Unlike most of the Super Friends, Black Vulcan was not a pre-existing DC Comics character. This is particularly notable since DC Comics' roster did include an African American superhero with electricity-based powers, Black Lightning, who could not be used on the show due to disputes between DC and Black Lightning's creator Tony Isabella.[1]
Black Vulcan appeared in The All-New Super Friends Hour cartoon series (episode "The Whirlpool"). His catchphrase was "Great Lightning!"
His powers include the ability to emit electricity from his hands. He can also fly by charging his lower body with energy. On a few occasions, he has exhibited powers he had not shown before, such as the ability to assume a form of pure energy and travel at the speed of light (in an unsuccessful attempt to escape a black hole.[2]) He was able to travel back in time[3] by fluctuating his body's energy to open a rift in space-time. Black Vulcan is able to spot-weld microelectronics.[4]
In the final incarnation of the series, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, he was replaced with Cyborg, another black superhero that was already well established in DC Comics.