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Black women are superheros but that doesn’t mean we don’t need and deserved to be rescued. For Meagan Good that means feeling protected. She may play a caped baddie in Shazam! Fury of the Gods but, in real life, she wants to be seen as so much more.
“I think there is that energy and attitude that Black women are just always strong, which is true. At the end of the day, we’re also a lot more things,” the beloved actress passionately explained. “We also are very vulnerable. We also need to be protected. We also need you to be gentle with us. We also need so many other things. Yes, this one thing exists, but let’s explore the silliness, the vulnerability, the insecurity, the sometimes damage, whatever it may be.”
Good reprises her role as Darla in the DC Extended Universe flick. We spoke to the booked and busy actress, who opened up about tapping into the role, her ideal super-suit, and the beauty of Black women.
One of the most physically demanding stunts of playing Darla was being dropped out of the sky. Literally, out of the sky. At first, being dropped from approximately 80 miles per hour from one hundred feet in the air was a big no-no, but eventually, Good tapped into her inner superhero and embraced the adrenaline.
“I mean, I did it, but I had to practice it. I had to start out doing 20 miles per hour, then building up to 30, 40, 50 until I got as fast as I could go without my head exploding,” Good laughed during our Zoom meeting. “I think that was the hardest part because I’m not like a rollercoaster person. I just don’t like drops. You can fling me into the air this way, that way, anything – but just don’t drop me.”
While flying probably wouldn’t be at the top of her list, I also managed to ask Good what her superpowers – and super suit – would be like if she was bestowed the abilities from a magical lightning bolt herself. Very similar to Darla’s suit, the Harlem actress would still be rocking purple and gold with a hint of Black accent. “I think the only thing that I would change is giving myself some knee-high boots,” she shared before revealing what her superpowers would be. “I think my super powers would be the ability to help anyone in any way, shape, form, or capacity that they need. It would be that I could hear people’s thoughts and I would also go with super strength and flying as well.”
We’ve seen Black female and femme-identify superheroes throughout the years such as Halle Berry as Storm from X-Men, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Quintessa Swindell as Black Adam’s Cyclone, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, and Letitia Wright as the new Black Panther following Chadwick Boseman. For Good, the rise of Black women taking the lead in superhero films beyond being a love interest or the damsel in distress is the representation we knew we needed but is long overdue.
But why?
“Because I think there is that energy and attitude that Black women are just always strong, which is true. At the end of the day, we’re also a lot more things,” the Harlem star began to explain passionately. “We also are very vulnerable. We also need to be protected. We also need you to be gentle with us. We also need so many other things. Yes, this one thing exists, but let’s explore the silliness, the vulnerability, the insecurity, the sometimes damage, whatever it may be.”
When it comes to the hypersexualization of Black women, Good herself knows firsthand the power of being easy on the eyes but she also acknowledges the beauty of the complexity and the layers that lay within Black women. “Yeah, we can do that any day of the week. Yeah, we can be sexy, but again, we’re also so many other things,” she added. In Good’s eyes, her character Darla demonstrates the dichotomy of Black women – being able to portray innocence, wonder, and optimism while always looking for the silver lining in times of doubt. “I think all those things are really beautiful and positive,” she noted.
In real life, she credits her superheroes as her mother, her sisters, her Godmother, God sister, and friends who have “held me down when I thought…I can’t do it,” she said while giving her inner circle their well-deserved flowers. “I would say I have a lot of good women in my life, which I’m really, really appreciative for.”
Of course, Black women have the juice – and we always will. Good doesn’t shy away from reminding people that one of our superpowers as a Black woman is always showing out and putting on when we have the opportunity. ‘I think that culturally we’re very, very specific. I think we’ve got quite a few superpowers from our complexions, to the shapes of our bodies, to the texture of our hair, to literally being some of the most exotic beings on the planet just because of all those things. I think all of that is a part of our superpower,” she praised.
Catch Shazam! Fury of the Gods in theaters March 17.
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