Naomi: Superhero Series To Watch
Let me start off by saying that I’m a diehard Marvel Universe fan. I’ve dabbled with the DC universe, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman and Superman. I have some thoughts about the movies and series. Just thinking about these characters has me reminiscing about watching Super Friends on Saturday mornings. I loved watching this show. I also watched the Wonder Woman TV series with Lynda Carter as the original Wonder Woman. Again, I can hear the theme song playing in my head. Based on my childhood memories, I should be a DC Comics fan. I’m okay with my current position but it doesn’t mean that I won’t ever be a fan.
The series that has me coming back to DC Comics is the new series, Naomi, co-produced by Ava Duvernay and Jill Blakenship. If you don’t know who Naomi is, it’s okay. I didn’t know that the TV show is based on a comic book series written by Brian Michael Bendis and David F. Walker. The main character, Naomi, is a Black female teenage superhero from another universe. I first learned about Naomi from Ava Duvernay’s tweet. I viewed the trailer for the show. Black girl superhero story with Ava Duvernay involvement, sign me up. I’ve watched the first three episodes. I’m hooked.
As a fan that didn’t grow up reading comic books, I like the fact that I can watch a new series and learn about characters without having to be an insider. The story unfolds for viewers to follow along Naomi’s journey of self discovery.
The first three episodes introduced the main character, setting, interests, antagonist, supporting characters, struggles and mystery. This is the recipe for my favorite stories. The writers had me after the end of the first episode when Naomi asks, “Who am I?” This question took me back to when I was a teenager. No, I wasn’t about to learn that I was a superhero. The similarity was that I was a teenager trying to figure out who I was, who I was becoming and learning about myself. Learning about my inner strengths and gifts. Naomi is also learning to figure out who she is.
Beyond the joy of seeing the representation of a Black girl superhero, the series centers on the experiences of an adolescent. Too often in the media, teens aren’t given the opportunity to be fully realized as complex, smart, curious and dynamic, especially youth of color. Naomi is fully realized and I would say “three-dimensional.” As a viewer, I’ve learned about her interests, family, hopes, crushes, and friends. These details aren’t superficial to me. They allow me to get to know the character. I don’t know how to adequately explain this but to say that there are shows that I’ve watched and the characters seem superficial and one-dimensional. I don’t want to hang out for 2 to 3 more episodes to learn more about the character. My time is too precious. After the first episode of Naomi, I was ready to invest my time.
With any new TV or movie that is based on a character from a book or comic that I don’t know or don’t fully understand, I do some research. Alright, it’s really a Google search, but it’s research, AKA “investigating.” During my research, I found a NY Times article about Naomi, I learned about two upcoming Marvel TV series, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur and Ms. Marvel , featuring young women of color as superheroes. I’m excited about these new shows and love that young women of color are finally taking center stage. Naomi is not only entertainment but as Ava Duvernay said in the article, “a gateway to a new generation and a new cadre of comic book fans.”
This quote from Octavia Butler says it all about why I enjoy watching Naomi. “I was attracted to science fiction because it was so wide open. I was able to do anything and there were no walls to hem you in and there was no human condition that you were stopped from examining.” Substitute “science fiction” with “Naomi series.”
Photo credit for blog cover photo: Naomi -- Naomi -- "Don't Believe Everything You Think" -- Image Number: NMI101a_0218r -- Pictured: Kaci Walfall as Naomi -- Photo: Fernando Decillis/The CW -- (C) 2021 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved.