Today is the 30th anniversary of M.A.N.T.I.S. a superhero drama that debuted on Fox network August 26th, 1994, and chances are you've probably never heard of it. M.A.N.T.I.S. starred Carl Lumby (Isaiah Bradley in Falcon and Winter Soldier) as Dr. Miles Hawkins. A billionaire advocate for the community, who is paralyzed in a incident involving the police. After losing a lawsuit against the police department, and uncovering a conspiracy against the Black community. Mile's set's out to fight the injustices and use his wealth to help him. He use's an exoskeleton suit he developed that allows him to walk while wearing it and set's out on his mission to fight crime. Finding along the way the mastermind of crime in the city is a former associate Solomon Box, the recurring villain of the series.
During it's first season M.A.N.T.I.S. spoke about several issues that affected the Black community. Using action and science-fiction to educate and entertain, which at that time was still a rarity especially on network television. Miles had several tools at his disposal to aid in his crime fighting efforts and his wealth and brains rivaled that of comic icons like Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne. The show was retooled in the second season to be a bit more wacky and that led to his ultimate cancellation.
Despite only lasting two seasons the show was ahead of it's time. Dr. Miles Hawkins was Black and disabled, a rare portrayal on network television at that time. Mentioned earlier in the blog many of his missions were done to aid the Black community from the abuse of authority in the police department and corporations...sound a bit familiar?
Even though Black Lighting was a comic book first, if you were to watch M.A.N.T.I.S. you would notice so many similarities between both TV series. The show was truly ahead of it's time and it's not only a shame that it did not last longer, but that it's legacy has been forgotten to the passage of time.
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