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The Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide to... Black Panther

By Gus

Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover's Guide, where you’re taken through our collection of a comic book character. This guide is all about the king of Wakanda, the Black Panther!

comic covers arranged in a grid

Video via the Marvel Entertainment Youtube channel

Who is the Black Panther?

The Black Panther is a ceremonial title bestowed upon the head of the royal family line of Wakanda, a technologically advanced nation in central Africa that has remained uncolonized and is known for its store of the rare energy-absorbing metal Vibranium. After the death of King T'Chaka, the role falls to his son T'Challa, a stoic and studious young prince. Empowered by a suit of Vibranium and a heart-shaped herb that increases his strength and speed, T'Challa now defends his nation and the world as the Black Panther.

Classic Black Panther

In the years before Marvel NOW!, T'Challa married Storm of the X-Men, lead the Fantastic Four, and briefly became protector of Hell's Kitchen in Daredevil's absence.

New Avengers - Working with the Enemy

T'Challa discovers that Incursions (universes colliding into each other) are slowly destroying the multiverse, and he gathers the Illuminati to find a way to prevent them. However, this means working with Namor, an enemy of Wakanda since he destroyed their capital city with a tidal wave in an act of war. Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers series (and its finale Secret Wars) explores the enmity between the two kings and how far each is willing to go to protect their nations (and to spite each other).

The Ta-Nehisi Coates run

Taking place after Secret Wars, this long-running and critically acclaimed series was written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, former columnist for The Atlantic and author of Between the World and Me. Here, T'Challa faces a populist uprising in Wakanda, meets the old gods that he draws power from, and comes into conflict with a universe where Wakanda became a galaxy-spanning empire.

The World of Wakanda

Coates' run had a number of spin-off series exploring the nation of Wakanda and its citizens and history, written by such famous Black writers as Roxane Gay, Yona Harvey, and Nnedi Okorafor.

John Ridley run

Black Panther's following series was written by John Ridley, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave. In this series, T'Challa is hunted by his own espionage unit after a long-buried secret comes to light, and winds up being exiled from Wakanda. The series Wakanda follows the aftermath of T’Challa’s absence from the perspective of his supporting cast including M'Baku, Killmonger, Shuri, and Okoye)

Eve Ewing run

Ironheart writer Eve Ewing is the current writer of Black Panther, which sees T'Challa stripped of his royal title but still defending the streets of Wakanda from the shadows.

Shuri

Shuri is T'Challa's younger sister, and next in line for the Wakandan throne. A sorceress and an accomplished scientist, she occasionally has to take over for T'Challa as ruler of Wakanda in his absence. She even became the Black Panther for a time in the late 2000s.

Teams

Black Panther has been a member of the Avengers and the Ultimates. He also briefly lead The Crew, a team of Black and indigenous heroes that fight systemic injustice.