Black Panther was one of Marvel's most important superheroes long before he had made his mark
on the MCU. But what are T'Challa's real origins, and just why is this character so beloved
by comic book fans? This is the untold truth of Black Panther.
Co-created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Black Panther made his debut in 1966's Fantastic
Four #52. Followers of comic book history will know that Lee and Kirby didn't always
agree on things, but in the case of Black Panther's creation, both writer and artist
were in total agreement. They knew that Marvel needed the king of Wakanda to fill a void
that had existed for too long in comic books, the existence of a Black superhero.
In a 1990 interview with The Comics Journal, Kirby recalled realizing he wanted more diversity
in the comics he made. He said:
"I suddenly discovered that I had a lot of Black readers...And here I was ignoring them
because I was associating with everybody else."
Likewise, Lee said he conceived Black Panther with Kirby because, in his own words, he wanted
to make the first Black superhero. In a 2011 interview with Alter Ego, Lee said that, while
creating Black Panther, he was also careful not to play into stereotypes. America was
used to depictions of Africa as a backward and primitive place, so Lee and Kirby wanted
to portray the exact opposite. Lee explained:
"[Black Panther] is one of the greatest scientists in the world and his area. [H]is country is
more scientifically advanced than any. When you get to the hidden entrance and go down
to Wakanda, it looks like you're in a scene from a science-fiction movie of the thirtieth century!"
When Black Panther first appears in Fantastic Four #52, his allegiances aren't exactly clear-cut.
He sends an emissary to New York City with the gift of a high-tech flying vehicle and
an invitation to the team, to come to Wakanda as the king's guests. Upon their arrival,
however, T'Challa and his subjects surprise the Fantastic Four by attacking them. Ultimately,
it proves to be a test. Black Panther hopes to get the Fantastic Four's help in dealing
with the villain Ulysses Klaue, but first wants to make sure they're all that they're
hyped up to be.
Eventually, the Fantastic Four overcome Black Panther, but individually T'Challa is more
than a match for any single member of the team. He traps the Human Torch and easily
sniffs out the invisible Susan Storm. Even when squaring off against the Thing, Black
Panther is able to hold his own with nothing but his fists and his wit.
In spite of their initial clashes, the Fantastic Four and Black Panther have long maintained
close ties. T'Challa even took over as leader of the team after the events of the line-wide
event Civil War.
It's no secret that T'Challa isn't the first Black Panther. His father T'Chaka held the
title before him, and plenty of ancestors before T'Chaka took the responsibility on
their shoulders as well. And the further you go back, the more epic the Black Panther's
struggles become.
As part of Marvel's Legacy event from 2017, it's revealed that Earth's first team of Avengers
existed as far back as 1,000,000 B.C. Thor's father Odin leads the team, which includes
prehistoric versions of Phoenix, Iron Fist, Ghost Rider, Agamotto, Starbrand and, yes,
Black Panther, too.
Unlike T'Challa, the first Black Panther wears the furs and claws of actual panthers. In
2018's Avengers #4, Odin tells Thor and She-Hulk that this Black Panther was the first to discover
the meteor from which Wakanda harvests its vibranium. But other than that, not much is
known about this particular Panther, not even his given name has been revealed, or whether
he gets his abilities from the same heart-shaped herb as later Black Panthers. He's rarely
been shown in action, though his dialogue reveals him to be at least as intelligent
and contemplative as T'Challa.
"Avengers!"
"Assemble!"
In 1999's Black Panther #8, the king of Wakanda drops a serious truth bomb, one that turned
out to be one of the more controversial reveals in the Marvel Comics of the time. While T'Challa
and his Avengers colleagues try to quell a riot masterminded by Achebe, Black Panther's
teammates overhear him saying he initially joined the Avengers because he wanted to see
if they were a threat to Wakanda.
Once the smoke clears and his teammates ask him about it, T'Challa confirms he initially
joined the team to spy on them. The revelation drives a wedge between Black Panther and the
rest of the Avengers, and it's particularly damaging to the friendship between T'Challa
and Steve Rogers. While Black Panther would go on to be a part of future Avengers rosters,
things have never been quite the same between him and his superpowered comrades.
In 2018, writer Christopher Priest addressed fan anger over the revelation. He pointed
out to ComicBook.com that, as the monarch of a sovereign nation, going off to have adventures
with superheroes seemed like a strange choice for T'Challa. Priest explained:
"I couldn't figure out why he joined the Avengers, and the only thing that made any logical sense
to me was [Black Panther did it] to find out whether these people were a threat. Once he
was comfortable they weren't a threat, he felt OK helping them out from time to time.
But his number one responsibility was Wakanda."
The term "graphic novel" has become popularized in recent years, with some people simply using
it as a fancy synonym for "comic book." But a true graphic novel isn't just any comic
book, it's a longform story with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. In the '70s, most
superhero comics would give you one- or two-part stories, but writer Don McGregor concocted
what some call Marvel's very first graphic novel, and Black Panther was its hero.
Black Panther's first solo series was Jungle Action, a title revived from Marvel's early
days as Atlas Comics. "Panther's Rage" begins with 1973's Jungle Action #6 and concludes
with 1975's Jungle Action #18. The story introduces Erik Killmonger and his plot to replace T'Challa
on the throne of Wakanda, and sends Black Panther on the long and difficult road to
defeat his challenger.
For a superhero comic to include a 13-part story, spanning two years of publication,
no less, was basically unheard of in the mid '70s, and doesn't even happen all that often
nowadays. Some have argued that it was Marvel's neglect towards lesser-selling titles that
allowed for such creative freedom. Whatever the reason, though, you've got T'Challa to
thank in part for the Marvel graphic novels that you enjoy today.
T'Challa is part of a long line of warrior kings who have assumed the title of Black
Panther. But some characters have actually taken the name while T'Challa was still alive,
more or less.
For example, Erik Killmonger defeats T'Challa in one-on-one combat during the twentieth
issue of 2000's Black Panther run, earning him the right to become the king of Wakanda,
as well as the next Black Panther.
His reign ends in Black Panther #24, however, when he eats the heart-shaped herb which gives
the Black Panthers their powers and falls into a coma, because he isn't part of the
royal bloodline.
In 2002's Black Panther #50, after the rumored death of T'Challa, a mysterious new Black
Panther appears in New York City. This new Panther turns out to be NYPD officer Kasper
Cole, who swipes the uniform and uses it to bring his corrupt superior officer to justice.
After T'Challa reappears, Cole takes the name White Tiger and continues to fight crime.
Even T'Challa's own sister Shuri became Queen of Wakanda in 2009, during a story in which
T'Challa falls into a coma due to the sinister machinations of Doctor Doom. T'Challa eventually
emerges from his coma, but Shuri remains Black Panther after that, until she sacrifices herself
to save her brother in 2014's New Avengers #24.
Until the success of 2018's Black Panther made more people aware of his work, writer
Christopher Priest was a largely unsung hero in the character's history. Despite its relatively
low sales, however, Priest's 1998-2003 run of Black Panther totally redefined the character.
Without his work to inform it, there would be no Black Panther film or, at the very least,
it would've been a much different, and probably far less interesting movie. As Ta-Nehisi Coates,
another Black Panther writer, told Vulture:
"He had the classic run on Black Panther, period, and that's gonna be true for a long
time. People had not put as much thought into who and what Black Panther was before Christopher
started writing the book."
In 2018, Priest told ComicBook.com he was initially hesitant to write Black Panther,
but changed his mind when he was told he could reinvent the character as he saw fit. One
of Priest's guiding stars was thinking of T'Challa not as a superhero, but as a king.
Told through the eyes of T'Challa's hapless sidekick Everett K. Ross, Priest's Black Panther
is a colder and more aloof version of the character who places his role as king before
anything else. Priest told ComicBook.com:
"He's not allowed to think much about himself or do much for himself. His main responsibility
is Wakanda...he's not really a superhero. This guy is a monarch;
he's following his own agenda."
Black Panther proved to be one of the most critically and commercially successful superhero
films Hollywood has ever made. But according to the late Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther
is more like The Godfather's Michael Corleone than he is Iron Man or Captain America. Speaking
to ComicBook.com in late 2017, Boseman referred to Black Panther as an anti-hero. He said:
"At times [Black Panther] feels like The Godfather. It's complicated when you have to deal with
who should live and who should die. Sometimes you have to do bad things or you maybe need
to do bad things so there's justice, so there's peace."
Fittingly, Boseman's interpretation of the character echoes the writing of Christopher
Priest, who saw Black Panther as a monarch responsible for his people's well-being, rather
than a superhero reacting to crises on the fly. Boseman even echoed Spider-Man's classic
mantra about great power bringing great responsibility. The actor explained:
"[Black Panther] is about how you use power. What do you do when you get power? In this
case, you're talking about someone taking the throne. But all superhero movies are about
a person who has extreme power...The only difference between a hero and the villain
is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people."
The Black Panther film managed to work in a number of the hero's signature comic book
bad guys. Along with Killmonger, T'Challa came up against Ulysses Klaue and M'Baku,
who is known as the villain Man-Ape in the comics.
"Are you done? Are you, are you done?"
But while speaking to Yahoo! Movies in 2018, director Ryan Coogler admitted there was at
least one bad guy he wanted to use but couldn't, Kraven the Hunter.
Coogler called Christopher Priest's time on Black Panther a "heavy run," and singled out
a fight that takes place between Black Panther and the Russian villain Kraven as his inspiration
for wanting to use the jungle-themed mercenary. Coogler explained:
"I've always loved Kraven the Hunter in almost every iteration. So there was a moment, 'Can
I grab Kraven?', and they were 'Nah, you don't have Kraven.'"
As he's a villain most closely associated with Spider-Man, Sony owns the film rights
to Kraven, and the Hunter isn't part of the deal that allows Marvel Studios to use the
web-slinger in their films.
Most likely, the fight scene Coogler was referencing from Priest's run on the comics is the impressively
rendered battle between the pair in the kitchen of the New York Hilton during 1999's Black
Panther #6. Drawn by Joe Jusko, the six-page fight sequence is an intense battle done almost
completely without dialogue. It's a pretty crazy scene, and perfectly encapsulates just
how powerful and innovative Black Panther comics can get.
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