Black Panther versus the Flash.
T’Challa versus Wally West the second.
The King of Wakanda facing off against one of DC’s underrated speedsters.
Who will win?
Let us know your pick with either hashtag Black Panther or hashtag WallyWest in those
comments below.
Hey everyone!
This is Versus – a series we do on top 10 nerd where we take your favourite heroes and
plop them into a battle against one another, a hypothetical brawl to see which one would
come out on top.
Today, for our Black History month series, we’re looking at Black Panther and Wally
West the second and speculating who the victor would be.
So before we begin, let’s jump into the origins of these two characters.
Wally West the second was a creation of the New 52 reboot at DC Comics.
After the initial Wally West had dominated the Flash mantle, becoming more of a fan favourite
than Barry Allen, his predecessor.
So when the new 52 reboot happened and Barry had been brought back from the dead as the
Flash, people wondered where Wally had gone.
A new Wally appeared - a younger version, who was a black teen.
While the majority of fans didn’t have an issue with his race – aside from the backlash
against DC for introducing the character as kid vandalizing private property with graffiti.
He and Iris West were now African American, which was pretty damn cool.
Rather, the issue the fans had with the character more so because they were salty that their
beloved Wally had vanished.
Since then, the original Wally made a return to the DC universe, and people chilled out
a bit more.
In terms of Wally West the second’s fictional origin story though, the character in the
future had died trying to repair the speed force, and as a consequence, when his past
self – the teen – was struck by lightning and got his powers, his future self appears
as an apparition and explains that all of the power that was within him in the future
was able to travel back in time and enter into Wally, using the lightning as a catalyst,
becoming the new Kid Flash.
He then joins the Teen Titans.
Black Panther on the other hand comes from a line of royalty.
His ancestors have always ruled Wakanda; an incredibly advanced nation in East Africa
made up on various tribes that have a ton of vibranium, which, over the years through
solid leadership, has led to its people becoming very intelligent.
When his father was murdered, T’Challa was next in line to become King, and after proving
himself with the necessary trials, studying abroad, and making some important political
changes in Wakanda, he took up the mantle of his birthright.
His first appearance in comics was in the Fantastic Four issue 52, where he tricked
the group into coming to Wakanda and neutralized them all separately – all to just test himself
to see if he’d be ready to defeat the man who murdered his father.
Moving on, let’s talk abilities.
When it comes to Wally, we haven’t seen a whole lot in terms of what he’s capable
of.
We’ve seen his future self, we’ve seen his present self protect a classmate from
a bully, and we’ve seen him work with the Teen Titans.
Aside from that, we haven’t really seen his powers tested in a big way, or know of
what his limitations are.
He’s fairly new to the abilities, and he’s connected to the speed force, making him capable
of superhuman speed, reflexes, agility and stamina, he’s capable of speed force constructs,
electrokinesis, molecular acceleration, energy absorption, vortex creation, has a frictionless
aura and he can speed steal.
The real question is though, how experienced is he with these abilities, and how confidently
can he use them in battle?
Moving on the T’Challa.
The king ruler of Wakanda is an expert martial artist and hand to hand combatant, he’s
a skilled hunter and tracker, has enhanced senses and high tech equipment that includes
a vibranium uniform, has alchemical precognition and protection against mystical attacks.
In recent times, he’s also become the King of the Dead, and has the ability to control
the undead.
He has a PhD in physics, is considered to be one of the 8 smartest people on the planet,
and by some critics, has been compared to Batman.
He’s also been a member of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, the Defenders, the Illuminati
and the Fantastic Force.
Not too shabby of a resume.
Now, onto the fight!
Let’s assume that neither have had the chance to prepare for this battle.
It’s a spur of the moment kind of deal.
Wally West the second is connected to the speed force, meaning he can pull a superior
amount of power.
Meaning he’s fast as hell, and that alone would give Black Panther a run for his money.
But Wally is inexperienced.
Does he have full control over the speed force, and if he chose to time travel in the battle,
or speed steal or create a vortex or absorb energy from T’Challa, how well would it
work?
The Speed Force is a complicated entity, and misuse of it on a larger scale has proven
to have dire consequences.
T’Challa, on the other hand, has the experience, and has even at points lost his powers endowed
to him from the Panther God, yet still patrolled and protected Hells Kitchen while he was subbing
in for Daredevil.
He’s defeated the likes of Doctor Doom in the past, and his mind is just as powerful
of a tool as his brawn.
If this came down to a fight of hand to hand combat, Wally would be done for.
That being said, Wally is fast.
Even if he didn’t dive into some of his more complex speed force abilities, the fact
that he can move faster than the speed of light would give him the ability to evade
T’Challa, and ultimately wear the king of Wakanda down.
Black Panther just can’t compete at those kinds of speeds, despite how inventive his
intellect may allow him to be.
And the winner?
Wally West.
Perhaps the outcome would be different if the two had time to prepare and T’Challa
could pull a Batman and whip up a weapon or a plan to stop this speedster in his tracks,
but on a chance meeting, Wally would definitely have the advantage.
Alright, there we have it!
Do you agree with our picks?
Or do you think Black Panther should have won?
Let us know your choice in those comments below.
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In the meantime, thanks for watching!
I’ve been Kelly Paoli and this has been top 10 nerd.
Catch you all in the next one.