Black Lightning, Final Crisis: Submit; Grant Morrison, writer, Matthew Clark, Norm Rapmund, Rob Hunter & Don Ho, artists; created by Tony Isabella & Trevor von Eeden
“A gold medal-winning Olympic decathlete, Jefferson Pierce returned to his old neighborhood in the Southside (Suicide Slum) of the city of Metropolis, with his wife Lynn Stewart and his daughter Anissa to become the principal of Garfield High School. Southside as it was once known was where his father renowned journalist Alvin Pierce had been murdered. Guilt over this event was a factor in his decision to leave the city of Metropolis. Suicide Slum was being torn apart by a local organized criminal gang called the the 100, shady corporations, and crooked local politicians like Tobias Whale. Peter Gambi, a family friend and tailor, had taught a much younger Jefferson how to suppress his inborn metahuman abilities so that he wouldn’t accidentally hurt any of the people he cared about. Upon his return Gambi suggested to Jefferson that he should use his powers to help the neighborhood, and refers him to a plaque with the paraphrased Milo Sweetman quote ‘Justice, like lightning should ever appear to some men hope, to other men fear’, the original text of which was ‘Justice, like lightning, ever should appear to few men’s ruin, but to all men’s fear. Of mortal justice if thou scorn the rod, believe and tremble, thou art judged of God.’ Appalled by the public murder of Earl Clifford, one of his more promising students, Pierce tried to intervene on behalf of the schoolchildren, but quickly learned that the 100 objected violently to any interference. Pierce adopts the costumed identity ‘Black Lightning’. Years later, he would tell fellow African American superhero Mister Terrific that he chose the name Black Lightning because he ‘was the only one of us around’ at the time, and he ‘wanted to make sure everyone knew who they were dealing with.’” – from Wikipedia

Black Panther, Black Panther Annual #1; Reginald Hudlin, writer, Larry Stroman & Ken Lashley, artists; created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
“T’Challa is a brilliant tactician, strategist, scientist, tracker and a master of all forms of unarmed combat whose unique hybrid fighting style incorporates acrobatics and aspects of animal mimicry. T’Challa being a royal descendent of a warrior race is also a master of armed combat, able to use a variety of weapons but prefers unarmed combat. He is a master planner who always thinks several steps ahead and will go to extreme measures to achieve his goals and protect the kingdom of Wakanda.” – from the Marvel website

Lwanga Moses, Unknown Soldier; Joshua Dysart, writer, Alberto Ponticelli, artist; inspired by the character created by Robert Kanigher and Joe Kubert
“His family fled Uganda in 1979, so Moses grew up in the American immigrant experience and went to medical school… While growing up in the States, his home country slipped into ethnic, civil war. By 1985, rebels had overthrown the Ugandan government. The new regime brought a massive shift towards stability in the South. But in the underdeveloped north, the rise of extremist Christian spiritual military leaders began, culminating in the formation of the Lord’s Resistance Army, led by a very complex and cruel person named Joseph Kony who claimed to be possessed by spirits… By the time Moses is involved, 15,000 children have been kidnapped by rebel forces and forced to fight… Over one million displaced Acholis, the tribe in the north most affected by the conflict, have been pushed onto some 200 camps throughout Northern Uganda’s ‘Acholiland.’ They have no running water and no electricity. There is no more an unknown war than the real-life struggle between the Ugandan Peoples Defense Force and the Lord’s Resistance Army. This has gone on record as being the single longest running, most under-reported humanitarian conflict of our generation. Moses is an Unknown Soldier for an unknown war.” – writer Joshua Dysart @ Comic Book Resources

The Spectre, Final Crisis: Revelations; Greg Rucka, writer, Philip Tan, Jeff de los Santos & Jonathan Glapion, artists; inspired by the character created by Jerry Siegel & Bernard Bailey
“While [Detective Crispus Allen]’s body was in the morgue, the Presence bound the Spectre to Cris, making him the latest host for the Spirit of Vengeance. Some while later, the magic users of Earth assembled at Stonehenge to call forth the Spectre to help defend the realms of magic during the Infinite Crisis. Cris materialized in a ghostly version of his own form, before making his first official transformation into the Spectre, killing Star Sapphire for her past crimes. He then vanished, leaving the assembled magic users confused and fearful. Later, at Cris’s funeral, the Spectre appeared before Cris’s ghost. The Spectre informed Cris of his role and purpose, and told Cris he had come to realize that he needed a host to humanize him, in order to know what his mission really meant. He asked Cris to be his host, to join with him. Cris refused, the first in a long time to do so. The Spectre left Cris for a year, to reconsider his offer. Cris discovered that no-one could see or hear him, and that he was unable to touch anything around him. He was unable to help or communicate with his family, still shattered because Corrigan would not be called to account for Cris’s murder. Cris was still able to watch and observe the world around him, which he put to use solving crimes and uncovering the culprits, even discovering Batman’s secret identity as Bruce Wayne. He was frustrated, however, at being unable to bring the criminals to justice. After a year of being unseen and powerless, Cris received another visit from the Spectre. This time he finally accepted the Spectre’s offer, becoming his human host. However, their bond was not permanent – Cris was concerned what full acceptance would do to him, what he would become. In their missions together, the Spectre attempted to help Cris understand what they did and why they did it. Over time, Cris came to accept the necessity of what the Spectre did, involving himself more and more in the Spectre’s punishments. Before the bond between Cris and the Spectre could be permanent, however, Cris found he had to face his greatest trial. Cris’s son Mal, frustrated, angry, and grieving over his father’s death, shot and killed Jim Corrigan – and Cris had to punish Mal for his crime. Cris ended Mal’s life peacefully. Afterwards, Cris asked the Spectre if Mal had just been damned to Hell. The Spectre, taken aback, explained a point established during Hal Jordan’s tenure as its host – the Spectre does not ‘judge’ sinners, does not decide who is saved or damned. The Spectre ’sends’ sinners to judgment. With this knowledge, Cris took on his role as the Spectre’s mortal anchor.” – from the DC Database

Zane Pinchback, Incognegro; created by Mat Johnson, writer, and Warren Pleece, artist
“He’s a reporter in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance, and he’s kind of a minor celebrity, but he’s only famous on paper. Nobody can know what he looks like because of what he does. So he’s somewhat frustrated by that, being famous but not being famous. He?s dealing with his past, and part of what happens in the story is he’s pulled back into his personal past, his own story… He has a twin brother who looks much like himself but is dark-skinned. His brother has had none of the breaks that Zane had, largely because of his difference in appearance, even though they’re of the same mother and father. When he goes back, Zane has to confront this other life that he was able to escape, but that his brother instead had to dive deeper into. And that’s really the emotional heart of the book, the two of them and their lives, the convergence of them coming together.” – writer Mat Johnson @ Newsarama