Source: Maarten de Boer / Getty
“We live in a world where we can have a Black president, why can’t we have a Black vigilante?”
In aka Wyatt Cenac, the titular comedian—who currently stars in TBS’ People of Earth—ventures from the typical comedic formula to assert himself in a world where Black and brown people typically don’t exist.
“The majority of the DC and Marvel comic lines are white male characters, and the minute you make Thor a woman or Captain America a Black guy, the internet is filled with hateful comments and people saying, ‘That’s not what Captain America is supposed to look like,’” Cenac told Fast Company. “I can’t help thinking that, you know, this is all imaginary stuff, and why are people so upset about it?”
aka Wyatt Cenac is six short episodes long and it chronicles the trials and tribulations of The Viceroy, a Black superhero living in Brooklyn. Throughout the digital comedy series, Cenac tackles everything from gentrification to identity, noting a strong desire to address both race and superheroes in a way that hasn’t been done.
“I just thought, if I’m gonna do something like this, I don’t wanna follow the same pattern,” Cenac said. “I was trying to think of other jobs that were similar to comedian, and crime-fighting vigilante is what I came up with.”
Check out the series trailer below. Then head here to watch all six episodes.
