Black Superheroines: Martha Washington

Black Girl Nerd’s recently did on post on Twenty Super heroine’s of Color You’ve Never Heard of. As I scrolled the list, I hoped to see one in particular, but my girl was missing.

Growing up, my brother was the comic book fan and I typically lived in my fantasy world of tea parties, dolls, and dress-up. As an adult, however, I did come across one comic book character that blew my mind. When I’ve mentioned her to people, most seem unaware–but then again, these aren’t typically comic book fans either. Anyway, here’s a little on the origins of Martha Washington:

Martha lives with her mother and two brothers in the Cabrini Green projects in Chicago. They live in poverty. Though Martha is a decent student, she has a teacher who inspires her to try harder. When she discovers him murdered in his classroom, she’s able to distract and injure his killer, the Ice Man (the thug of a local crime lord, the Pope), who dies before he can catch her. Martha is placed in a psychiatric hospital, where she learns that children there are being experimented on, secretly, genetically altering their brains. She’s left homeless when budget cuts force the closure of the facility. She joins the PAX Peace Force, and that is where her adventures truly begin… (source)

I don’t have anything in particular to say about Martha, outside of this comic is definitely worth a read. It’s been awhile since I picked it up, but please believe my collection is secure in plastic sleeves. Check out a copy for yourself, and maybe I should also mention that the comics are written by Frank Miller who also penned several comics you should be familiar with, including Batman: The Dark Knight.

 

Happy reading, y’all.