Erk Killmonger is quickly becoming a fan favourite villain.
And it’s easy to see why – like many of the other well-crafted villains we’ve encountered
in comics, he’s a bad guy who has a point.
The philosophies behind his actions are almost justified, except for, you know, hurting people
and breaking laws and trying to usurp the throne of Wakanda.
Not entirely things you’d classify under ‘good’.
All that being said, we still adore Killmonger, so that’s why we’ve put together a list
highlighting some tidbits about the character you may or may not have known, with our list
of the top 10 Erik Killmonger Shocking Facts.
10 His Origins The Black Panther film slightly tweaks Killmonger’s
origins.
The character, initially from Wakanda, is the son of a man who aided Uylsses Klaw in
trying to invade the nation.
Because of this, he was exiled, and Erik grew up in Harlem, New York, experiencing a very
different kind of upbringing that would largely inform his ambitions as an adult.
In the film, director Ryan Coogler changed his origin in order to be more relevant to
the sociopolitical state of our own world -
9 Adaptations Prior to the Black Panther film, Killmonger
has oddly never appeared in any other adaptation except for a handful of video games.
Specifically, Lego Marvel’s Avengers in the Black Panther DLC, Lego Marvel Super Heroes
2, Marvel: Future Fight and Marvel Contest of Champions.
Which is kind of odd considering his importance in the Black Panther canon.
Although considering the success of the character and the rave reviews of Michael B Jordan’s
performance, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if Killmonger started popping up all over
Marvel properties.
8 Madam Slay While Madam Slay may appear to have one of
the best villainess names ever, her list of positive credentials ends there.
Killmonger seems to think the contrary though – he and Madam Slay were a romantic item
for quite some time.
Madam Slay is a Black Panther villain who has the ability to control and command leopards,
not through a super power but through expertise in training.
Aside from being lovers, she worked with Killmonger as an ally, with both of them sharing similar
views and dislikes of T’Challa and how he was running their nation.
7 Created White Tiger Sort of.
So backtracking here – there’s been a few people who have held the mantle of Black
Panther.
One of the lesser acknowledged ones is Kasper Cole, aka the White Tiger – a character
who T’Challa first encountered after he went into exile and spent some time in Harlem.
Kasper was a cop who he befriended, and since T’Challa had retired from being the Black
Panther, he gave him his suit and title.
Cole eventually wanted to become a legitimate Black Panther – which can only be achieved
by going through the ritual in Wakanda – but in order to do so, he’d have to fight Killmonger
in ritual combat.
Killmonger decided to manipulate the situation to his advantage.
He gave Cole a synthetic Heart Shaped Herb, and in return, Cole would be one of his loyal
followers.
Cole said yes, and became the White Tiger.
Cole eventually fulfilled his debt to Killmonger by helping him track down a boy he was looking
for, and eventually returned to New York to join the inner city superhero team The Crew.
6 His Name Erik Killmonger isn’t actually this villain’s
true name.
It’s N’Jadaka, but his name was changed to Erik Killmonger once his family was exiled
and forced to move to the US.
The film takes it a step further – the character’s name is changed to Erik Stevens, with Kilmonger
originating from his time as a black ops and his efficiency as a soldier.
5 A Few Friends Killmonger has got quite the arsenal of allies.
But a few in particular have stood out over the years, including his pet leopard Preyy,
who occasionally aids him in battle.
Killmonger is a man of many talents, and is no stranger to the mystical like his primary
foe, T’Challa.
Throughout the comics, Killmonger becomes quite acquainted with the Altar of Resurrection.
As we’ll mention later on, the character is no stranger to being killed off and resurrected.
Anyway, he’s used the powers of the Altar to do his own bidding, including creating
his own army of zombie-like warriors known as the Death Regiment.
Killmonger’s other allies in the comics have been shaped by the Altar as well – another
villain known as King Cadaver was a Wakandan man who joined Killmonger’s quest to usurp
the throne, and was exposed to radiation from the Altar which turned him into a deformed
green creature with powers of his own.
4 Deadpool Many other characters in the Marvel universe
have encounter Killmonger, including the merc with a mouth, Deadpool.
Deadpool was actually supposed to assassin him; Achebe, another well known Black Panther
villain who has been called the Joker to Panter’s Batman - hired Deadpool to kill Erik – who
at the time was the King of Wakanda and therefore the current Black Panther – so that he would
be out of the way and T’Challa could reclaim the title.
Similar to the Joker, Achebe is obsessed with creating chaos, and obsessed with T’Challa
ever since T’Challa stood in his way of spreading war across his home country.
This naturally led to a confrontation between the two, and it was exactly the kind of encounter
you’d want it to be.
3 Killed by an Orphan As we mentioned, Killmonger has been killed
a few times in the comics, but one specific instance was pretty memorable.
During one of his more famous encounters with T’Challa, Killmonger was about to defeat
the hero when their battle was intervened by a small orphan child – a boy named Kantu
who had lost everything because of Killmonger’s war on Wakanda.
He surprised Killmonger and knocked him off of a waterfall, killing him.
2 He’s been Black Panther/King of Wakanda One of the reasons why Killmonger is such
a great villain is because he’s actually been successful.
In Black Panther volume 3, the character returns from the dead and challenges T’Challa to
the leadership ritual combat.
He defeats him, and actually becomes the King for a reign that lasted a decent amount of
time.
He even tried to join the Avengers in T’Challa’s place.
Although it is worth noting that the Heart shaped Herb rejected him – he had reaction
to it upon consuming it, revealing that it is poisonous to anyone who is not part of
the royal blood line.
1 T’Challa Has Never Beaten Him 1v1 In pretty much every encounter Killmonger
has had with T’Challa where it’s been one on one, Killmonger, whose powers practically
equal that of Black Panther’s, has won, and almost cost T’Challa his life numerous
times.
The first was when he tried to overthrow Wakanda, and ending in the iconic panel of Killmonger
throwing Black Panther over a waterfall.
The second time they fought on a similar scale, Killmonger pretty much won yet again, but
was killed thanks to that orphan in our number three spot.
It happened a third and fourth time as well, with the latter time involving Monica Rambeau
intervening.
The being said, T’Challa has defeated numerous times, due to the help of his allies.
Last time Killmonger was seen in the comics (as of this recording) was in 2008 when T’Challa
defeated him after Killmonger had orchestrated a war between Wakanda and Niganda, a nation
he had invaded and conquered right next door.
He was seemingly killed off yet again.
There we have it friends!
Have you seen Black Panther yet?
Are you all fans of Michael B Jordan’s Killmonger?
Let us know your thoughts in those comments below!
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I’ve been Kelly Paoli and this has been top 10 nerd.
Catch you all in the next one!