The music world and 1990s kids alike are reeling from the shocking death of legendary rapper Coolio at the age of 59. While he might go down in history thanks to his iconic anthem “Gangsta’s Paradise,” comic book lovers will forever remember Coolio for his couple of contributions to superhero cinema, in which he provided a duo of highly memorable parts in two of the otherwise worst entries in the entire genre.
In the wake of Coolio’s passing, superhero Twitter has been abuzz with people reflecting on the singer and actor’s roles in both 1997’s Batman & Robin and 2003’s Daredevil. As one of those lucky few to have appeared in both the Marvel and DC universes, Coolio played the role of Banker in the notorious Batman flick and then later portrayed Dante Jackson in the director’s cut of Ben Affleck’s DD film.
“R.I.P. Legend.”
He’s got himself a place in superhero cinematic history.
And he could’ve been Scarecrow if Batman 5 had ever happened. No, really!
It’s true. Kinda.
Coolio was one of us.
While Coolio is absent from the Daredevil theatrical cut, he instead features in the extended edition that restores a deleted subplot in which Nelson & Murdock attempt to get his character off a murder charge.
A bonafide ’90s icon.
While you might look at it as Coolio having the misfortune to appear in two critically panned superhero movies, he was actually a rare bright spot in both pictures. His blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in B&R makes you sit up and pay attention while his bigger role in the (far superior) Daredevil director’s cut is actually one of his meatier acting gigs in which he gets to stretch his skills a little bit.
Rest in peace to an underrated comic book king.
