if they wanted to, but don’t. However, despite all of that, Bonnie is a boss-ass bitch. So like the Phoenix, she rises above her shit writing and is a favorite of mine. She’s one of the most powerful characters on the show, loyal to her friends and when given the opportunity, she will wreck any creature that stands in her way. Bonnie was amazing in spite of being sidelined.
Dutch (Killjoys): Putting together this list I was almost done and then I was like crap Killjoys. Killjoys is one of those shows that is amazing, but not a lot of people watch because it’s not promoted enough. It’s a really awesome Firefly/Buffy crossover with a badass black lead in Dutch, who could probably out-Batman Batman if she wanted to. If you haven’t been watching it, you are missing out, because it is a fantastic show and one of the few with a black woman (a) as the lead (b) as the most badass and (c) with storylines all to herself and all the typical over-the-top coolness of a rogue sci-fi protagonist.
Recommended Reading:
Where No Black Woman Has Gone Before: Subversive Portrayals in Speculative Film and TV by Diana Adesola Mafe
( image: Fox, BBC, The CW)
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