Black hair is the most common of all human hair colors globally, so no wonder there are so many fictional characters with black hair. Despite its dark color, black is not necessarily negative, as there are quite a few black-haired characters that are brave and selfless. However, there are also very evil characters with black hair color. From Wonder Woman to Jon Snow, in this list, I count down the 20 best characters with black hair in fiction. Mind you, there are no dark-brown hair color characters allowed on this list!
1. Edward (Edward Scissorhands Movie)
As a barber with Robert Smith’s gothic black hair, Edward Scissorhands is a perfect character to open this list of characters with black hair. Edward was originally just a robot on the cookie assembly line. Then his eccentric inventor thought to give him more human characteristics. First, a heart. Then a torso, head, and legs. The scissor hands were intended to just be placeholders for actual hands. Unluckily, the inventor died before he could put the hands-on, leaving him with scissors instead of hands. The greatest thing about Edward is that despite his artificial body, his emotions are very real.
2. Violet Parr (The Incredibles Disney/Pixar Animated Film)
You may not remember, but Violet Parr’s hair was key to her character development in the first Incredibles movie. That was because Violet was shy and used to hide behind her hair. However, as the movie advanced, her hair was pulled back away from her face as she saved the world and became a superhero. Due to its type and length, creating Violet’s black hair became the most difficult subject for the animators to master. Thankfully, they did an incredible job with it. So good, in fact, it got Violet into this list!
3. Ash Ketchum (Pokemon Anime Series)
I know that this is not an anime list, but Ash Ketchum had such an impact on pop culture and on my childhood that I couldn’t simply ignore him. I love how determined he is to fulfill his dream to become a Pokémon Master. Also, the way he tries to see the good in everybody is inspiring to me. Ash is most iconic wearing his cap on his black hair.
4. Jules Winnfield (Pulp Fiction Movie)
One of the best movie characters with black hair, Jules has a great combination of cold-blooded attitude towards his job as a killer with a highly developed spiritual side. For example, Jules takes the being missed from point blank range as a sign of divine intervention but doesn’t feel spiritual enough that he and Vinnie don’t blow away the man who tries to shoot them. On the other hand, following the incident, Jules decides to quit being a hired gun. According to Samuel Jackson, who played Jules, Jules was supposed to have a big afro, but because of a mistake made by Tarantino’s personal assistant, he ended up with a Jheri curl wig.
5. Rocky Balboa (Rocky Movies)
The Italian Stallion is one of the best movie characters with black hair. The former Two-Time Heavyweight boxing Champion is rightfully famous for his unbreakable spirit and body. Rocky has fought battles in the ring and has knocked out some of the most dangerous boxers, like Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, and Ivan Drago. Throughout his amazing career as a professional boxer and boxing trainer, Rocky overcame extreme odds to become the symbol of the city of Philadelphia and an American hero.
6. Zatanna (DC Comics)
Zatanna Zatara can do anything! From hooking up on a passing comet in another dimension to rolling around in endless fields of fluffy pancakes, Zatanna can do it. And, as you can probably tell, she’s gorgeous with that medium-length black hair and bright cyan-colored eyes. Add to that she is a member of the Justice League and her long history of dating normal, non-superpowered men, and you get the perfect Homo Magi woman.
7. Mistress Death (Marvel Comics)
Mistress Death is the living embodiment of death and destruction in the Marvel comics universe and is also the one that Thanos and Deadpool are madly in love with. Death is incredibly powerful as she is the sister of Eternity and the other Cosmic Entities like Chaos and Order. She can also bend reality to her will but usually instead tricks Thanos into doing it for her like killing a universe. As you can see, Mistress Death also has beautiful long black hair.
8. Fred Flintstone (The Flintstones Cartoon)
One of the most loveable cartoon orange characters with black hair, Fred lives at his house in Bedrock, at 345 Cave Stone Road with his wife Wilma and his daughter Pebbles. Fred is childish, Impulsive, and extremely accident-prone. However, somehow at the same time, he is a selfless and kind-hearted person. Fred’s “Yabba-Dabba-Doo!” is one of the most iconic catchphrases in fiction history.
9. Dick Grayson (DC Comics)
I just now realized that DC has more black-haired characters, while Marvel has more blondes: Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Human Torch, Captain Marvel, and pretty much every girl hero. Well, I guess the DC universe is “darker”. Get it? Anyway, Dick Grayson is one of my favorite characters in the world. As Robin, he was Batman’s original sidekick, and as he grew up I continued to read about him. As he grew to become Nightwing, I still loved him because of his quick wit, brilliant trash talk, and badass combat skills. Also, he’s a suave ladies’ man — in the best way possible. Dick changed his hair a lot throughout the years. During the 1940s his general hairstyle was short on the sides and back, and longer on the top. In the mid-90s he had long hair. However, one thing remained constant – his hair was the color black. That said, he did occasionally use a blonde wig as a disguise.
10. Betty Boop (Betty Boop Cartoon)
Famous for her spit-black curls and baby talk, Betty Boop is one of the most iconic cartoon characters with black hair ever. Although her official hair color is black, Betty’s hair was red on some occasions, but that was quite rare. It seems that Betty has a special sympathy for the colors black and red because she almost always wears a red dress and high heels colored black.
11. Bayonetta (Bayonetta 3, Game)
If all the characters so far felt too “human” to you, allow me to introduce you to Bayonetta – the supernatural representative on the list. Bayonetta, the leading character in a series of games bearing her name, is a witch with supernatural powers who also does not hesitate to use guns and other weapons when necessary. During her battles Bayonetta will use her black hair to attack enemies, causing her to lose clothing.
12. Samantha “Sam” Manson (Danny Phantom Animated Series)
Danny’s biggest ally supports others’ choices in how they express themselves and she expresses herself with her gothic black hair fashion. I love Sam. Sadly, she seems to have gotten a nasty reputation among fans. She has an often contradictory personality; She’s an edgy goth character, but at the same time she’s the stereotypical vegan leftie, she is as rational and levelheaded as she is a forceful and selfish rich girl.
13. Mowgli (The Jungle Book Disney Animated Film)
Being an Indian boy, Mowgli has brown skin, thick black eyebrows, and wild messy black hair that covers his forehead and reaches his neck. He had been raised by wolves since infancy but had to leave the pack when the murderous tiger Shere Khan became determined to kill him. Much like Tarzan, Mowgli is unusually strong as a result of having to rely more on his physical strength all his life in the jungle.
14. Morpheus (The Sandman Netflix TV Show)
The main character, Sam Morpheus, is ‘Dream’, these are the name of the ‘Lord Of Dreams,’ which is a member of the ‘Endless,’ the personifications of the natural forces of all existence. Morpheus is the embodiment of a dark character with black hair. He rules a dimension where he can control both dreams and nightmares. Sandman was captured and sealed away for decades, when he was released he realized his absence left the world in dismay, many can’t dream, or sleep. He is on a quest to get his powers back and set the world straight.
15. Lydia Deetz (Beetlejuice Movie)
Lydia had the goth version of big eighties black hair as Beetlejuice came out back in 1986 even though most folks think of it as a 90’s movie. Beetlejuice was ahead of its time. Lydia Deetz was the first goth I ever saw in an actual studio-released movie. When I was younger and first saw the film, Lydia was the weird kid that was kind of cool, she longed to be a ghost, just like I did. I loved how she made snarky rants toward the other characters, mostly her parents and their friends.
16. Eric Draven (The Crow Movie)
Alex Proyas created an unusual character, a hopeless superhero. The film’s designers gave the Crow a gloomy and gothic look, the villains look like a collection of models from “Vogue” and the director directed an extroverted and virtuosic music video that made the late actor Brandon Lee a legend.
17. Pinocchio (Pinocchio Disney Animated Film)
The protagonist of Disney’s 1940 animated film, Pinocchio is most famous for his long nose. However, his fringe of thick jet-black hair adorned with a yellow hat is also very iconic. Pinocchio is one of the biggest cultural icons of all time. Maybe the reason for that is the story, which somehow retells the story of the creation of life and the dreams a creator may have for his creation’s wellness. Pinocchio is a wooden marionette that dreams of becoming alive, but in having this dream, it already has life. IMO, that’s one of the best stories ever told!
18. Wolverine (Marvel Comics)
I know Hugh Jackman’s hair in the MCU is more of a dark brown, but in the comics, whenever he is not wearing his masked helmet, Wolverine’s hair is JET BLACK. As for the comics hairstyle, Wolverine’s hair is very, how to say… wolfish. I mean, he has a small widow’s peak and two spikes on either side of his head that resemble wolf ears, as well as sideburns. Initially, Jackman’s hair in the X-Men movies did resemble Wolverine’s hair from the comics. However, by the time we got to X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Jackman, has just a regular hairstyle. I guess it has something to do with the fact that by then Jackman had already been completely accepted by the audience as Wolverine.
19. Wonder Woman (DC Comics)
Wonder Woman is one of the most iconic characters with black hair. She is a badass amazon warrior who saves people both in and out of costume. She is also a founding member of the Justice League. With her leadership and tactical abilities, she’s more of a force of nature than she is a person! This is why I like her. Wonder Woman is usually depicted as a fair-skinned attractive woman with straight waist-length black hair.
20. Spock (Star Trek)
Commander Spock’s hair is probably most iconic for its weird haircut rather than for being black. It seems all Vulcans share that same straightforward-combed hairstyle. Maybe the reason is that it is an extremely logical way to wear one’s hair with little effort to maintain it. And you know how reasonable the Vulcan race is. Or it could be simply a traditional Vulcan style. In any case, the galaxy is forever thankful for this half-Vulcan, half-human known as Spock.
21. Zack Fair (Final Fantasy Game)
Zack is the Shinra Company soldier, and Cloud’s hero. The slicked-back suave single spike black hair of our hero is, well, majestic. I feel like Zack’s hair is at least slightly possible in real life. But zack’s hairstyle before he got it cut was the best. He’s a hot guy, friendly, quite the ladies’ man, very energetic and excitable.
22. Goku (Dragon Ball Anime Series)
Yeah, Yeah, I know that when Goku transforms into his Super Saiyan form his hair suddenly turns blonde, but in the original Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z, when he’s not going Super Saiyan, Goku has black hair. So, for me, and I know that for many other DB fans, Goku will forever have black hair, and I don’t care that his creator Akira Toriyama has to spend extra time blacking Goku’s hair. There, I said it.
23. Jasmine (Aladdin, Disney Animated Film)
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who’s got the Fairest black hair of Them All? There are a few Disney princesses with black hair, like Pocahontas, Esmeralda, and Mulan, but IMO Jasmine is the prettiest. I think she is beautiful not just for her looks, but for her personality and values. I think she was so cool for wanting to marry someone she loves even though, it seems, the opportunity was stressful. There, I said it!
24. The Tramp (Modern Times Film)
Charlie Chaplin’s most famous character is an icon of the era of silent film. Just like Chaplin, the Little Tramp has black hair. However, it was the Tramp’s bowler hat and Toothbrush black mustache that got the most attention. Chaplin’s mustache was of course fake, and he used to remove it when he was not in character. One of the best movie characters with black hair, The Little Tramp had become a universal character recognized in every culture across the world.
25. Jon Snow (Game of Thrones, HBO TV Show)
One of the most iconic characters with black hair, Jon Snow is a superb leader and a skilled swordsman. He is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Since the Targaryen gene is often recessive, children born of a Targaryen and someone of another House would take after the non-Targaryen parent as far as physical features go. This is why Jon has black hair and not the usual Targaryen silver-white locks.
26. Superman (DC Comics)
Superman’s iconic design practically hasn’t changed throughout his decades of existence. Sure, he did some costume changes and made some weird hair choices, but his black hair remained the same all these years. He has had black hair since his inception in the comics and it is part of his look. Even his TV and film incarnations never wanted to stray much from the comic-book origin but to honor it. The question remains though, how does he cut it so neatly?
