Black Panther of Wakanda

Black Panther is a fictional superhero created by Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby and was published under the Marvel Comics. He first appeared in the comic series of Fantastic Four in issue #52 during the comics’ silver age.

In the series, Black Panther was called T’challa and is portrayed as the protector of a fictional place called Wakanda. Moreover, Black Panther was one of the other black Marvel supeheroesthat debuted on the mainstream comics, along with the Falcon, Luke Cage, and Blade.

Black Panther in Comics

Although Black Panther seems similar to a US army called the Black Panther Tank Battalion, comic creator, Stan Lee, denied that it was derived from the said party. During Black Panther’s brief appearance on the Fantastic Four issue #119 released in 1972, Black Panther was called the ‘Black Leopard.’ This was to avoid the misconception that the name was derived from the US party of the same name, although the name did not last. Consequently, the name was brought back to Black Panther once again.In the comic series, the Black Panther is the traditional title given to Wakanda’s leader. Furthermore, a Black Panther is also the leader of different tribes, collectively called the ‘Wakandas.’ Although the Panther is an inherited title, it still needs to be won.

Black Panther was influenced by Lee’s desire to bring more Afro-American characters to Marvel Comics in the mid-1960s. In fact, in 1963, Gabe Jones, a black character, was included as a part of the ensemble cast of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos.However, Marvel has had some internal debate on how far it would go concerning the commercial risk of introducing a black superhero in public. On the subsequent comic series, the Black Panther wore a suit, which revealed his face. Although, in the published edition of the cover for Fantastic Four #52, Black Panther’s costume comes with a complete face mask, obscuring the whole face. Furthermore, Marvel’s uncertainty became apparent as they released a Black Panther comic preview without a cover.

After his debut in Fantastic Four issue #52 to #45 released in 1966, Black Panther had subsequently appeared in more comic series including, Captain America in Suspense Tales issue #97 to #100, and Fantastic Four Annual issue #5. After Black Panther traveled from Wakanda to New York City, he appeared in The Avengers issue #52 in 1968. While with the Avengers, he appeared solo in three issues from Daredevil and fought against Doom in his short feature in Astonishing Tales issue #6 to #7 in June and August 1971.In July 1973, on issue #5 of Jungle Action, Black Panther received his first starring feature. In addition, the following new series of Jungle Action, written by Don McGregor, was released in 1973 up to 1976. However, the next sixteenth to the eighteenth series was canceled and published in Marvel premier series #51 to #53.In 1988, on a series written by Peter Gillis, a four miniseries comic was issued for the Black Panther, Volume 2 series. Also, in 1991, another miniseries titled Black Panther: Panther’s Prey was released.

In the following years, Black Panther had appeared on more series aside from his own comic series, the Black Panther. In 2015, Black Panther, Volume 4 was released under Marvel’s publication. The forty-one issues run from April 2005 to November 2008, with Reginald Hudlin as the writer. Furthermore, in 2009, Black Panther volume 5 was released, which was once again written by Hudlin. However, in 2016, a new Black Panther series was released under the writer Ta-Neshi Coates. In 2017, a series called ‘Black Panther: Long Live the King’ was launched under Nnedi Okorafor as a writer.

Black Panther Comic Origin

Long ago, a meteorite made out of a chemical called vibranium collided in Wakanda. Learning how powerful and versatile the vibranium is, the rulers of Wakanda, decided to preserve their valuable resource. With this, the King, along with the other Panthers, concealed Wakanda from the outside world.However, an explorer named Ulysses Klaw, along with his men, went to Wakanda and attempted to seize the vibranium. During Klaw’s attempt, young T’Challa used Klaw’s sound weapon to combat Klaw’s men, and eventually Klaw who’s right hand was damaged during the fight. Klaw fled after the fight, although T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, was killed.Even though it was T’Challa’s turn to be the next King and Black Panther, his uncle, S’yan, surpassed him on the trials of becoming a King. His uncle took the position until T’Challa was deemed ready to be the King and the Black Panther of Wakanda.

In the following years, by beating the numerous champions of the Wakandan tribes, T’Challa won the Black Panther’s title. He then sold a small portion of vibraniumto scientific institutionsaround the world. He used the fortune he earned on equipping himself and maintaining the peace in Wakanda.

Black Panther in 2018 Film

Black Panther (2018) is an American superhero film based on the Black Panther comic series released by Marvel Comics. The film was the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by the Disney Motion Picture. This 2018 Black Panther film adaptation was directed by Ryan Coogler, with writer Joe Robert Cole. The film starred Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, alongside Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, and Daniel Kaluuya.

In the Black Panther film version, T’Challa is recognized as the King of Wakanda (also known as the Black Panther) after his father’s death. However, T’Challa was challenged by Killmonger, who plans to begin a global revolution and abandon Wakanda’s isolationist policies.