Black Panther (comics)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a comic book character. For other uses of the term black panther, see black panther (disambiguation).

Black Panther
Black Panther. Art by John Romita, Jr. and Klaus Janson.
Publisher Marvel Comics First appearance Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966) Created by Stan Lee Jack Kirby
Characteristics Alter ego T'Challa Team affiliations Fantastic Four Secret Avengers Avengers Defenders Fantastic Force Notable aliases Luke Charles, Black Leopard, HM,The King of Wakanda Abilities Superhumanly acute senses Peak human physical capabilities Genius level intellect Skilled acrobat/gymnast and hunter/tracker Vibranium uniform, boots and equipment Retractable anti-metal claws Ebony Blade

The Black Panther (T'Challa) is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe who is the first modern Black superhero. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and penciller-co-plotter Jack Kirby, he first appeared in Fantastic Four vol. 1, #52 (July 1966). Although there have been numerous men who have used the Black Panther identity during the history of the Marvel Universe, this article refers solely to the modern-day Black Panther, also known by his birth name, T'Challa.

The Black Panther, whose name predates the use of the October 1966 founding of the Black Panther Party, is not the first Black hero in mainstream comic books. That distinction is split between Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who starred in his own feature in the multitple-character omnibus series Jungle Tales, from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics; and the Dell Comics Western character Lobo, the first Black and the first character of African descent to star in his own comic book. Previous non-caricatured Black supporting characters in comics include Daily Bugle managing editor Joe Robertson in The Amazing Spider-Man, and U.S. Army infantry private Gabriel Jones of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos.

Contents 1 Publication history 2 Fictional character biography 2.1 Early life and background 2.2 Solo adventures 2.3 Civil War and marriage 2.4 Joining Fantastic Four 3 Powers and abilities 4 Allies 5 Nemeses 6 Other versions 6.1 2099 6.2 Marvel Zombies 6.3 Mangaverse 6.4 Ultimate Black Panther 6.5 Coal Tiger 7 In other media 7.1 Television 7.2 Features 7.3 Video games 7.4 Film 8 Quotes 9 Bibliography 10 See also 11 Footnotes 12 References

[edit] Publication history

The Black Panther's first starring series was in Jungle Action vol. 2, #6-24 (Sept. 1973 - Nov. 1976), written by Don McGregor with art by pencillers Rich Buckler, Gil Kane, and Billy Graham. One now-common innovation it pioneered was that of the self-contained, multi-issue story arc.

McGregor's first arc, "Panther's Rage", ran from Jungle Action #6 (Sept. 1973) through #18 (Nov. 1975). A second arc, "Panther vs. the Klan", was truncated when the series was canceled with issue #24. Jungle Action #5 and #23 reprinted, respectively, The Avengers #62 (March 1969), which featured the Black Panther, and Daredevil #69 (Oct. 1970), in which the Panther guest-starred.

Immediately following the initial series was the much less well-received^{[citation needed]} Black Panther, written and illustrated by Jack Kirby for 12 of its 15 issues (Jan. 1977 - March 1979), with a corresponding shift in tone from McGregor's lyrical naturalism to Kirby's trademark high adventure. A four-issue miniseries, also titled Black Panther, appeared in 1988, written by Peter B. Gillis and pencilled by Denys Cowan.

McGregor revisited his Panther saga with Gene Colan in "Panther's Quest", published as 25 eight-page installments within the bi-weekly anthology series Marvel Comics Presents (issues #13-37, Feb.-Dec. 1989). He later teamed with artist Dwayne Turner in the squarebound miniseries Panther's Prey (Sept. 1990 - March 1991).

Writer Christopher Priest's and penciler Mark Texeira's 1998 series The Black Panther utilized Erik Killmonger, Venomm, and other characters introduced in "Panther's Rage", together with new characters such as State Department attorney Everett Ross, the Black Panther's adopted brother, Hunter, and Panther's protege, Queen Divine Justice. The Priest-Texeira series, which was under the Marvel Knights imprint its first year, earned critical plaudits,^{[citation needed]} but sales of the comic were never high.

The last 13 issues (#50-62) saw the main character replaced by an African American New York City police officer named Kasper Cole, with T'Challa relegated to a background character. This Black Panther, who became the White Tiger, was placed in the series The Crew, running concurrently with the final few Black Panther issues. The Crew was canceled with issue #7.

In February 2005, Marvel began publishing a new ongoing Black Panther series, written by filmmaker Reginald Hudlin and penciled by artist John Romita, Jr..

[edit] Fictional character biography

[edit] Early life and background

The Black Panther is the ceremonial title given to the chief of the Panther Tribe of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. In addition to ruling the country, he is also chief of its various tribes (collectively referred to as the Wakandas). The Panther uniform is a symbol of office and is used even during diplomatic missions.

The Black Panther is entitled to the use of a heart-shaped herb that grants the person who consumes it enhanced strength, agility, and perception. The present-day bearer of the Black Panther mantle is T'Challa, who has had a lengthy career as a superhero, including a longstanding membership in The Avengers. For a brief time upon joining the superhero team the Avengers,^[1] the Black Panther wore a cowled half-mask, similar to that of Batman. In stories published in the 2000s, it came to light that the Panther originally joined the Avengers with the intention of spying on them. This drove a temporary wedge between T'Challa and his teammates.

T'Challa is the son of T'Chaka, who was the Black Panther before him. In the distant past, a massive meteorite comprised of the sound-absorbing mineral vibranium crashed in Wakanda, and was unearthed a generation before the events of the present day. Knowing that others would attempt to manipulate and dominate Wakanda for this rare and valuable resource, T'Chaka concealed his country from the outside world. He would sell off minute amounts of the valuable vibranium while surreptitiously sending the country's best scholars to study abroad, consequently turning Wakanda into one of the world's most technologically advanced nations. Eventually, however, the explorer Ulysses Klaw found his way to Wakanda to covertly create a vibranium-powered, sound-based weapon. When exposed, Klaw killed T'Chaka and other Wakandans, only to see his "sound blaster" turned on him by a grieving T'Challa, then barely a teenager. Klaw's right hand was destroyed, and he and his men fled.

During his youth, T'Challa also met and fell in love with apparent orphaned child Ororo Munroe, who would grow up to become the X-Men member Storm; the two broke up over T'Challa's need to avenge his father's death.

T'Challa earned the title and attributes of the Black Panther by defeating the various champions of the Wakandan tribes. One of his first acts was to disband and exile the Hatut Zeraze — the Wakandan secret police — and its leader, his adopted brother Hunter the White Wolf; later, to keep the peace, he picked "dora milaje" ("adored ones") from rival tribes to serve as his personal guard and ceremonial wives-in-training. He then studied abroad before returning to his kingship. To prove himself worthy as the defender of his people, T'Challa attacked the Fantastic Four and defeated them in individual combat before revealing his reasons.

After making up to the team with a sumptuous welcome, he persuaded the Fantastic Four to help him battle the returning Klaw, who had become a being made entirely of living sound. Later, T'Challa began a long association with the Avengers, and became romantically involved with the American singer Monica Lynne.

[edit] Solo adventures

Beginning in his debut solo series in Jungle Action, the Panther leaves his active Avengers membership to return to a Wakanda on the brink of civil war, bringing Lynne with him. After defeating would-be usurper Erik Killmonger and his minions, he ventures to the American South to battle the Ku Klux Klan. He later fights Kiber the Cruel during a quest for the mystic time-shifting artifacts known as King Solomon's Frogs; these produced an alternate version of T'Challa from a future ten years hence, a merry, telepathic Panther with a terminal brain aneurysm, whom T'Challa placed in cryogenic stasis.

Years later, the Panther accepts a Washington, D.C. envoy, Everett K. Ross, and faces multiple threats to Wakanda's sovereignty. First Xcon — an alliance of rogue intelligence agents — backs a coup led by the sorcerer Reverend Achebe. Afterward, Killmonger resurfaces with a plot to destroy Wakanda's economy. This forces T'Challa to nationalise foreign companies. Killmonger then defeats him in ritual combat, thus inheriting the role of Black Panther, but falls into a coma upon eating the heart-shaped herb — poisonous to anyone outside the royal bloodline, which had a hereditary immunity to its toxic effects. T'Challa preserves his rival's life rather than allowing him to die.

Later, T'Challa finds he has a brain aneurysm like his alternate future self, due to a fight with Iron Fist, and succumbs to instability and hallucinations. After his mental state almost causes tribal warfare, the Panther hands power to his council and hides in New York City. There he mentors police officer Kasper Cole (who had adopted an abandoned Panther costume), an experience that gives T'Challa the strength to face his illness, reclaim his position, and return to active membership in the Avengers, whom he helps secure special United Nations status. A revived Killmonger has since mentioned his intents to challenge T'Challa's rule.

The Panther later assists the X-Men in a mission to Niganda and afterward joins with Blade, Brother Voodoo, Luke Cage, and Monica Rambeau to fight vampires in a New Orleans ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.

[edit] Civil War and marriage

Main article: Civil War (comic book)

T'Challa then helps Ororo Munroe, with whom he had a brief romance during his teens, reunite with her surviving family members in Africa and the U.S. He shortly afterward proposes, and the two are married in a large Wakandan ceremony attended by many superheroes.

One of the couple's first tasks is to embark on a diplomatic tour, in which they visit the Inhumans, Doctor Doom, the President of the United States, and Namor, with only that last ending well. After the death of Bill Foster, the Black Panther and Storm side with Captain America's anti-registration forces. During the end battle between both sides, the Wakandan embassy in Manhattan is heavily damaged.

[edit] Joining Fantastic Four

Following the destruction of the Wakandan Embassy, the Panther and Storm join the Fantastic Four while its members Reed and Susan Richards take a leave of absence. On a mission in space, the Watcher told Black Panther and Storm that their children would have a special destiny.

In the Fantastic Four comic series, the new team recently went to outer space to retrieve the body of Greg Willis, the super hero Gravity. Gravity was brought back to life by Epoch, a living planet, and given cosmic powers. While the new FF faced off with the Silver Surfer and Stardust, Gravity used his new power to satisfy Galactus' hunger, keeping him from feeding on Epoch. This resulted in Gravity giving up his new power, which was what he wanted.

In the Black Panther comic series, the group was attacked by a large beetle-like creature, and T'Challa tried to send it away with the teleportation powers of two magical frogs. Instead, they were all transported to a Skrull homeworld in the alternate universe where most of the Marvel heroes have not only become Zombies, but have also gained the powers of Galactus. A group of zombies descend upon the planet, breaking through all defenses and commencing to eat anyone they find. Meanwhile, T'Challa comes face-to-face (via telecommunication monitor) with his counterpart in this universe, who has not been infected with the zombie virus. The Four work together with the Skrulls to escape, but the Skrulls turn on them. Storm uses her power to crash the ship they're in, but the team is quickly attacked by zombified Skrulls with the original Fantastic Four's powers.

In the World War Hulk mini-series, Black Panther and Storm are seen working with the original Fantastic Four on technology intended to calm the Hulk by simulating the presence of the Sentry. Unfortunately, the Hulk doesn't fall for it, and the whole team is defeated.

[edit] Powers and abilities

The title "Black Panther" is a rank of office, chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan. As chieftain, the Panther is entitled to eat a special heart-shaped herb that grants him superhumanly acute senses and increases his strength, speed, stamina, and agility to the peak of human development. T'Challa is a rigorously trained gymnast and acrobat, proficient in various African martial arts as well as contemporary ones. He is a skilled hunter, tracker, strategist, and scientist — he has a Ph.D. degree in physics from Oxford University. He can pick up a prey's scent and memorize tens of thousands of individual ones.

As king of Wakanda, the Panther has access to a vast collection of magical artifacts, technological and military hardware, as well as the support of his nation's wide array of scientists, warriors, and mystics. The Wakandan military has been described as one of the most powerful on Earth.

In Volume 3, writer Christopher Priest expanded the Panther's day-to-day arsenal to include equipment such as an "energy dagger", a vibranium-weave suit, and a portable supercomputer, the "Kimoyo card." In Volume 4, writer Reginald Hudlin introduced such specialized equipment as "thrice-blessed armor" and "light armor" for specific tasks, and also outfitted him with the Ebony Blade.

[edit] Allies

Main article: Wakanda: Black Panther Allies

[edit] Nemeses

Main article: Wakanda: Black Panther Nemeses

[edit] Other versions

[edit] 2099

A Black Panther was featured in the Marvel Knights 2099 one shots. A new Black Panther rose to fight and thwart the mounting invasions by the successor of Doom. While the victory over the new Doom appeared triumphant, the new Wakandan king was ultimately revealed to be a puppet of Doom.^[2]

[edit] Marvel Zombies

Black Panther is one of the few uninfected superheroes in the alternate-universe series Marvel Zombies, where he is kept as a food supply for the Zombie Giant-Man. Despite having lost most of his right arm and left leg, the Black Panther escapes with the aid of the head of the Wasp, joining forces with the mutant group the Acolytes.

[edit] Mangaverse

T'challa appears in the Marvel Mangaverse as a man, with a pet panther. When summoning the spirits, T'challa and his panther combine to become the Black Panther. This Black Panther was romantically attracted to Tigra .

[edit] Ultimate Black Panther

The Black Panther appears on the wraparound cover of the alternate-universe Ultimate Marvel series Ultimates 3, upcoming as of 2007.^[3].

[edit] Coal Tiger

Jack Kirby's original, unused conception for the character, under the name Coal Tiger, featured a colorful uniform with striped pants and no face mask. As an homage to Kirby's concept, Marvel has used a character named the Coal Tiger on two occasions:

• Coal Tiger (I) A parallel universe version of T'Challa as the Coal Tiger briefly appeared in a mid-1990s issue of The Avengers.
• Coal Tiger (II) - In the 2000s MC2 parallel-universe series A-Next #4 and 12, Coal Tiger is T'Chaka, son of T'Challa in this possible future. He is an ally of the Avengers of that era.

[edit] In other media

[edit] Television

• The Black Panther appears in the "Prey Of The Black Panther" episode of the 1994 Fantastic Four animated TV series, voiced by Keith David.
• The Black Panther cameos in the "Sanctuary" episode of the X-Men animated TV series.
• In The Avengers: United They Stand, a portrait of the Panther hangs in Avengers Mansion in Episode 1. While the Black Panther does not appear in the animated series, he does appear in issues #1 and #6-7 of the comic-book series based on the show.

[edit] Features

• The Black Panther appears in the direct-to-DVD animated feature Ultimate Avengers 2 as a central character voiced by Jeffrey D. Sams.

[edit] Video games

• The Black Panther is an unlockable character (by collecting five action figures of this character) in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance voiced by Phil LaMarr. If a hero talks to him, he will bring up his history like his father being killed by Klaw and how he became the king of Wakanda. His costumes include modern, classic, ceremonial, and holy armor. Black Panther has special dialogue with Deathbird and Ghost Rider. A simulation disk has Black Panther fighting Dark Captain America in Murderworld after Arcade threatens T'Challa to give the secret codes to Wakanda's vibrainium facility (which of course doesn't tell).

[edit] Film

In June 1992, Wesley Snipes announced his intention to make a film about the Black Panther.^[4] By August, Snipes had begun working on the film.^[5] In July 1993, Snipes announced plans to begin The Black Panther after starring in Demolition Man.^[6] Snipes said in August 1993, "We have a wide-open field for comic book characters on the big screen and we've yet to have a major black comic book hero on the screen. Especially the Black Panther, which is such a rich, interesting life. It's a dream come true to originate something that nobody's ever seen before." Snipes expressed interest in making sequels to The Black Panther.^[7]

In January 1994, Snipes entered talks with Columbia Pictures to portray the Black Panther in the film adaptation of the comic book superhero.^[8] The following March, Stan Lee joined the development process for a film about the Black Panther.^[9] By May, the film was in early development with Columbia Pictures.^[10] In January 1996, Stan Lee said that he had not been pleased with the scripts he had encountered for the Black Panther.^[11] In July 1997, the Black Panther was listed as part of Marvel Comics' film slate.^[12] In March 1998, Marvel hired Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti to work on the Black Panther film adaptation.^[13] In August, corporate problems at Marvel had put the Black Panther project on hold.^[14] In August 1999, Snipes was set to produce, and possibly star, in the film featuring the Black Panther.^[15]

In Marvel's June 2000 deal with Artisan Entertainment to develop big- and small-screen products, the Black Panther was one of the four names (among Captain America, Thor, and Deadpool) that surfaced.^[16] In March 2002, Snipes told Cinescape magazine that he planned to do Blade 3 or Black Panther in 2003.^[17] In August 2002, Snipes said he hoped to begin production on Black Panther by 2003.^[18] In July 2004, Blade 3 director David S. Goyer said that Wesley Snipes would not likely be Black Panther. "He's already so entrenched as Blade that another Marvel hero might be overkill," said Goyer.^[19] In September 2005, Marvel chairman and CEO Avi Arad announced Black Panther as one of the ten Marvel films that would be developed by Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures.^[20] In June 2006, Snipes told Men's Fitness magazine that a lot of work had already been done for a film adaptation of the Black Panther, and that he hoped to have a director soon.^[21] In February 2007, Kevin Feige, president of production for Marvel Studios, stated that Black Panther was on Marvel's development slate.^[22]

In July 2007, director John Singleton said that he was approached to do Black Panther.^[23]

[edit] Quotes

• Dwayne McDuffie on the 1970s "Black Panther" series : "This overlooked and underrated classic is arguably the most tightly written multi-part superhero epic ever. If you can get your hands on it (and where's that trade paperback collection, Marvel?), sit down and read the whole thing. It's damn-near flawless, every issue, every scene, a functional, necessary part of the whole. Okay, now go back and read any individual issue. You'll find seamlessly integrated words and pictures; clearly introduced characters and situations; a concise (sometimes even transparent) recap; beautifully developed character relationships; at least one cool new villain; a stunning action set piece to test our hero's skills and resolve; and a story that is always moving forward towards a definite and satisfying conclusion. That's what we should all be delivering, every single month. Don McGregor and company did it in only 17 story pages per issue".^[24]

[edit] Bibliography

• Jungle Action Vol. 2, #5-24 (July 1973 - Nov. 1976)
• The Black Panther #1-15 (Jan. 1977 - May 1979)
• Marvel Premiere #51-53 (Dec. 1979 - April 1980)
• Black Panther Vol. 2, #1-4 (miniseries; July-Oct. 1988)
• "Panther's Quest" Parts 1-25 in Marvel Comics Presents #13-37 (Feb.-Dec. 1989)
• Black Panther: Panther's Prey prestige-format miniseries #1-4 (May-Oct. 1991)
• Black Panther Vol. 3, #1-62 (Nov. 1998 - Sept. 2003)
• Black Panther Vol. 4, #1- (April 2005- )

[edit] See also

• African characters in comics
• List of African-American firsts

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Christopher Priest's website
• Reginald Hudlin's website
• Don McGregor's website
• The Australian Panther created 1957