Woke is a big part of the modern movie scene right now. We needed Captain Marvel because there had never been a comic book movie with a female main character!

People praised Black Panther not because it was good, but because Black Panther was THE FIRST superhero movie with a black main character!

Next thing they’ll probably do is make a black guy in a wheelchair into a superhero. Wait, that already happened.

M.A.N.T.I.S. was a 1994 made-for-TV movie created and written by Sam Raimi and Sam Hamm, two men with strong comic book movie bona fides. Hamm had written both of the Tim Burton Batman films. Raimi had recently directed and co-written the superhero movie Darkman and would go on to direct a trilogy of Spider-Man movies as well as a Dr. Strange movie. The made-for-TV movie was a pilot for a series of the same name, but the series is not a direct continuation, more of a soft reboot. The series ran for one season on FOX with the final two episodes airing when the show moved to The Sc-Fi Channel (before they re-branded to SyFy).

Carl Lumbley stars as Dr. Miles Hawkins, a brilliant scientist who was confined to a wheel chair after being shot. Hawkins invented an exo-skeleton to be able to walk again, but while testing the apparatus found out it gave him enhanced strength and agility. This being a superhero show that means he decides to start fighting crime with his new abilities. Lumbley would go on to do more work in the genre, appearing as The Martian Manhunter’s father on the Supergirl TV series as well as voicing characters in DC animated projects.

The character seems to be somewhat inspired by Iron Man. Dr. Hawkins made a fortune milking the teat of the Department of Defense, but has sworn off deadly force after he suffered violence himself. Also, where Tony Stark created the Iron Man suit as by-product of curing himself* so does Dr. Hawkins. However, while Stark’s technology does indeed aid in keeping him alive the M.A.N.T.I.S. (“Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interception System”, or “Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interactive System” for the series) suit actually makes Dr. Hawkins’ paralysis worse the more he uses it. This adds a philosophical angle to the show about making self-destructive decisions for a greater purpose.

The movie version of the show has elements that would now be called Woke, but it doesn’t play out the same as today’s propaganda. Dr. Hawkins was shot in the back by police while he is trying to save child during a riot (this was being produced in the wake of the LA Riots). The female protagonist, played by a pre-Firefly Gina Torres, gets called an Affirmative Action hire by her white co-worker who thinks all young black men are gang bangers. The villain is hired by a white tough on crime mayoral candidate who is trying to start a gang war so he can win Donald the election. Somebody actually brings up Social Justice (in 1994!).

However, Dr. Hawkins is presented as a black conservative, and he’s the fucking hero! It is shown that he has softened on his stances since he was shot, but he still maintains an heir of being more right than left. That mention of Social Justice comes when the race hustling employee of the current soft on crime mayor confronts Dr. Hawkins:

Pike: Aren’t you part of Chief Stark’s election committee, sharing all your ideas on Social Justice?

Hawkins: The only justice, Pike, is the justice you make for yourself.

Pike, a black man, is shown to only be in politics for money and celebrity. He is in fact the villain that was hired to start the gang war to get the tough on crime white guy elected.

M.A.N.T.I.S. was released on DVD in 2008 and is available to pay to stream on Amazon. (You can also find most episodes on Youtube, although the episode numbers may be wrong or it may inexplicably be in German)

*For the non-nerds, Tony Stark created the Arc Reactor that powers the Iron Man suit because he needed to power an electromagnet to keep irremovable shrapnel from penetrating his heart.