10 Most Controversial Superman Comics Of All Time
6. Black Kryptonians - Superman #234 + #239 (1971)
Until the 1970s, characters in comic books were pre-dominantly white. For superhero film adaptions, many iconic white characters have been portrayed by African-Americans, including the Heimdall, MJ, and Baron Mordo.
After the African-American actor Colin Salmon, was cast as General Zod in the tv series, Krypton, comic fans started to wonder if black Kryptonians were totally absent in the Superman mythos.
Some avid readers scoured through comics to see if they could find any stories with dark-skinned Kryptonians... and then wish they didn't. The first black Kryptonian appeared in Superman #234 in 1971, appearing on the inked page in order to relay a message to the Kryptonian Council.
Superman #239 elaborated that the reason why dark-skinned Kryptonians were rarely seen was because they lived on a separate island called Vathlo. Although the island is rarely mentioned, Alan Moore wrote a story stating there was "racial trouble with the Vathlo Island immigrants".
When Mark Waid, who served as the studio-in-chief at DC, heard about Vathlo Island, he said it was "pretty embarrassing".