Blog

Welcome back to our coverage of that protector of the Golden City, the Ruler of Wakanda, Black Panther! When we left off, T’Challa had lost and regained the mantle of his line. Now he has to deal with a world more dangerous than ever before but at least he’s got his title and powers back. What could go wrong? Let’s find out!

Killmonger and T’Challa had faced off once more with Killmonger dethroned and T’Challa taking back his crown. Still splitting himself between ruler and Avenger, T’Challa would face off against the Ku Klux Klan in the United States and dealing with a telepathic future version of himself back in Wakanda. This future self would be dealing with an aneurysm that he was asking his younger self to help with. Realizing the many dangers of this, he’d freeze his future self until Wakandan medical science could find a cure for his soon-to-be own medical problem. Don’t worry, they’d find a cure to save present him and thus, future him.

Reunited with Ororo Munroe, T’Challa would aide her in finding her own family members. The two would begin dating again and now in a more concrete place, T’Challa proposes to Ororo and the two are wed. During this time the United States begins its Superhero Registration Act, originally, Wakanda has no stand with pro or anti-registration. After the death of Bill Foster, Black Goliath, during the superhero Civil War, T’Challa and Ororo would step in to join Captain America‘s anti-registration side.

By the end of the Civil War, T’Challa and Ororo join the Fantastic Four for a brief time. When the Skrull Invasion occurs, the Skrull learn the hard way that Wakanda will not be conquered. Namor, the Sub-Mariner, would approach T’Challa to join The Cabal, a team of villains to fight their own fight against the Skrull. Refusing, Doctor Doom would knock T’Challa comatose. When he’d awaken, he’d find that his sister Shuri was now carrying the mantle of Black Panther.

Now without powers of his own, T’Challa would consult his court sorcerer to grant him access to his old powers but from a different Panther god. Successful, he would go on to do battle with Doctor Doom, who had been planning to steal all Vibranium from the beleaguered Wakanda. All out war with Doom ends with Doom being defeated and T’Challa causing all processed Vibranium to become inert to stop Doom.

While Shuri would stay on as the Black Panther of Wakanda, T’Challa would go to New York to take on a different mantle as Black Panther: the Man Without Fear, taking over protecting Hell’s Kitchen while Daredevil recovered from his possession that lead to Shadowland. Taking on a new identity and running a restaurant called the Devil’s Kitchen, T’Challa would take on street crime with none of his usual royal gear, just his enhanced physical attributes and senses from his bootleg Panther god.

After Daredevil returns to New York, T’Challa returns to Wakanda to act as Shuri’s second. He is blessed by Bast once more along side his sister, to both be Black Panthers. Shuri would be Wakanda’s ruler and defender, The Black Panther of Wakanda. T’Challa will be Bast’s Black Panther, King of the Dead, granting him knowledge from all prior Panthers through communing with the dead. Namor, floods Wakanda with his Phoenix-empowered abilities. Wakanda will not fall though, it rebuilds as it always will, the Golden City shall always live. Hey, you may be wondering, where’s Storm been in all this? Well, T’Challa realizes they’ve been apart for so long that he’d annulled their marriage.

New threats came to destroy not just Wakanda but all of reality. The Cabal would attack Wakanda and Shuri would die in the battle. T’Challa would bring together the Illuminati, a powerful group meant to protect the Earth that T’Challa had originally left due to seeing the dangers in their own power. This was a back against the wall scenario so he reunited them to take on saving reality, possibly one last time. Making incredibly difficult decisions, T’Challa would help merge his own universe with another, similar one (The Ultimates Universe) instead of both being destroyed.

This new reality isn’t what it would be though, a patchwork realm forged by Doom, T’Challa is one of the few who still remembers the world prior and is forced to work with Namor. The two must use a new Infinity Gauntlet and find Lord Doom, now master of this Battleword, to stop him. Namor dies in their fight but T’Challa is able to defeat Doom and reality is rewritten.

Now a new Earth with many realities in one familiar realm, Vibranium is completely active again. Wakanda is at war with itself, Shuri’s death has shaken the people of their beloved Queen. So much tragedy has befallen the Golden City, they are left to wonder if they need a monarchy in this modern day. T’Challa is struggling to keep his people together and stop the corruption that has been rotting it in his sister and his absence. At the same time, T’Challa is trying to resurrect his sister, his success in all these endeavors remains to be seen.

Shuri

Shuri was the youngest child of T’Chaka and Romanda, she’d desire the Black Panther mantle from a young age. Trained by her brother, T’Challa, so she could take his place if the time ever came, she would almost take the mantle from him when she tried to enter the trial by combat ceramony for the mantle but he’d beat her to it.

Whenever her brother was absent, she would often take a proactive defense for Wakanda. She would develop a “Wakanda First” mentality in contrast with her brothers more world welcoming view. She’d fight off Killmonger while her brother was off being a member of the Fantastic Four, she’d lead a strike team to stop Killmonger and the U.S. from attacking Wakanda. When the Skrull invade, she’d lead troops fending off hordes of Skrull invaders.

When her brother is left comatose, it is her sister-in-law and Queen, Ororo who believes Shuri should take on the mantle. While she completes the trials, Bast finds Shuri’s greed for the Panther role to be unworthy of the position, not granting Shuri her powers. Even without powers, Shuri dons her Panther armor to defend Wakanda and attempt to bring her brother out of his coma. These acts of selflessness, allow her access to her full Panther powers.

After the war with Doom leaves most of Wakanda’s Vibranium inert, Shuri would leave Wakanda in search of new reserves of the metal. She would also wage war on Atlantis in response to Namor’s flooding of Wakanda, nearly destroying the entire underwater nation. She’d even banish her brother for a time. She would die when the Cabal attacked Wakanda once more.

There you have it! Two Black Panthers for the price of one! T’Challa has been through the ringer in recent years and Shuri has risen and fallen with hopes to rise once more. Currently Black Panther has appeared in the third Captain America film, Captain America: Civil War and his newest comic has has proven quite popular in sales. Wherever we go with Panther in comics, he is going to be having a movie of his own in the near future, for many, myself included, it can’t get here soon enough. See you next time!

Suggested Reading
Black Panther Vol. 1-6
Doomwar
Black Panther: The Man Without Fear
Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive

Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net