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Black Panther is a fictional character appearing in
American comic books An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'', ...
published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
. The character was created by writer-editor
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
and artist-coplotter
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...
. The character first appeared in ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' #52 (
cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
d July 1966) in the
Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books and an int ...
. Black Panther's real name is T'Challa, and he is depicted as the king and protector of the fictional African nation of
Wakanda Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther (comics), Black Pa ...
. Along with possessing enhanced abilities achieved through ancient Wakandan rituals of drinking the essence of the heart-shaped herb, T'Challa also relies on his proficiency in science, rigorous physical training, hand-to-hand combat skills, and access to wealth and advanced Wakandan technology to combat his enemies. Black Panther is the first protagonist of
African descent Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
in mainstream American comics, having debuted years before early
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
superheroes such as Marvel Comics' the
Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...
(1969),
Luke Cage Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
(1972), and
Blade A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historic ...
(1973) or
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
' John Stewart in the role of
Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...
(1971). In one comic book storyline, the Black Panther mantle is handled by
Kasper Cole Kevin "Kasper" Cole is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is the third to use the name White Tiger (comics), White Tiger. He has also adopted the moniker of the Black Panther (comics ...
, a multiracial
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
. Beginning as an impersonator, Cole would later take on the moniker of
White Tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...
and become an ally to T'Challa. The role of Black Panther and leadership of Wakanda was also given to T'Challa's sister Shuri while he was in a coma for a short time. Black Panther has made numerous appearances in various television shows, animated films and video games.
Chadwick Boseman Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...
portrayed the
character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
in Phase Three of the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
's films: '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), ''
Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'' (2018), '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), and '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), and voiced alternate versions of the character in the first season of the
animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
'' What If...?'' (2021).


Concept and creation


Name

The Black Panther's name predates the October 1966 founding of the
Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...
, though not the black panther logo of the party's predecessor, the
Lowndes County Freedom Organization The Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO), also known as the Lowndes County Freedom Party (LCFP) or Black Panther party, was an American political party founded during 1965 in Lowndes County, Alabama. The independent third party was formed ...
(LCFO), nor the segregated
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
761st "Black Panthers" Tank Battalion. Scripter Stan Lee denied that the comic, which pre-dates the political usage of the term, was, or could have been, named after any of the political uses of the term "black panther", including the LCFO, citing "a strange coincidence". He is the first black superhero in American mainstream
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s; very few black heroes were created before him, and none with actual superpowers. These included the characters in the single-issue, low distribution '' All-Negro Comics'' #1 (1947). Reprinted from ''
Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...
'' February 28, 1997, pp. 32, 34, 37-38. Article includes reprinted editorial page "All-Negro Comics: Presenting Another First in Negro History" from ''All-Negro Comics'' #1
Waku, Prince of the Bantu, who starred in his own feature in the omnibus title ''
Jungle Tales ''Jungle Tales'' (later called ''Jann of the Jungle'') was an American comic book title published by Atlas Comics, the 1950s predecessor to Marvel Comics. It was an anthology title of stories set in an African jungle. Publication history Jungl ...
'', from Marvel's 1950s predecessor, Atlas Comics and the
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark"Wh ...
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
character Lobo, the first black person to star in his own comic book. Previous non-
caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
d black supporting characters in comics include
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
private Gabriel Jones of ''
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...
''. In a guest appearance in ''Fantastic Four'' #119 (February 1972), the Black Panther briefly used the name Black Leopard to avoid connotations with the Party, but the new name did not last. The character's name was changed back to Black Panther in ''The Avengers'' #105, with T'Challa explaining that renaming himself made as much sense as altering the
Scarlet Witch Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
's name, and he is not a stereotype. Co-creator
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
recounted that the name was inspired by a pulp adventure hero who has a
black panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
as a helper. Jack Kirby's original concept art for Black Panther used the concept name Coal Tiger. Influences on the character included historical figures such as 14th-century
Mali Empire The Mali Empire ( Manding: ''Mandé''Ki-Zerbo, Joseph: ''UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV, Abridged Edition: Africa from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century'', p. 57. University of California Press, 1997. or Manden; ar, مالي, Māl ...
sultan
Mansa Musa Mansa Musa ( ar, منسا موسى, Mansā Mūsā; ) was the ninth ''mansa'' of the Mali Empire, which reached its territorial peak during his reign. Musa is known for his wealth and generosity. He has been subject to popular claims that he is ...
and 20th-century Jamaican activist
Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...
, as well as
Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
figures such as
Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...
and
Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
.


Publication history

The origin of the idea for the character was disputed by both Kirby and Lee. Jack Kirby claimed sole credit for the creation of the character in ''
The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...
'' #134, from February 1990, stating that a realization that there were no black characters in his comics demanded some be added for "human reasons". Stan Lee claims the character was created by his desire in the mid-60s to include more African and African-American characters in Marvel Comics. While there is no documentation showing which version of the creation is closer to the truth, by 1966 Kirby is thought to have been largely plotting the book on his own and was having to explain the stories to Lee when the pages arrived in the Marvel offices, as had happened a few issues prior with the Silver Surfer in ''The Fantastic Four'' #48 (March 1966). In a 1968 interview Lee stated: In an interview, Kirby shared the same genesis as Lee, "I came up with the Black Panther because I realized I had no blacks in my strip. I’d never drawn a black. I needed a black. I suddenly discovered that I had a lot of black readers. My first friend was a black! And here I was ignoring them because I was associating with everybody else." Roy Thomas has made claims that support Lee's version of events, while Kirby was supported by his wife and prior artwork. In 1963, they included a black character,
Gabe Jones Gabriel "Gabe" Jones is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, he made his first appearance in World War II war comics series ' ...
, in the ensemble cast of ''
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...
'', and Lee encouraged artists to include black characters in crowd scenes. In a 1998 interview, Lee explained his motivation: "I wasn't thinking of civil rights. I had a lot of friends who were black and we had artists who were black. So, it occurred to me... why aren't there any black heroes?" Soon after Black Panther was introduced, Marvel also added two more recurring black characters: Jill Jerrold in ''
Modeling with Millie ''Millie the Model'' was Marvel Comics' longest-running humor title, first published by the company's 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and continuing through its 1950s forerunner, Atlas Comics, to 1970s Marvel. The comic book series deals with ...
'', and Bill Foster in '' The Avengers''. There was some internal debate at Marvel with Lee being unsure about how far to go with the commercially risky introduction of a black superhero. In the first version of the cover for ''Fantastic Four'' #52, Kirby drew the Black Panther wearing a cowl that exposed his face. In the published version, the cowl became a full face-mask. Previews in other comics did not show the cover at all, indicating that Lee was hesitant. Following his debut in ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'' #52–53 (July – August 1966) and subsequent guest appearance in ''Fantastic Four'' Annual #5 (1967) and with
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
in ''
Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series and two one-shot comics published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for such arti ...
'' #97–99 and ''Captain America'' 100 (January – April 1968), the Black Panther journeyed from the fictional African nation of
Wakanda Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther (comics), Black Pa ...
to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to join the titular American superhero team in '' The Avengers'' #52 (May 1968), appearing in that comic for the next few years. During his time with the Avengers, he made solo guest-appearances in three issues of '' Daredevil'', and fought
Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
in ''
Astonishing Tales ''Astonishing Tales'' is an American anthology comic book series originally published by Marvel Comics from 1970 to 1976. Its sister publication was ''Amazing Adventures'' (vol. 2). In 2008 and 2009, Marvel produced 11 webcomics starring differ ...
'' #6–7 (June & August 1971), in that
supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...
's short-lived starring feature. He received his first starring feature with ''
Jungle Action ''Jungle Action'' is the name of two American comic book series published by Marvel Comics and its 1950s precursor, Atlas Comics. The Marvel version contained the first series starring the Black Panther, the first black superhero in mainstream com ...
'' #5 (July 1973), a reprint of the Panther-centric story in ''The Avengers'' #62 (March 1969). A new series began running the following issue, written by
Don McGregor Donald Francis McGregor (born June 15, 1945) is an American comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics; he is the author of one of the first graphic novels. Early life Don McGregor was born in Providence, Rhode Island, where he w ...
, with art by
pencilers A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...
Rich Buckler Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...
,
Gil Kane Gil Kane (; born Eli Katz ; April 6, 1926 – January 31, 2000) was a Latvian-born American comics artist whose career spanned the 1940s to the 1990s and virtually every major comics company and character. Kane co-created the modern-day versio ...
, and
Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...
, and which gave inkers
Klaus Janson Klaus Janson (born January 23, 1952) is a German-born American comics artist, working regularly for Marvel Comics and DC Comics and sporadically for independent companies. While he is best known as an inker, Janson has frequently worked as a penc ...
and Bob McLeod some of their first professional exposure. The critically acclaimed series ran in ''Jungle Action'' #6–24 (September 1973 – November 1976).''Jungle Action'', Marvel, 1973 Series
, at the Grand Comics Database.
One now-common format McGregor pioneered was that of the self-contained, multi-issue story arc. The first, "Panther's Rage", ran through the first 13 issues. Critic Jason Sacks has called the arc "Marvel's first
graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
": The second and final arc, "Panther vs. the Klan", ran as mostly 17-page stories in ''Jungle Action'' #19–24 (January – November 1976), except for issue #23, a reprint of ''Daredevil'' #69 (October 1970), in which the Black Panther guest-starred. The subject matter of the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
was considered controversial in the Marvel offices at the time, creating difficulties for the creative team. African-American writer-editor
Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series ''Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and ''Ben 10 ...
said of the ''Jungle Action'' "Black Panther" feature: Though popular with college students, the overall sales of ''Jungle Action'' were low, and Marvel relaunched the Black Panther in a self-titled series, bringing in the character's co-creator
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gr ...
—newly returned to Marvel after having decamped to rival
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
for a time—as writer, penciler, and editor. However, Kirby wanted to work on new characters and was unhappy at being assigned a series starring a character he had already worked with extensively. He left the series after only 12 issues and was replaced by
Ed Hannigan Ed Hannigan (born August 6, 1951) is an Americans, American comics artist, writer, and editor for both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Career Ed Hannigan's first credited comics story was published in Marvel Comics' Brand licensing, licensed ''Pla ...
(writer),
Jerry Bingham Gerald Joseph Bingham Jr. (born June 25, 1953, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American artist who has worked in the fields of comic books, commercial illustration, and design. He is known for his artwork on ''Marvel Team-Up'' and the DC Comics gra ...
(penciler), and
Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfor ...
(editor). ''Black Panther'' ran 15 issues (January 1977 – May 1979).''Black Panther'', Marvel, 1977 Series
at the Grand Comics Database
Due to the series getting discontinued, the contents of what would have been ''Black Panther'' #16–18 were published in ''
Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...
'' #51–53. A four-issue
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, ''Black Panther'' vol. 2, (July – October 1988) was written by Peter B. Gillis and penciled by
Denys Cowan Denys B. Cowan (born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media. Early life Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s ...
.''Black Panther'', Marvel, 1988 Series
at the Grand Comics Database
McGregor revisited his Panther saga with
Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...
in "Panther's Quest", published as 25 eight-page installments within the bi-weekly
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
series ''
Marvel Comics Presents ''Marvel Comics Presents'' was an American comic book anthology series published by Marvel Comics originally from 1988 to 1995. It returned for a second volume in 2007–2008, and a third volume that started in 2019. Volume 1 The first volume ...
'' (issues #13–37, Feb.–December 1989). He later teamed with artist
Dwayne Turner Dwayne Turner (born August 9) is an American comic book artist and illustrator in the film and video game industry. Biography Turner began his professional career in the late 1980s while still in college''Black Panther: Panther's Prey''
at the Grand Comics Database
McGregor conceived a fifth arc in his Black Panther saga, titled "Panther's Vows", but it failed to get off the ground. Writer Christopher Priest's and penciller
Mark Texeira Mark Texeira () is an American comic book artist. Classically trained as a painter, he broke into the comics field in the early 1980s. Career Mark Texeira was born and raised in New York City. He attended Manhattan's High School of Art and ...
's 1998 series ''The Black Panther'' vol. 3 used
Erik Killmonger Erik Killmonger ( né N'Jadaka) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler, he first appeared in ''Jungle Action'' #6 (September 1973). The character is commonly depi ...
,
Venomm Venomm or Horatio Venomm is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Venomm first appeared in ''Jungle Action'' #6 and was created by Don McGregor and Rich Buckler. Fictional char ...
, 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 the Panther's protégé, Queen Divine Justice. The Priest-Texeira series was under the
Marvel Knights Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', '' Daredevil ...
imprint in its first year. Priest said the creation of character Ross contributed heavily to his decision to write the series. "I realized I could use Ross to bridge the gap between the African culture that the Black Panther mythos is steeped in and the predominantly white readership that Marvel sells to," adding that in his opinion, the Black Panther had been misused in the years after his creation. The last 13 issues (#50–62) saw the main character replaced by a
multiracial Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
New York City police officer named
Kasper Cole Kevin "Kasper" Cole is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is the third to use the name White Tiger (comics), White Tiger. He has also adopted the moniker of the Black Panther (comics ...
, with T'Challa relegated to a supporting character. This Black Panther, who became the
White Tiger The white tiger or bleached tiger is a leucistic pigmentation variant of the Mainland tiger. It is reported in the wild from time to time in the Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, in the Sunderbans region and ...
, was placed in the series '' The Crew'', running concurrently with the final few ''Black Panther'' issues. ''The Crew'' was canceled with issue #7. In 2005, Marvel began publishing ''Black Panther'' vol. 4, which ran 41 issues (April 2005 – November 2008). It was initially written by filmmaker
Reginald Hudlin Reginald Alan Hudlin (born December 15, 1961) is an American film screenwriter, director, producer, and comic-book writer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was P ...
(through issue #38) and penciled by John Romita, Jr. (through #6). Hudlin said he wanted to add " street cred" to the title, although he noted that the book was not necessarily or primarily geared toward an African-American readership. As influences for his characterization of the character, Hudlin has cited comic character
Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
, film director
Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
, and music artist
Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...
. ''Black Panther'' vol. 5 launched in February 2009, with Hudlin, again scripting, introducing a successor Black Panther, T'Challa's sister Shuri. Hudlin co-wrote issue #7 with
Jonathan Maberry Jonathan Maberry (born May 18, 1958) is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers. ...
, who then became the new writer, joined by artist Will Conrad. The Panther was also a featured player, with members of the Fantastic Four and the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
, in the Doctor Doom-based, six-issue miniseries ''Doomwar'' (April – September 2010). T'Challa then accepted an invitation from Matt Murdock, the superhero Daredevil, to become the new protector of New York City's
Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the eas ...
neighborhood. He became the lead character in ''Daredevil'' beginning with issue #513 (February 2011), when that series was retitled ''Black Panther: The Man Without Fear''. Under writer David Liss and artist Francesco Francavilla, he took on the identity of Mr. Okonkwo, an immigrant from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
, and becomes the owner of a small diner in order to be close to the people. A new ''Black Panther'' series written by
Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author and journalist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political issues, parti ...
and drawn by
Brian Stelfreeze Brian Stelfreeze is an American comic book artist. Stelfreeze is a painter, penciller, inker and colorist and has worked for nearly every major American comic book publisher. He is one of the original members of Atlanta's Gaijin Studios. Career ...
was launched in 2016 and continues to be published with Coates as the head writer. In 2017, the
Africanfuturist Africanfuturism is a cultural aesthetic and philosophy of science that centers on the fusion of African culture, history, mythology, point of view, with technology based in Africa and not limiting to the diaspora. It was coined by Nigerian Americ ...
writer
Nnedi Okorafor Nnedimma Nkemdili "Nnedi" Okorafor (formerly Okorafor-Mbachu; born April 8, 1974) is a Nigerian-American writer of science fiction and fantasy for both children and adults. She is best known for her ''Binti Series'' and her novels ''Who Fears ...
wrote the series ''Black Panther: Long Live the King''. In February 2018, Christopher Priest, Don McGregor, and Reginald Hudlin each contributed one story to the ''Black Panther'' Annual #1. In May 2021, Marvel Comics announced the screenwriter and director
John Ridley John Ridley IV (born 1965) is an American screenwriter, television director, novelist, and showrunner, known for '' 12 Years a Slave'', for which he won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. He is also the creator and showrunner of the a ...
will write Black Panther comics. In July 2022 the limited series ''Wakanda'' was announced, written by Stephanie Williams and illustrated by Paco Medina, the series will have a backup series titled ''History of the Black Panthers'', written by Evan Narcisse and illustrated by Natacha Bustos. In August 2022, Marvel announced the one-shot ''Black Panther: Unconquered'', written by
Bryan Edward Hill Bryan Edward Hill is an American author, screenwriter, musician, comic book writer, and graphic designer. Early life and education Hill was born in Chicago and moved to St. Louis, Missouri as a child, where he attended the prep academy John Burrou ...
and illustrated by Alberto Foche.


Fictional character biography


Early life and background

The Black Panther is the ceremonial hereditary 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
paramount chief A paramount chief is the English-language designation for the highest-level political leader in a regional or local polity or country administered politically with a chief-based system. This term is used occasionally in anthropological and arch ...
of its various tribes (collectively referred to as the Wakandas). The Panther habit is a symbol of office (head of state) and is used during diplomatic missions. In the distant past, a
meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...
made of the fictional mineral
vibranium Vibranium () is a fictional metal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, noted for its extraordinary abilities to absorb, store, and release large amounts of kinetic energy. Mined only in Wakanda, the metal is associated w ...
crashed in Wakanda, and was unearthed. Reasoning that outsiders would exploit Wakanda for the resource, the ruler, King
T'Chaka T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of h ...
, concealed his country from the outside world. T'Chaka's first wife N'Yami died while in labor with T'Challa, and his second wife Ramonda was taken prisoner by Anton Pretorius during a visit to her homeland of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. For most of his childhood T'Challa was raised by his father alone.''Marvel Comics Presents'' #13–37 (February – December 1989) T'Chaka was killed by Ulysses Klaw in an attempt to seize the vibranium. With his people still in danger, a young T'Challa used Klaw's weapon on Klaw and his men, shattering Klaw's right hand and forcing him to flee.''Fantastic Four'' #53 (August 1966) T'Challa was next in line to be the king of Wakanda and Black Panther, but until he was ready to become the leader of the nation, his uncle S'yan (T'Chaka's younger brother) successfully passed the trials to become the Black Panther. While on his Wakandan
walkabout Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...
rite of passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
, T'Challa met and fell in love with apparent orphaned teen Ororo Munroe, who would grow up to become the X-Men member Storm. The two broke off their relationship due to his desire to avenge his father's death and to become the type of man who could suitably lead Wakanda, but they would see each other over the years when they could. 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 Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
—and its leader, his adopted brother Hunter the White Wolf. He sold off small portions of vibranium to scientific institutions around the world, amassing a fortune which he used to arm himself with advanced technology. Later, to keep 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 for a time before returning to his kingship. In his first published appearance, the now-adult T'Challa invites the American superhero team the Fantastic Four to Wakanda, then attacks and attempts to neutralize them individually in order to test himself to see if he is ready to battle Klaw, who had replaced his shattered right hand with a sonic weapon. For their part, the Four manage to rally and stymie T'Challa in a team counter-attack, enabling the impressed King to stand down and explain himself to the team's satisfaction. After the ruler makes proper amends to the Four, they befriend and help T'Challa, and he in turn aids them against the supervillain the
Psycho-Man Psycho-Man is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Psycho-Man first appeared in ''Fantastic Four Annual'' #5 (Nov. 1967) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Fictional charact ...
. T'Challa later joins the Avengers, beginning a long association with that superhero team. He first battles the
Man-Ape Man-Ape (M'Baku) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a frequent enemy of Black Panther. Man-Ape has made scattered appearances on animated television series an ...
while with the group, and then meets the American singer Monica Lynne, with whom he becomes romantically involved. He helps the Avengers defeat the second
Sons of the Serpent The Sons of the Serpent are a supervillain group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The Sons of the Serpent first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #32 (Sept 1966) and were created by Stan Lee and Don He ...
, and then reveals his true identity on American television. He encounters Daredevil and reveals to him he had deduced Daredevil's true identity.


Return to Wakanda

After receiving numerous urgent official letters requesting him to return to his increasingly troubled homeland, the Panther eventually 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, the Panther ventures to the American South to battle the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
. He later gains possession of the mystical time-shifting artifacts known as King Solomon's Frogs. These produce an alternate version of T'Challa from a future 10 years hence, a merry,
telepathic Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...
Panther with a terminal
brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circul ...
, whom T'Challa places in cryogenic stasis. Later, while searching for and finding his stepmother Ramonda, the Panther contends with South African authorities during
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
. T'Challa eventually proposes and becomes engaged to Monica Lynne, though the couple never marry. Years later, the Panther accepts a
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
envoy, Everett K. Ross, and faces multiple threats to Wakanda's sovereignty. Ross assists him in many of these threats. In gratitude, the Panther often risks much for Ross in return. The first threat he and Ross encounter is "Xcon", an alliance of rogue intelligence agents backing a coup led by the Reverend Achebe. Afterward, Killmonger resurfaces with a plot to destroy Wakanda's economy. This forces T'Challa to
nationalize Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
foreign companies. Killmonger then defeats him in ritual combat, thus inheriting the role of Black Panther, but falls into a
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
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, 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.


Marriage and passing the mantle

T'Challa recounts the story of his ascension as the Black Panther in the fourth volume of his eponymous comic book series. He defeated his uncle during the Black Panther celebration, and during his
walkabout Walkabout is a rite of passage in Australian Aboriginal society, during which males undergo a journey during adolescence, typically ages 10 to 16, and live in the wilderness for a period as long as six months to make the spiritual and traditiona ...
when he met and fell in love with a street urchin named Ororo in Cairo, Egypt. Unbeknownst to him the US government is planning a coup to get access to the vibranium. They allow Klaw to recruit a team of villains to support his totalitarian neighbor, Niganda. Klaw recruits
Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
,
Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...
,
Batroc the Leaper Georges Batroc the Leaper (french: Batroc le Sauteur) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in ''Tales of Suspense'' #7 ...
, and
Radioactive Man Radioactive Man may refer to: *Radioactive Man (comics), a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe *Radioactive Man (The Simpsons), a fictional comic book superhero in ''The Simpsons'' :*''List_of_The_Simpsons_comics#Radioactive_Man, Radio ...
to lead the invasion. The US government then deploys an army of
Deathlok Deathlok (also referred to as Deathlok the Demolisher) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Astonishing Tales'' #25 (Aug. 1974), created by Rich Buckler. At least three subs ...
s to "support" T'Challa and justify an invasion, but T'Challa kills Klaw, and Storm wipes out the Deathlok army in a hurricane. T'Challa then helps his old flame Ororo Munroe reunite with her surviving family members in Africa and the U.S. Shortly afterwards, he 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 The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peop ...
, Doctor Doom, the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
and
Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies In ...
, with only the last one 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 A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
is heavily damaged, though no Wakandans are hurt. After the confrontation, the Panther and Storm briefly fill in for vacationing Fantastic Four members
Reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...
and Sue Richards before returning to Wakanda. Upon returning to Wakanda alone, leaving Storm in New York to aid the X-Men, Black Panther faces Erik Killmonger, defeating him with assistance from
Monica Rambeau Monica Rambeau is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita Jr., the character debuted in ''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #16 (October 1982). Monica w ...
(a.k.a. Pulsar). Afterward, Wakanda fends off the alien shapeshifters the
Skrulls The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated from ...
, who had infiltrated as part of their "
Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight-issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008. The story involves a subversive, long-term in ...
" plan to conquer Earth. Prince Namor attempts to recruit T'Challa for the Cabal, a secret council of supervillains. Attacked by the forces of fellow Cabal member Doctor Doom, T'Challa is left comatose. His sister Shuri is trained as the next Black Panther, with the mantle passing onto her officially after T'Challa awakens from his coma and attempts to recover from his injuries. In the aftermath, T'Challa loses all of his enhanced attributes given to him by being the Panther totem. As a result, he works with his sorcerer, Zawavari, to accumulate a replacement. He has since made a pact with another unknown Panther deity, returning his attributes to an even higher level as well as placing incantations on his body, making himself highly resistant to most magic and mystic assaults. This has all been done in preparation for the imminent battle with Doctor Doom,''Black Panther'' vol. 5 #9–10 which culminated in T'Challa rendering all of the processed vibranium inert to give his people a chance to rebuild without their dependence on the element.


The Man Without Fear

After the events of " Shadowland", Matt Murdock (the superhero Daredevil) asks T'Challa to replace him as guardian of Hell's Kitchen, which gives T'Challa a chance to discover himself. With the help of
Foggy Nelson Franklin Percy "Foggy" Nelson is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as part of the supporting cast of Daredevil (Matt Murdock); Foggy is Matt's best friend and, for ...
, T'Challa assumes the identity of Mr. Okonkwo, an
immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
from the Congo and manager of a diner called Devil's Kitchen, so that he can blend in and learn about the denizens as an ordinary man. He gets on well with two of the Kitchen's staff: Sofija, a migrant from
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
who was formerly involved in violent
Serbian nationalism Serbian nationalism asserts that Serbs are a nation and promotes the cultural and political unity of Serbs. It is an ethnic nationalism, originally arising in the context of the general rise of nationalism in the Balkans under Ottoman rule, und ...
, and the busboy, Brian. He also gets to know some of the neighbors from his apartment block: Mr. Nantakarn and his son Alec, as well as Iris, a social worker assigned to handle cases of child abuse. T'Challa finds himself up against an ambitious new crime lord, Vlad Dinu, who styles himself "the Impaler". He also seeks an understanding with the police through Detective Alex Kurtz. During an attempt by Vlad to terminate the Panther, Brian from the Devil's Kitchen is seriously injured by an energy blast from Vlad, and is reported dead. The conflict between Vlad and the Panther becomes more personal, especially after Vlad discovers the Panther over his wife Angela dead from a gunshot wound. T'Challa learns that Iris was the serial shooter who killed abusers of children—Gabe was abused secretly by Angela. Brian was kidnapped by his doctor, Dr. Holman, at the behest of Nicolae who wanted to use someone who received a dose of Vlad's power. After being subjected to torturous experiments, Brian lost the ability to think for himself but was rescued by Gabe who also stole the serum produced from the experiment meant to endow the recipient with Vlad's powers. The Panther obtains evidence of Vlad Dinu's crimes as well as clues to Iris as the serial shooter, and turns the evidence over to Kurtz. Vlad kills his own son Nicolae before being subdued by the Panther. Gabe is arrested for attempting to take Iris' life. Before being taken away, Gabe reveals to the Panther Brian's fate. Though aware of the Panther's identity as Mr. Okonkwo, both Iris and Sofija promise to keep silent. As he attempts to find Brian, T'Challa is pitted against
Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary to ...
, who has been called in by Doctor Holman as she calls in a past favor Kraven owes her after she saved his life during a past hunt. With some help from a visiting Storm, T'Challa is able to stay ahead of Kraven long enough to lure him back to Doctor Holman's hospital and force her to admit that she cannot help Kraven with his death wish, convincing Kraven to abandon his current hunt for T'Challa and instead take her mutated animals to the
Savage Land The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It has appeared in many story arcs in ''Uncanny X-Men'' as well as other related books. Pu ...
. During the war against the Serpent, T'Challa faces Josh Glenn, a disgruntled office worker who has become the new host for the essence of the
Hate-Monger The Hate-Monger is the name of several different fictional character, fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The original character first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book) ...
after T'Challa stopped him robbing a pawn shop. Glenn attempts to create a new nationalist vigilante, the American Panther, to oppose T'Challa, but T'Challa is ultimately able to exorcise the Hate-Monger from Glenn and the American Panther disappears. T'Challa investigates a serial killer that he identifies as his former adopted brother,
White Wolf A white wolf or Arctic wolf is a mammal of the ''Canidae'' family and a subspecies of the gray wolf. It may also refer to: Organizations * White Wolf (band), a Canadian heavy metal band * White Wolf (band), white power oi band from the USA * Whi ...
, trying to draw him into a confrontation in the belief that he can defeat T'Challa without the former king's enhanced weapons. T'Challa explicitly rejects Hunter, affirming that they abandoned him because of his cruelty rather than his adopted status. While transformed by the spider virus, T'Challa faces
Overdrive Overdrive may refer to: Organizations * OverDrive, Inc., a digital distributor of entertainment media ** OverDrive Media Console, a media player developed by OverDrive, Inc. * Overdrive PC, a subsidiary of Velocity Micro Technology * Overdrive ...
and
Lady Bullseye Lady Bullseye (Maki Matsumoto) is a supervillainess appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A female counterpart of Bullseye, she was created by Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjevic, and Clay Mann, first appearing in ''Daredevil (M ...
; T'Challa gains extra arms due to the infection. During the confrontation, he learns that the Kingpin is intending to go after the Bank of Wakanda, with the goal of forcing the Bank to foreclose its current debts by selling its remaining land rights so that they can be exploited for more conventional mineral wealth. With the aid of Sam Wilson and Luke Cage, T'Challa attacks Kingpin's allies in the Hand while Shuri infiltrates the Hand as Fisk's closes current confidant, Miyu, giving Shuri access to Fisk's financial databases. Shuri plants a worm in the database that exposes most of Fisk's illegal financial transactions, with a final backdoor worm that could expose and ruin what little resources Fisk has left if he ever tries to come after Wakanda again. Satisfied that he still has the confidence to defend Wakanda directly after this victory, T'Challa returns to Wakanda after a final talk with the returned Matt Murdock.


Wakanda again

Upon his return to Wakanda, T'Challa serves as a second to his sister, Shuri, who remains the kingdom's active ruler. In preparation for an upcoming attack on Wakanda as part of the '' Avengers vs. X-Men'' storyline, the Panther Goddess returns T'Challa's abilities. Empowered by the Phoenix, Namor destroys Wakanda with a massive tidal wave. Returning to help, Storm is stunned when the Panther informs her that their marriage has been annulled.


Incursions

After witnessing an alternate Earth over Wakanda being destroyed by the
Black Swan The black swan (''Cygnus atratus'') is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon c ...
, T'Challa reforms the Illuminati—with Beast replacing the now-deceased Charles Xavier—to confront the threat of the Incursions, parallel universes colliding with each other to the destruction of both. Although able to avert one Incursion with the Infinity Gauntlet, the subsequent destruction of the Infinity Gems forces the group to decide to resort to more questionable measures to protect Earth from future Incursions, wiping Captain America's mind so that he will not remember these events, allowing them to do "what needs to be done". Although equipped with planet-destroying weapons to protect Earth, the Illuminati mostly become disgusted with the wholesale slaughter, until Namor breaks off from the group to form a new Cabal of villains to do what the heroes will not. Despite Namor's Cabal achieving legitimacy as Earth's protectors, Namor grew weary of the wholesale slaughter they carried out in the name of preserving their universe. Although he collaborated with the Illuminati in a plan to destroy the Cabal by trapping them on the next Earth to be destroyed, Black Panther and Black Bolt left him behind to die with the Cabal, disgusted at his earlier actions, although Namor and the Cabal escape to the
Ultimate universe Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint (trade name), imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Univers ...
when the other Earth has a simultaneous Incursion.


''Secret Wars''

When the final Incursion occurs during the 2015 ''
Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'' for short, is a twelve-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written ...
'' storyline, resulting in all realities collapsing into one Earth, Black Panther is one of the few heroes to survive the Incursion in a specially-designed "life pod"—other survivors including
Mister Fantastic Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards) is a superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member, and the leader, of the Fantastic Four. Richards has a mastery of mechanical, aerospace a ...
,
Star-Lord Star-Lord (Peter Jason Quill) is a fictional character and superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by Steve Englehart and Steve Gan, first appeared in ''Marvel Preview'' #4 (January 1976) ...
,
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
, the new Thor, Captain Marvel and a
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
-enhanced
Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
—although they are only released into the new world after an eight-year stasis. Retrieved by Doctor Strange, they learn that Strange has assumed a role of "sheriff" to Doctor Doom, who has appointed himself the god of the new "
Battleworld Battleworld is a fictional patchwork planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first Battleworld debuted in the ''Secret Wars'' crossover where it was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck. The s ...
" created from the multiple realities. Although Doom effortlessly kills Cyclops, Strange protects the other heroes by dispersing them across Battleworld, with T'Challa and Namor eventually discovering a new version of the Infinity Gauntlet that Strange collected, ensuring that the Gems he found would work in the location where Doom built his main fortress. Recruiting the residents of the deadlands as an army, T'Challa marches on Doom at the same time as multiple other areas rebel against him through the encouragement of the heroes, but admits when Doom confronts him that he was only intended as a distraction while Reed targets Doom's power source. As Reed takes Doom's power and sets out to rebuild the multiverse, T'Challa uses the Time Gem to take himself back to Wakanda before the Incursions, proclaiming to his people that they will lead the way to the stars and explore new ideas.


''All-New, All-Different Marvel''

As part of the ''
All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...
'', Black Panther is a member of the
Ultimates The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from ''The Ultimates'' #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel i ...
. During the 2016 "
Civil War II "Civil War II" is a 2016 comic book crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in June of that year, it is the sequel to 2006's "Civil War" and consists of a nine-issue eponymous core limited series, by writer Brian Michael Bendis ...
" storyline, Black Panther represents Wakanda on the
Alpha Flight Alpha Flight is a fictional team of Canadian superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters premiered in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120 (April 1979), and were created to serve as part of the X-Men member Wo ...
Space Program's
Board of Governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...
. He sides with Captain Marvel on needing help from an Inhuman who can predict the possible future named Ulysses Kain. Black Panther and Shuri take part in the fight against the Leviathon Tide. During Hydra's reign over America led by Arnim Zola, Baron Zemo and Steve Rogers, Panther is captured for opposing this regime, and brought into a containing room. Once Panther and Zemo are alone, Winter Soldier rescues Panther. Panther entrusts the unconscious Zemo to Winter Soldier, while trailing Rogers and Zola into the secret lab. Panther finds out that Zola infused a brainwashed Captain America with a Cosmic Cube using a stolen Stark tech modified by Zola himself, and warns his allies to retreat from a Cosmic Cube-powered Steve Rogers, but is too late. Even though one of the heroes knows they cannot defeat a Cosmic Cube-powered Supreme Hydra Rogers, Winter Soldier, Captain America (Sam Wilson) and Ant-Man (Scott Lang) trick Rogers by surrendering the last fragment of the cube to him. Winter Soldier and
Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...
steal the cube from Rogers before he uses its full potential and bring back Kobik and the real Steve Rogers. After the defeat of Supreme Hydra Steve Rogers, Black Panther establishes his quest to go across the universe with his people, and found an Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda on Planet Bast, located in the Benhazin Star System. Black Panther later hosts a meeting with Arabian Knight from Saudi Arabia,
Sabra Sabra may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Sabra (comics), a fictional Israeli female superhero in the Marvel Comics universe * Sabra (magazine), a Japanese magazine for men * ''Sabra Command'' the original title of the film ''Warhead'' * "Sabr ...
from Israel, Sunfire from Japan,
Collective Man The Collective Man (Sun, Chang, Ho, Lin, and Han Tao-Yu) is a Chinese superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Collective Man is actually an identity shared by the Tao-Yu brothers, a set of quintuplets. They pos ...
from China,
Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Ch ...
from the United Kingdom, and
Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...
from Russia in the Eden Room of Avengers Mountain. The meeting has Black Panther proposing that they work together to protect the world from future threats. Sabra talked to Black Panther about the actions caused by Namor and the Defenders of the Deep. Losing his patience, Ursa Major started to get aggressive towards Black Panther. This caused Black Panther to have Avengers Mountain's teleportation system send Ursa Major to Siberia. Afterwards, Black Panther apologized and commented to the other representatives that he hoped that the Russian government would send
Crimson Dynamo Crimson Dynamo (Russian: Багровое Динамо, '; also Красное Динамо (Krasnoe Dinamo)) is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics who have all been powered ar ...
and that they sent Ursa Major on purpose. Black Panther concluded that they will not be getting any allies from Russia. He also gave a theory that the U.S. government will not be allies of the Avengers after mentioning that somebody else repelled the Defenders of the Deep from Alaska. Black Panther later infiltrates the Pentagon to confront
Phil Coulson Agent Phillip J. Coulson ( ) is a fictional character portrayed and voiced by Clark Gregg in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise. Coulson is depicted as a high-ranking member of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D. and longtime partn ...
. When Coulson summons the Squadron Supreme of America, they plan to arrest him. Black Panther states to them that he does not know how they got their powers and that they are not the Squadron Supreme as he even asked if they trust Phil Coulson. Before they can grab him, Black Panther contacts Broo to teleport him away. As he disappears, Black Panther states that Phil Coulson will not answer their questions and that the Avengers are not their enemies unless they forced them to be.


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 consume a special heart-shaped herb which, in addition to his mystical,
shamanistic Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
connection with the Wakandan Panther Goddess Bast, grants him superhumanly acute senses, enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, healing, and reflexes.''Fantastic Four'' #52 (July 1966) He has since lost this connection and forged a new one with another unknown Panther deity, granting him augmented physical attributes as well as a resistance to magic. His senses are so powerful that he can pick up a prey's scent and memorize tens of thousands of individual ones. Following his war with Doom, T'Challa loses his enhanced abilities only to once again establish a connection with the Panther Goddess. In addition to the resurgence of his now-superhuman abilities, he is anointed "King of the Dead", granting him the power and knowledge of all the past Black Panthers as well as the ability to control the
undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly-alive humans, such as mummies, vampires, and zombies, who have been reanimated by super ...
. After
Battleworld Battleworld is a fictional patchwork planet appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history The first Battleworld debuted in the ''Secret Wars'' crossover where it was created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck. The s ...
and the resurgence of the Multiverse, T'Challa eventually showcased new powers in regards to his King of the Dead status, for not only could he reanimate the dead, but summon departed spirits into the physical world with tangible form as well. Using these spiritual energies also enables him to conjure a mystical spear of glowing blue energy to his hand. T'Challa worked with his sorcerer, Zawavari, to endow T'Challa with immunity to mystical attacks and detection in order to defeat Dr. Doom. When T'Challa's alchemical upgrade was tested by means of Wakanda's most powerful acolytes attacking T'Challa in unison, each mystical attack was absorbed and only served to strengthen T'Challa. During these preparations, T'Challa invented a potent mystical-scientific hybrid art called "shadow physics" and was able to use it to craft shadow weapons and to track vibranium on a quantum level. As king of Wakanda, the Panther has access to a vast collection of magical artifacts, advanced Wakandan technological and military hardware, and 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. He is a skilled hunter, tracker, strategist, politician, inventor, and
scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
. He has a PhD in
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
from
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. He is an expert physicist, proficient in advanced technology, and is also an inventor. T'Challa has been granted the strength and knowledge of every past Black Panther. The chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan is one of the wealthiest people in the world, although financial estimates are difficult given Wakanda's isolation from the world's economy and the uncertain value of Wakanda's vast vibranium reserves and extremely advanced technologies. T'Challa is rigorously trained in acrobatics and hand-to-hand combat. He is skilled in various forms of unarmed combat, with a unique hybrid fighting style that incorporates acrobatics and aspects of animal mimicry.


Suit

T'Challa's attire is the sacred vibranium costume of the Wakandan Panther Cult. In ''Black Panther'' vol. 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 ''Black Panther'' vol. 4, writer Reginald Hudlin introduced such specialized equipment as "thrice-blessed armor" and "light armor" for specific tasks, and for a short while outfitted him with the
Ebony Blade The Black Knight is the alias of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first is a medieval knight created by writer Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely, who made his first appearance in '' ...
of the
Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...
. In ''Black Panther'' vol. 6, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze introduced a new suit for T'Challa that allows him to absorb
kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its accele ...
and redistribute it as energy bursts.


Other Black Panthers

The mantle of the Black Panther is passed down from generation to generation among the rulers of Wakanda although it must still be deserved through a severe selection involving the best warriors of the nation.


Mosi

Mosi is the Black Panther of 1,000,000 BC who appeared for the first time in ''
Marvel Legacy Marvel Legacy is a 2017–18 relaunch of a line of American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is concurrent with All-New, All-Different Marvel and Marvel NOW! 2.0. Publication history On April 22, 2017, Marvel Comics announced Marvel ...
'' #1 (November 2017). Mosi is part of the
Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
, along with Agamotto, Lady Phoenix,
Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
, and prehistoric versions of
Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...
, Iron Fist, and
Star Brand The Star Brand is the name of a number of similar objects of power in the world of the Marvel Comics. The name "Star Brand" is also often adopted by the wielders of these objects. Three of these Star Brands have been prominently featured in serie ...
. The Stone Age Avengers defeated the Fallen and sealed it underground in what would become South Africa.


Olumo Bashenga

Olumo Bashenga appeared for the first time in ''Black Panther'' #7 (January 1978) by Jack Kirby (scripts and drawings). Wise warrior at the head of the Panther Tribe, according to legends, during the tumult where the vibranium meteorite fell on the soil of the village, then composed of various warring clans, he gathered all the aforementioned under his guide to defeating the inhabitants transformed by the impact into fierce "demonic spirits", a company which has unified the nation by founding Wakanda and becoming its first ruler and the first to obtain the title of "Black Panther" as it tells of his "spiritual connection" with the Panther Goddess Bast that led to the foundation of the Cult of the Panther.


Nehanda

During the 11th century, Nehanda was among the heroes of that time that became a member of the A.D. 1000's version of the Avengers. Nehanda was among the ghosts that T'Challa summoned for consul.


Chanda (Azzuri)

Chanda appeared for the first time in ''Fantastic Four Unlimited'' #1 (March 1993) by Roy Thomas (scripts) and Herb Trimpe (drawings). Black Panther and ruler of Wakanda during the Second World War, Chanda is the husband of Nanali and father of
T'Chaka T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of h ...
and
S'Yan This is a list of ''Black Panther'' supporting characters. Family tree of T'challa , - , style="text-align: left;", Notes: Immediate Family * T'Chaka: T'Challa's father and former King of Wakanda. He was killed by Ulysse ...
; distinguished by an excessively good and compassionate nature, he welcomed the Nazi colonel Fritz Klaue after he crashed into his reign due to a plane crash. Over time, the two make a kind of friendship and Klaue develops a strong obsession with the culture of Wakanda coming to try to convince them to make their religion deist rather than spiritist, which causes a strong friction between him and Chanda culminating in the death of Nanali by the Nazi and in its subsequent expulsion from the country. In several subsequent stories, T'Chaka's father (and husband of Nanali) is called Azzuri the Wise and is presented in a completely different way from Chanda,''Black Panther/Captain America: Flags of Our Fathers'' #1, giugno 2010. leaving doubt if it is only a sort of nickname or another character.


T'Chaka

T'Chaka appeared for the first time in ''Fantastic Four'' #53 (August 1966) by Stan Lee (script) and Jack Kirby (art). The eldest son of King Azzuri and Queen Nanali, T'Chaka inherits the throne and the title of the Black Panther on his father's death by being helped in his monarch duties by his younger brother and trusted adviser S'Yan.''Black Panther'' vol. 4 #2 (May 2005). After having married a woman named N'Yami, believing she cannot have children, he adopts a child with her, Hunter; however, she later becomes pregnant and dies giving birth to her first child, T'Challa; from the relationship with a woman of another tribe T'Chaka then has a second son, Jakarra, and finally remarries with Ramonda, with whom he has his only daughter, Shuri. When Ramonda subsequently disappears into nothingness, leading him to believe that he has been abandoned, he raises his children alone. To protect the kingdom, T'Chaka instituted a policy of strong isolationism, but in the course of his life he often collaborated with agents of the U.S. government. He is killed by Ulysses Klaw after having surprised him when he was trying to illegally extract vibranium in his kingdom.


S'Yan

S'Yan the Fast first appeared in ''Black Panther'' vol. 4 #2 (May 2005) and was created by
Reginald Hudlin Reginald Alan Hudlin (born December 15, 1961) is an American film screenwriter, director, producer, and comic-book writer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was P ...
and
John Romita Jr. John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr. Early ...
The second son of King Azzuri and Queen Nanali, S'Yan is T'Chaka's younger and trusted advisor. Although he has no desire to reign, he agrees to ascend the throne after his brother's death until his nephew T'Challa becomes an adult and becomes one of the most beloved monarchs in the history of Wakanda. When T'Challa returns home and obtains the title of the Black Panther, he gladly returns to being a royal adviser. He dies during the war with Latveria defending Ramonda from the soldiers of Doctor Doom.


Erik Killmonger / N'Jadaka

In ''Black Panther'' vol. 3 #15 (February 2000), Erik Killmonger challenges and beats T'Challa in a duel for the throne, overthrowing him as king of Wakanda and taking on the role as the Black Panther. He becomes comatose after attempting to ingest the heart-shaped herb to acquire the Black Panther's powers, as he is not of royal blood. Killmonger's time as king is short-lived however, as he is killed by
Monica Rambeau Monica Rambeau is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita Jr., the character debuted in ''The Amazing Spider-Man Annual'' #16 (October 1982). Monica w ...
during T'Challa's attack to reclaim Wakanda.


Shuri

When T'Challa ends up in a coma because of
Doctor Doom Doctor Victor Von Doom is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and first appeared in ''The Fantastic Four'' #5 in July 1962. The monarch of the fi ...
, Shuri becomes his substitute as the Black Panther and queen of Wakanda which, after the rise of her half-brother to "king of the dead" creates, for the first time in history, two avatars of the Panther Goddess.


Supporting characters


Cultural impact and legacy


Critical reception

Fred Bluden of ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' referred to Black Panther as one of the "greatest comic book heroes," asserting, "Black Panther is more than a superhero, he’s a king. As the leader of the incredibly advanced and highly private nation of Wakanda he has near-infinite financial resources, as well as access to technologies that are decades ahead of anything else in the world. Black Panther was created at a time when Black characters in mainstream comics were either sidekicks or racial stereotypes. As a technological genius, diplomat, statesman, and superhero, Black Panther helped to encourage the creation of other prominent black superheroes who were more than stereotypes. As a character, and a cultural milestone, his importance cannot be overstated."


Accolades

* In 2008, '' Wizard'' magazine ranked Black Panther 79th in their "200 Greatest Comic Book Character of All Time" list. * In 2011, ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' ranked Black Panther 51st in their "Top 100 Comic Books Heroes" list. * In 2012, ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' ranked Black Panther 10th in their "Top 50 Avengers" list. * In 2013, ''
ComicsAlliance ComicsAlliance was an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the catego ...
'' ranked Black Panther 33rd in their "50 Sexiest Male Characters in Comics" list. * In 2015, ''
Gizmodo ''Gizmodo'' ( ) is a design, technology, science and science fiction website. It was originally launched as part of the Gawker Media network run by Nick Denton, and runs on the Kinja platform. ''Gizmodo'' also includes the subsite ''io9'', whic ...
'' ranked Black Panther 11th in their "Every Member Of The Avengers" list. * In 2015, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' ranked Black Panther 26th in their "Let's rank every Avenger ever" list. * In 2015, ''
BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
'' ranked Black Panther 6th in their "84 Avengers Members Ranked From Worst To Best" list. * In 2017, ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' ranked Black Panther 22nd in their "25 Greatest Comic Book Heroes" list. * In 2018, ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' ranked Black Panther 8th in their "50 Most Important Superheroes" list. * In 2018, ''
Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...
'' ranked Black Panther 5th in their "Hollywood Heroes Co-Created By The Marvel Comics Icon" list. * In 2019, ''
Comicbook.com The following is a list of major assets that are owned by Paramount Global. Paramount Pictures Corporation (Film) * Paramount Pictures ** Paramount Home Entertainment ** Paramount Television Studios ** Paramount Pictures International ** Para ...
'' ranked Black Panther 5th in their "50 Most Important Superheroes Ever" list. * In 2021, ''
CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
'' ranked Black Panther 5th in their "10 Best Team Leaders In Comics" list. * In 2022, ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' ranked Black Panther 1st in their "100 best Marvel characters" list. * In 2022, ''
Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History N ...
'' ranked Black Panther 10th in their "Best Marvel characters of all time" list. * In 2022, ''
Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and film theories. ''Screen Rant'' was launched by Vic Holtreman in 2003, and originally had its primary office in Ogden, Utah. ''Scr ...
'' included Ultimate Black Panther in their "10 Best Black Panther Comics Characters Not In The MCU" list. * In 2022, ''
CBR.com ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
'' ranked Black Panther 1st in their "10 Most Attractive Marvel Heroes" list, 1st in their "10 Most Iconic Avengers Who Aren't Iron Man, Captain America, Or Thor" list, 2nd in their "Avengers' Greatest Leaders" list, 7th in their "10 Smartest Tech-Powered Heroes" list, 10th in their "10 Greatest Avengers, Ranked By Courage" list, 10th in their "10 Scariest Avengers" list, and 29th in their "30 Strongest Marvel Superheroes" list.


Literary reception


Volumes


''Black Panther'' – 1998

Jim Dandeneau of ''
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gan ...
'' stated, "This is probably the definitive run of Black Panther. This is where Wakanda stopped being backstory and started being a living, breathing place, with geography and politics and history that all contributed to its depth and beauty. It’s also where a bunch of what’s going on the screen started: Priest introduced Everett K. Ross and the Dora Milaje almost immediately in his first issue. Priest had been separated from Marvel for several years before coming back to write this book under a separate, independent line within Marvel as the rest of the company went bankrupt around it. So, he was given a lot of leeway to write the story he wanted to, and what came out was one of the greatest runs on any comic ever. Priest’s Black Panther was funny, complex, smart, timeless and yet very much of its time." Chase Magnett of ''
Comicbook.com The following is a list of major assets that are owned by Paramount Global. Paramount Pictures Corporation (Film) * Paramount Pictures ** Paramount Home Entertainment ** Paramount Television Studios ** Paramount Pictures International ** Para ...
'' included the ''Black Panther'' comic book series in their "10 best Black Panther comics of all time" list, asserting, "More than anything else, what "The Client" does best is set the table for what's to come. The initial five issues of a 60-issue run written by Priest, this story introduces a swath of new characters and concepts, infuses the story with humor, and prefects its non-linear storytelling. It is the Rosetta Stone for the best Black Panther series ever created, and incredibly entertaining to boot. Whether it's the introduction of the Dora Milaje or the hilarious, pantsless antics of Everett K. Ross, "The Client" offers everything you might want in a Black Panther or superhero comic."


''Black Panther'' – 2005

According to
Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...
, ''Black Panther'' #1 was the 27th best-selling comic book in February 2005. Tyler Huckabee of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' included the ''Black Panther'' comic book series in their "10 Best Black Panther Comic Books" list, stating, "Reginald Hudlin’s run is more traditionally superhero-esque in nature than many other titles on this list, featuring costumed villains and super guest stars like the X-Men and Namor. It also introduces a number of characters who’ve become key players in the Black Panther’s life (like his sister Shuri) and tells what has now become the definitive origin story. It’s a good entry point into the Black Panther’s world, and contains some great art by the reliably terrific superhero comic book legend John Romita Jr. If you’re completely unfamiliar with the Black Panther and are just looking for an introduction to Wakanda, this is for you."


''Black Panther'' – 2016


= Vol. 1

= According to
Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...
, ''Black Panther'' #1 was the best-selling comic book in April 2016. Alexander Jones of ''
Comics Beat Heidi MacDonald (born November 15) is a writer and editor in the field of comic books based in New York City. She runs the comics industry news blog '' The Beat''. Career MacDonald is a former editor for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint and ''Disney A ...
'' called ''Black Panther'' #1 "exciting and unique," saying, "This is another comic that immediately kicks things off with a recap page and events that are directly affected by previously established continuity. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.  Like I mentioned, Coates said he aims to honor Black Panther’s history– not rewrite it.  Indeed, you don’t need to know much going into the book, as Coates deftly uses Black Panther’s past to welcome new characters to the family. Immediately upon opening the pages of ''Black Panther #1'', readers are going to be struck by Denny Mederos’ excellent design. The title page makes me think I’m looking at a Jonathan Hickman comic! This immediately sets ''Black Panther''apart from some of the competition, and the reader hasn’t even reached the first page yet!" Jesse Schedeen of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' gave ''Black Panther'' #1 a grade of 8.8 out of 10, writing, "After several years of ups and downs, Black Panther finally has the solo comic he deserves again. Coates and Stelfreeze build on the many stories that have come before to weave a tale about Wakanda in its darkest hour and a king who may not be up to the task of saving it. Whether you're a hardcore fan of the character or Captain America: Civil War has you interested in learning more about T'Challa, this comic has plenty to offer."


= Vol. 2

= According to
Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...
, ''Black Panther'' #2 was the 9th best-selling comic book in May 2016. Alexander Jones of ''
Comics Beat Heidi MacDonald (born November 15) is a writer and editor in the field of comic books based in New York City. She runs the comics industry news blog '' The Beat''. Career MacDonald is a former editor for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint and ''Disney A ...
'' called ''Black Panther'' #2 "opaque, but so beautiful," asserting, "One absolute I can say about ''Black Panther #2'' is that Brian Stelfreeze and Laura Martin are an artistic team without compare. Together, they make Wakanda seem vibrant and real. Every one of the many characters in this story feels as real as the last, and all the major players get very interesting costume designs. . The amalgamation of mystical and technological elements in T’Challa’s suit is noted and appreciated. This issue is bound to impress an open-minded Ta-Nehisi Coates fan, but his depiction of T’Challa needs more time to develop in order to win the hearts of everyone. Thankfully, Coates is committed, so we are too. This is still a comic that asks many questions.  Let’s hope the answers are just as satisfying as the mysteries themselves." Levi Hunt of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' gave ''Black Panther'' #2 a grade of 8.8 out of 10, stating, "T'Challa is much more in the spotlight as he takes it upon himself to quell the growing unrest in his kingdom and finds that the problem isn't so easily put to rest. There's a clear attempt to humanize the character here, as Ta-Nehisis Coates explores T'Challa's kingly hubris and the massive pressures he faces. There's also a balance to the conflict that might just be this book's greatest strength. There's no real right and wrong or good and evil here, on;y various players with their own valid points of view. It's less a question of whether Wakanda can be saved than if maintaining the status quo is what's best for this troubled nation. But for all the lofty ideals at play here, this book also has plenty of visual spectacle with which to bedazzle readers. Brian Stelfreeze's lithe, burly interpretation of Black Panther and his captivating use of light and shadow make for one of the most visually distinctive Black Panther comics ever published."


''Black Panther'' – 2018

According to
Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...
, ''Black Panther'' #1 was the 5th best-selling comic book in May 2018. Oliver Vestal of ''
ComicsVerse ComicsVerse is a comics journalism website covering comics news, reviews, analysis, and interviews with artists and writers. In addition to original written content, the site produces podcasts, videos, original webcomics, and covers news related ...
'' gave ''Black Panther'' #1 a score of 97%, writing, "''Black Panther'' #1 made for a strong start to the series. Ta-Nehisi Coates uses thorough world-building to establish a plot and characters. Daniel Acuña uses a mix of blurry and clear details and a dark palette to reflect the tone of the issue. Overall, I am very happy with how this issue turned out. I went into this with high hopes. I’m sure I was not the only one expecting a lot after the ''Black Panther'' movie, and this comic lived up to those hopes. It established a new and interesting story and used telling art to help that story along. I have nothing but good feelings about future issues." Jesse Schedeen of ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' gave ''Black Panther'' #1 a grade of 8.6 out of 10, asserting, "''Black Panther'' #1 is a promising start for this new era of Coates' run. It's certainly different enough from previous incarnations. And Acuna's art ensures that the book looks better than it has since Brian Stelfreeze was drawing it. Issue #1 gives readers a fresh start with the character while also offering plenty of incentive to stick around and see where this strange odyssey is heading."


''Black Panther'' – 2021

According to
Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...
, ''Black Panther'' #1 was the 10th best-selling comic book in November 2021. Hannibal Tabu of ''
Bleeding Cool Bleeding Cool is an Internet news site, focusing on comics, television, film, board games, and video games. Owned by Avatar Press, it was launched by Rich Johnston on March 27, 2009. Avatar Press also publishes an associated magazine, ''Bleeding ...
'' gave ''Black Panther'' #1 a grade of 8.5 out of 10, saying, "This John Ridley script is a rush of adrenaline and smarts all at once, with clever elements introduced along the way. T'Challa's secret balances both the old ways of Wakanda as personified by the White Wolf and the modern egalitarian Wakanda he's trying to build. Then there's the visual storytelling from Juann Cabal, Federico Blee, and Joe Sabino, which will tickle the fancy of fans of, well, any Marvel project featuring Sebastian Stan, basically. They feature a great Avengers fight scene (that also mixes in wonderful character work) with a gorgeous view of an evolving Wakanda. "A king's business is getting things done," T'Challa says at one point. With a great espionage-tinted take, this issue takes that business very seriously." Tim Adams of ''
Comicbook.com The following is a list of major assets that are owned by Paramount Global. Paramount Pictures Corporation (Film) * Paramount Pictures ** Paramount Home Entertainment ** Paramount Television Studios ** Paramount Pictures International ** Para ...
'' gave ''Black Panther'' #1 a grade of 4 out of 5, saying, "Marvel's new era of Black Panther gets off to a captivating start. Whereas the previous volume by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Daniel Acuna primarily took place in the stars, John Ridley, Juann Cabal, and Federico Blue deliver the beginnings of an espionage tale. Marvel Stormbreaker artist Juann Cabal is quickly rising as a superstar artist after fan-favorite runs on X-23 and Guardians of the Galaxy. His work with Blee on Black Panther remains top-notch, and watching T'Challa balance his responsibilities between being the chairperson of the Avengers and ruler of Wakanda is even stressful for the reader. The main plot reveals some major secrets Black Panther has been keeping, which has those closest to him questioning his actions in an understandable way. Something I always enjoy with a first issue is an end-of-page teaser offering clues to future storylines, and this one has some juicy scenes of stories-to-come."


Other versions


''Age of Ultron''

In the 2013 ''
Age of Ultron "Age of Ultron" (abbreviated AU) is a 2013 comic book fictional crossover storyline published by Marvel Comics that involved the conquest of the Earth by the sentient robot tyrant Ultron. The storyline consisted of an eponymous, 10-issue core m ...
'' miniseries, Black Panther contacts the
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
and informs them that
Ultron Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...
has invaded
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
with an army of Ultron Sentinels. Black Panther was later seen with
Red Hulk Red Hulk is an alias that is used by different fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. While the first two were created from members of the United States army, the third one is a form of Hulk's Joe Fixit ...
and Taskmaster in Chicago spying on some Ultron Sentinels. When Taskmaster takes out a Sentinel that was sneaking up on him, alerting the other Sentinels, Red Hulk holds off the Sentinels while Black Panther and Taskmaster flee. During the mayhem, Black Panther falls several stories and breaks his neck, killing him instantly.


Amalgam Comics

The Bronze Tiger is the ruler of Wakanda and is named B'Nchalla; he is an amalgamation of the
Bronze Tiger Bronze Tiger is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Dennis O'Neil, Leopoldo Dirampma, and Jim Berry, he first appeared in ''Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter'' #1 (May 1975). The character's re ...
(DC) and the Black Panther (Marvel). A similar character (or perhaps the same character) called the Bronze Panther (also an amalgamation of the Bronze Tiger (DC) and the Black Panther (Marvel)) appears later.


''Avengers Forever''

In the 1998–1999 limited series ''
Avengers Forever ''Avengers Forever'' is a twelve-issue comic book limited series published from December 1998 to November 1999 by Marvel Comics. It follows the storyline of Rick Jones and his quest to build a team of Avengers from the past, present, and future. ...
'', Captain America and
Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...
visit an alternate future timeline where
Martian Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pred ...
invaders have ravaged the Earth. An aged Black Panther leads this reality's version of the Avengers, who consist of
Jocasta In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, t ...
, Living Lightning,
Killraven Killraven (Jonathan Raven) is a character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a freedom fighter in several Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apoca ...
,
Crimson Dynamo Crimson Dynamo (Russian: Багровое Динамо, '; also Красное Динамо (Krasnoe Dinamo)) is the name of several fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics who have all been powered ar ...
and
Thundra Thundra is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is often aligned with the Fantastic Four. She is a powerful, red haired, amazon-like warrior, or Femizon, from a matriarchal, technologically a ...
.


''Civil War''

In an alternate reality where the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
between Iron Man and Captain America never ended, the Black Panther was killed alongside
Maria Hill Commander Maria Hill ( ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch, the character first appeared in '' The New Avengers'' #4 (March 2005). As a form ...
after activating Prison 42's self-destruct mechanism. He is succeeded by his son, Azari, who takes on the Black Panther name. It is later revealed that the Black Panther who destroyed Prison 42 was actually Queen
Veranke Veranke is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She serves as the queen of the Skrull Empire. Introduced as Jessica Drew, Veranke is the main antagonist of ''Secret Invasion'', in which she leads he ...
of the shape-shifting alien race the
Skrull The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated fro ...
s, who had stolen T'Challa's identity in order to manipulate and prolong the Civil War to suit her own needs.


Earth-355

T'Challa is the Coal Tiger, Sersi kills the Avengers, and the Coal Tiger is the only survivor.


Earth-6606

T'Challa is Chieftain Justice, a
Captain Britain Corps Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer Chr ...
member, in ''Excalibur'' #44 (1991).


''Earth X''

In the alternate universe of ''
Earth X ''Earth X'' is a 1999 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. ''Earth X'' was written by Jim Krueger with art by John Paul Leon. Based on Alex Ross' notes, the series features a dystopian version of the Marvel Univ ...
'', T'Challa has been affected by the mutative event that drives the plot. Like most of humanity, he is mutated; in this case to become a humanoid black panther. He is entrusted with the
Cosmic Cube The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them. Although th ...
by Captain America, who knows that T'Challa would be the only one to resist using it and to never give it back if asked. In fact, Captain America does ask for it back and T'Challa is forced to refuse.


''Exiles''

An alternate version of the Black Panther, called simply the "Panther", is drafted into the interdimensional superhero team the Exiles. The Panther is the son of T'Challa and Storm and named T'Chaka, after his grandfather. Originating from Earth-1119, he was ambushed by Klaw while examining some ruins. Caught in Klaw's blast, the Panther was plucked out of time and placed on the team. Unlike the stoic 616-Black Panther, The Panther is a wisecracking flirt.''Exiles'' vol. 2 #1. Marvel Comics. After his assumed death on Earth-1119, his sister took up the mantle of the Black Panther. An alternate T'Challa later appears in the third ''Exiles'' series. His universe is still in the
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
and he goes by King. He is a gunslinger equipped with vibranium clothing and bullets.


Fox Kids

The Black Panther appears in issues #1 and 6–7 of Marvel Comics/
Fox Kids Fox Kids (originally known as Fox Children's Network and later as the Fox Kids Network; stylized as FOX KIDS) was an American children's block programming, programming block and branding for a slate of international children's television channel ...
comic book series based on the
TV show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
'' The Avengers: United They Stand''.


''Infinity Wars''

In ''
Infinity Wars "Infinity Wars" is a 2018 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics as a follow-up to " Infinity Countdown." Premise The premise involves the heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe deal with the outcome of the search for the new Infin ...
'', the
Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple antiheroes and superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...
is fused with the Black Panther. Prince of Wakanda T'Challa was an arrogant boy who, because of his conflict with his father, was exiled from his place. He went to America where he found Jericho Simpson, who became his new father figure and gave T'Challa a new name as Johnny Blaze. During a stunt performance, he sensed his father T'Chaka dying and got distracted, which resulted in his own death. He was then revived by
Zarathos Zarathos (, ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is usually depicted in stories featuring the character Ghost Rider. A demonic being who tortures and devours souls, Zarathos first appeared in ...
, half-sister of Bast and offered to him powers in exchange of eating the souls of sinners. At first, he was reluctant, but when battling his father's killers, he accepted the offer, became the Ghost Panther and battled Erik Killraven (a fusion of Erik Killmonger and
Killraven Killraven (Jonathan Raven) is a character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a freedom fighter in several Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apoca ...
).


Marvel 2099

In the
Marvel 2099 Marvel 2099 is a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that was originally one possible future of the Marvel Universe, but later revealed in a climax of ''Superior Spider-Man Goblin Nation arc'' and ''Amazing Spider-Man'' Vol. 3 #14 to be the ...
continuity, a greatly weakened Wakanda is soon to be governed by its princess, Okusana. Fearing that she is not ready, she requests
Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...
's help in resurrecting Thandaza, her grandfather and a former Black Panther. Doom (who claims to have agreed to the proposal out of respect for T'Challa) and the Wakandan scientists revive Thandaza in a cyberbetic body made from vibranium, but the plan goes awry when Mkhalali, the current Panther Guard, opens fire on Thandaza, believing his resurrection to be an abomination. The attack throws off the calibrations and leaves Thandaza in a maddened state and constant pain, causing him to go on a bloody rampage. Doom is ultimately forced to kill Thandaza, who thanks him for ending his suffering.


Marvel Knights 2099

Black Panther was featured in the
Marvel Knights 2099 Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', ''Daredevil'' ...
one shots, which were not tied to the main 2099 continuity. A new Black Panther, K'Shamba, rose to fight and thwart the mounting invasions by the successor of Doom, named Lucian. While the victory over the new Doom appeared triumphant, the new Wakandan king was ultimately revealed to be a puppet of Doom.


''Marvel Mangaverse''

T'Challa appears in ''
Marvel Mangaverse The Marvel Mangaverse is a series of comic books published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2002, with a sequel "New Mangaverse" released in 2006. The series depicts an alternate (or possibly two alternates, see below) Marvel universe, where its ch ...
Volume 2'' as a man with a pet panther. When summoning the spirits, T'Challa and his panther combine to become the Black Panther. He also became the Falcon. This Black Panther found himself the object of affection of the Mangaverse version of
Tigra Tigra (Greer Grant Nelson) is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Introduced as the superpowered and gadget-wielding crime fighter the Cat in ''The Claws of the Cat'' #1 (November 1972). The ...
. T'Challa's sister, T'Chana, reveals herself to be this universe's Doctor Doom.


''Marvel Zombies''

The Black Panther is, for the most part, 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 Giant-Man is the alias used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Editorial Story Hank Pym, the first Giant-Man, with the Wasp, appeared in many superheroes stories published in the serial ''Tales to ...
, who keeps the Panther imprisoned and cuts off various limbs so that he can maintain his intelligence via a ready access to fresh meat without infecting the Panther with the zombie "virus". Despite having lost half of his right arm and his left foot, the Panther escapes — with the severed head of zombified superheroine the
Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
in tow — and joins forces with the mutant group the Acolytes. While with the Acolytes, T'Challa briefly talks with his Earth-616 counterpart, where he expresses surprise at his marriage to Storm, but offers him all the information he can provide about the zombie plague. Decades later, T'Challa has married one of the Acolytes, Lisa Hendricks, and they have a son, with
Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...
having provided T'Challa with artificial limbs to compensate for his injuries. Facing retirement, the Panther is stabbed and critically wounded by an agent of an Acolyte splinter group, and the Wasp — now a willing ally after having lost her zombie hunger — zombifies the Panther in order to grant him continued existence. With the Wasp's help, he survives to the post-hunger stage himself and continues to lead his people, despite his status. Further internal betrayal leads the Black Panther and many of his allies to be tossed through the dimensions. He ends up involved with another Earth that is threatened by the zombie virus. His attempts to save this new planet fail and he is destroyed, leaving only one hand displayed as a trophy by his enemies.


MC2

In the MC2 universe, the Black Panther has a son named T'Chaka II, who joined the
A-Next A-Next is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the Marvel Comics 2 universe version of the Avengers. The team made its first appearance in '' What If?'' #105, the first comic featu ...
as the
Coal Tiger A-Next is a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the Marvel Comics 2 universe version of the Avengers. The team made its first appearance in '' What If?'' #105, the first comic feat ...
.


''Mutant X''

In the '' Mutant X'' reality, the Black Panther had the appearance of a humanoid black panther. He is among the second wave of heroes who died fighting the Beyonder.


Ultimate Marvel

In the alternate reality
Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters in ...
imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
, the Black Panther is T'Challa Udaku, a young man who is experimented on in the
Weapon X Weapon X is a fictional clandestine government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are conducted by List of government agencies in Marvel Comics, Department K, which turns willing ...
program before being liberated by
Nick Fury Colonel Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury Sr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, he first appeared in ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ...
. T'Challa, the younger son of King T'Chaka of Wakanda, is severely injured during the "Trial of the Panther" from which the protector of the nation is selected. His older brother M'Baku finds T'Challa bloodied, mute, and near death but derisively calls him a fool for attempting the trial. Later, M'Baku adds that he, not T'Challa, should have taken the trial. Angry that his father has decided to share Wakanda's technology in exchange for America's help in saving T'Challa's life, M'Baku leaves the kingdom. To save T'Challa, T'Chaka turns him over to the Weapon X program. Over a year later, a healthy T'Challa, in his full Black Panther garb, has enhanced speed, strength and night vision and a healing ability. Additionally, he can summon short, cat-like
adamantium Adamantium is a fictional metal alloy appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and in various games in the Elder Scrolls franchise. It is best known as the substance bonded to the character Wolverine's skeleton and claws. In ...
claws from his knuckles by balling his hands into fists. T'Chaka becomes outraged upon learning that
S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. is a fictional espionage, special law enforcement, and counter-terrorism agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in ''Strange Tales'' #135 (August 1965), it often deals ...
(who had shut down Weapon X and freed T'Challa) now considers his son an asset of the U.S. and S.H.I.E.L.D. He subsequently sends M'Baku a letter, claiming that M'Baku, not T'Challa, is the titular "favorite son", and he implores M'Baku to return. Fury has Captain America train and mentor the Panther, who reveals his damaged throat. Captain America, sympathizing for the Panther's plight, encourages Fury to place the Panther in the superhero team the
Ultimates The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from ''The Ultimates'' #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel i ...
. This turns out to be a ruse in which Captain America impersonates the Panther, allowing T'Challa to escape and return home to Wakanda. After Ultimatum, the Black Panther joins the
New Ultimates ''Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates'' is a comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics that began in March 2010 as part of Marvel's "Ultimate Comics" imprint. The series was written by Jeph Loeb, writer of ''Ultimates 3'' and ''Ultimatum''. ...
.


Sky Spider/Vibranium Man/Star Panther

On an unnamed alternate Earth where King Killmonger conquered Wakanda and Asgard, one baby version of T'Challa was placed into a rocket and was shot into outer space to protect him from being killed by King Killmonger. He landed on the planet Chandilar of the Shi'ar Empire. Years later, T'Challa was operating as Sky Spider where he saved an alien from King Killmonger's mercenaries called the War Panthers after the alien got thrown out a window. Sky Spider claims that the War Panthers are marauders and mercenaries who do not deserve the Panther name. Sky Spider fights the War Panthers as King Killmonger attacks the village from his ship. Many tomorrows later, T'Challa is on the trail of King Killmonger as Vibranium Man complete with the Dora Milaje A.I. and attacks a War Panthers ship. When he finds the one that King Killmonger is on, Vibranium Man goes on the attack as he claims that his suit flows with the blood and spirit of the fallen Wakandans. King Killmonger called him a second-rate Tony Stark as he mentioned that his armor was forged by the gods that fell before his axe as he throws Vibranium Man off his ship quoting "Wakanda Nevermore". Three days later, Robbie Reyes, his Deathlok companion, and Ant-Man of Earth-818 find Vibranium Man in a solid Vibranium cocoon in an active star. After the cocoon is removed from the star, T'Challa comes out with the powers of the "white-hot heavens" as he takes the name of Star Panther where he will use his new abilities to kill King Killmonger. When the Council of Red attack Avengers Tower in the God Quarry, Star Panther took on the members who were giant size and slayed most of them.


In other media


Television

* T'Challa / Black Panther appears in a
Marvel Animation Marvel Animation, Inc. is an American animation production company. The Marvel Studios subsidiary was incorporated on January 25, 2008 to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets. The incorporated Marvel Animation inclu ...
and
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
produced self-titled TV series, voiced by
Djimon Hounsou Djimon Gaston Hounsou (; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos. He made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990) and earned widespread recognition for his role as ...
. * Black Panther appeared in ''
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
'', voiced by
Keith David Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his signature deep voice and commanding screen presence in over 300 roles across film, stage, television, and interactive media. He has starred in such films as '' T ...
. In the episode "Prey of the Black Panther", he enlists the
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
to help him save
Wakanda Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa, and is home to the superhero Black Panther (comics), Black Pa ...
from
Klaw Klaw or KLAW may refer to: *Klaw (surname) *Kawhi Leonard (born 1991), American basketball player nicknamed "the Klaw" *Klaw (Marvel Comics), a fictional villain * Klaw Theatre, a broadway theatre in Manhattan, New York City *KLAW Klaw or KLAW may ...
's invasion. He also makes a cameo appearance in the episode "Hopelessly Impossible". * The Black Panther makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
''. * While he does not appear in '' The Avengers: United They Stand'', the Black Panther appears in the comic book series based on the show. * A younger version of T'Challa / Black Panther appears in '' Iron Man: Armored Adventures'', voiced by
Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (born October 21, 1984) is a Canadian actor, model, and television personality. He is known for appearances in films and television, most notably as Jay in the Lifetime dark comedy-drama series ''Unreal'' (2015–2018) and ...
. In the episode "Panther's Prey", he seeks vengeance against his father's killer, Moses Magnum, though he encounters
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
along the way. He returns in the episode "Line of Fire" and the two-part series finale "The Makluan Invasion". * T'Challa / Black Panther appears in ''
The Super Hero Squad Show ''The Super Hero Squad Show'' is an American superhero animated series produced by Marvel Animation. It is based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad action figure line from Hasbro, which portray the Avengers, the X-Men, and various other characters o ...
'' episode "Tremble at the Might of... M.O.D.O.K.!", voiced by
Taye Diggs Scott Leo "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American stage and film actor. He is known for his roles in the Broadway musicals ''Rent'' and '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', the TV series ''Private Practice'' (2007-2013), ''Murder in the ...
. This version is in a relationship with
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
. * T'Challa / Black Panther appears in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', voiced by James C. Mathis III. His origin is told in the episode "The Man in the Ant Hill", wherein he becomes Black Panther after
Man-Ape Man-Ape (M'Baku) is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as a frequent enemy of Black Panther. Man-Ape has made scattered appearances on animated television series an ...
kills his father
T'Chaka T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of h ...
in combat with Klaw's unseen help. In "Panther's Quest", T'Challa makes himself known to the
Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
to enlist their help in avenging T'Chaka and joins them. However, in "Who Do You Trust?", T'Challa leaves the team due to his uncertainty of his teammates and his need to protect Wakanda from the
Skrulls The Skrulls are a fictional race of extraterrestrial shapeshifters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Skrulls first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #2 and were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. They originated from ...
. He rejoins the team in "Behold ... The Vision!" after a battle with eponymous character. T'Challa was presumed dead in "Operation Galactic Storm" when he drove a
Kree The Kree, briefly known as the Ruul, are a fictional scientifically and technologically advanced militaristic list of fictional extraterrestrials, alien race appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are native to the p ...
ship into the sun. However, T'Challa used its teleporter to reach a second Kree ship at the last minute, where he steals a smaller ship so he can rejoin the Avengers. * T'Challa / Black Panther appears in '' Avengers Assemble'', voiced again by James C. Mathis III. Check marks indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources. Introduced in the third-season episode "Panther's Rage", T'Challa speaks at an assembly before he is attacked by Crossbones, though the former joins forces with
Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...
to defeat the latter before stealing Captain America's shield, claiming
Howard Stark Howard Stark is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as a background character in stories featuring Iron Man and stories featuring Captain America. He is the fou ...
stole the
Vibranium Vibranium () is a fictional metal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, noted for its extraordinary abilities to absorb, store, and release large amounts of kinetic energy. Mined only in Wakanda, the metal is associated w ...
used in its construction. In response, Captain America brings in the Avengers to help him travel to Wakanda and take it back. During a confrontation with Ulysses Klaue, who stole the shield for his own ends, T'Challa learns T'Chaka voluntarily gave Stark the Vibranium. After they defeat Klaue, T'Challa changes his views on the Avengers, who offer him a reserve membership. In the two-part fourth season episode "Avengers No More", T'Challa helps found and lead the All-New, All-Different Avengers after the original team disappears, and becomes the focus of the fifth season ''Avengers: Black Panther's Quest''. ** The fifth-season episodes "The Lost Temple", "Yemandi", and "Bashenga" also introduced past Black Panthers T'Chanda (voiced by Corey Jones), Yemandi (voiced by
Anika Noni Rose Anika Noni Rose (born September 6, 1972) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, as seen in ''The Princess and the Frog'' (2009). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011. S ...
), and Bashenga (voiced by
Phil LaMarr Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series ''Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include Jo ...
) respectively. * Black Panther appears in ''
Marvel Future Avengers is a Japanese superhero anime television series produced by Madhouse and Walt Disney Japan, based on the Marvel Comics universe. The first season began airing on the Dlife satellite channel in July 2017 and ran for 26 episodes, followed by ...
'', voiced again by Mahito Ōba in Japanese and James C. Mathis III in English. * Black Panther appears in ''
Spidey and His Amazing Friends ''Spidey and His Amazing Friends'' (also known as ''Marvel's Spidey and His Amazing Friends'') is a computer-animated superhero children's television series produced by Atomic Cartoons (who also produced ''Marvel Super Hero Adventures'') that pr ...
'', voiced by Tru Valentino. * Black Panther appears in '' Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers'', voiced by
Mahito Ōba is a Japanese voice actor and narrator. He is a graduate of Tamagawa University and is affiliated with Aoni Production. He is most known for the roles of Announcer Yoshigai in ''Ultimate Muscle'' (''Kinnikuman Nisei''), the narrator and Smok ...
in the Japanese version and James C. Mathis III in the English version.


Film

* The Black Panther appears in the ''
Marvel Animated Features ''Marvel Animated Features'' (''MAF'') is a series of the first eight direct-to-video animated superhero films made by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Studios (later Marvel Animation) and Lions Gate Entertainment. History In ...
'' series of direct-to-DVD animated films. Like his father
T'Chaka T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of h ...
, this version has the ability to transform into an anthropomorphic black panther. ** He first appears in ''
Ultimate Avengers 2 ''Marvel Animated Features'' (''MAF'') is a series of the first eight direct-to-video animated superhero films made by MLG Productions, a joint venture between Marvel Studios (later Marvel Animation) and Lions Gate Entertainment. History In ...
'' (2006), voiced by Jeffrey D. Sams. ** The Black Panther makes a non-speaking appearance in '' Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow'' (2008). He joined the Avengers to defeat
Ultron Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...
and gave his life to do so, though his legacy is survived by his and
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
's son, Azari. * The Black Panther appears in '' Black Panther: Trouble in Wakanda'', voiced again by James C. Mathis III.


Marvel Cinematic Universe

Chadwick Boseman Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...
portrayed T'Challa / Black Panther in media set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...
. This version displays enhanced speed, agility, strength, and durability, which he gains from ingesting the heart-shaped herb, as in the comics. Additionally, his suit has retractable claws and is made of a
Vibranium Vibranium () is a fictional metal appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, noted for its extraordinary abilities to absorb, store, and release large amounts of kinetic energy. Mined only in Wakanda, the metal is associated w ...
weave, which can deflect heavy machine gun fire and withstand explosive attacks. T'Challa appears in the live-action films '' Captain America: Civil War'', ''
Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
'', '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), and '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019). Following his death, Boseman posthumously voices three alternate timeline versions of T'Challa in the first season of the
Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
animated series '' What If...?''


Video games

* Black Panther appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance'', voiced by
Phil LaMarr Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series ''Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include Jo ...
. * Black Panther appears as an NPC in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by
Tim Russ Timothy Darrell Russ (born June 22, 1956) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Robert Johnson in ''Crossroads'' (1986), Casey in '' E ...
. He is playable in the
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
, PS3,
PS4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in E ...
, and PC versions and was originally a downloadable character for the PS3 and Xbox 360. * Black Panther appears in
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmos ...
's ending for '' Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Super Hero Squad Online ''Marvel Super Hero Squad Online'' was a massively multiplayer online game for younger audiences based on the ''Marvel Super Hero Squad'', developed by American video game companies The Amazing Society and Gazillion Entertainment. The open beta ...
''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in the
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
game '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in the
MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
'' Marvel Heroes'', voiced by James C. Mathis III. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''
Lego Marvel Super Heroes ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes'' is a 2013 Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft W ...
'', voiced by John Eric Bentley. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Avengers Alliance Tactics''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Contest of Champions ''Marvel Contest of Champions'' is a 2014 fighting video game developed and published by Kabam. It was released on December 10, 2014, for iOS and Android. The fighting game is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. The game is strongly based o ...
''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Mighty Heroes''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Future Fight ''Marvel: Future Fight'' is a 2015 superhero-themed mobile video game developed by Netmarble Games. Gameplay Plot The collapse of several dimensions prompts investigations from Thor, Black Bolt, and Black Panther. After battling alternat ...
''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in '' Disney Infinity 3.0''. * The MCU version of Black Panther appears as a
downloadable In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote s ...
playable character in ''
Lego Marvel's Avengers ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, ...
'', as part of the "Civil War" pack. A DLC pack based on Classic Black Panther was later released for the game. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on 14 November 2 ...
''. * Black Panther appears as a downloadable character in '' Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite'', with James C. Mathis III reprising his role. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Strike Force ''Marvel Strike Force'' is a turn-based role-playing mobile game by FoxNext (later acquired by Scopely) for Android, iOS, and iPadOS platforms. The game was launched worldwide on March 28, 2018, and is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. Pre ...
''. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in ''Marvel Powers United VR'', voiced again by James C. Mathis III. * Black Panther appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order'', voiced again by James C. Mathis III. * Black Panther appears in ''Marvel Dimension of Heroes'', voiced again by James C. Mathis III. * Black Panther appears as a downloadable playable character in '' Marvel's Avengers'', voiced and motion-captured by
Christopher Judge Douglas Christopher Judge (born October 13, 1964) is an American actor best known for playing Teal'c in the Canadian-American military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1,'' and Kratos in the 2018 video game ''God of War'' and its ...
.
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
originally planned to reveal the character's gameplay trailer instead of Kate Bishop's prior to the game's release, but they delayed and moved the trailer reveal schedule to a post-launch date out of respect for the late Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther's actor in the MCU) who died on August 28, 2020. * Black Panther appears as a purchasable outfit in ''
Fortnite Battle Royale ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed and published by Epic Games. It is a companion game to '' Fortnite: Save the World'', a cooperative survival game with construction elements. It was initially re ...
''.


Motion Comics

* The Black Panther appears in the 2014 animated
motion comic A motion comic (or animated comic) is a form of animation combining elements of print comic books and animation. Individual panels are expanded into a full shot while sound effects, voice acting, and animation are added to the original artwork. Tex ...
film ''Marvel Knights: Wolverine vs. Sabretooth'', voiced by
Omari Newton Omari Akil Newton is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Larry Summers in '' Blue Mountain State'' and Lucas Ingram in '' Continuum''. Newton is the co-founder of Boldskool Productions. Early life Newton grew up in Mont ...
. When
Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
winds up in Africa, the Black Panther and Storm assist him. * In 2016,
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...
launched the motion comic "Black Panther in ... The Visitor" on its
YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel.


Books


Novels

* J. Holland, Jesse. ''Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther?'' (2017) * Jim McCann. ''Black Panther - The Junior Novel'' (2018) -
novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of the movie ''
Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...
''. *
Ronald L. Smith Ronald L. Smith is a children's book author. He is the author of ''Hoodoo'' (2015), ''The Mesmerist'' (2017), ''Black Panther: The Young Prince'' (2018), ''The owls have come to take us away'' (2019), and ''Gloom Town'' (2020). For ''Hoodoo'', Smi ...
. ''Black Panther: The Young Prince''


Anthology

J. Holland, Jesse. ''Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda'' (2021) .


Little Golden Books

Two
Little Golden Books Little Golden Books is a series of children's books, published since 1942. ''The Poky Little Puppy'', the eighth release in the series, is the top-selling children's book of all time in the United States.. Many other Little Golden Books have b ...
were published. * Frank Berrios. ''Black Panther'' (2018) * Frank Berrios. ''Warriors of Wakanda'' (2018)


Mighty Marvel Chapter Books

Brandon T. Snider Brandon T. Snider (born February 28) is a New York City based writer and actor who has written for and appeared on Comedy Central's ''Inside Amy Schumer''. He's also been featured on ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', ''Law & Order: Special Victi ...
''Black Panther: Battle for Wakanda'' (2018)


Role-playing games

Black Panther appears in the 1984 role-playing game '' Marvel Super Heroes''. He also appears in all subsequent updates and versions.


Audio serial

Serial Box Publishing will produce an audio serial starring Black Panther as part of a partnership with Marvel, titled ''Marvel's Black Panther: Sins of the King''.


Collected editions


Omnibus


''Marvel Masterworks''


''Epic Collection''s


Volume 1


Miniseries


Volume 3


Volume 4


Volume 5


''The Man Without Fear''/''The Most Dangerous Man Alive''


Volume 6


Volume 7


See also

* African characters in comics *
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s


References


External links

*
The Origin of Black Panther and Wakanda


at the Marvel Directory * *
Black Panther
at Comic Vine
T'Challa
at Marvel Wiki
World of Black Heroes: Black Panther–T'challa Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Panther (Comics) 1977 comics debuts African superheroes Afrofuturism Avengers (comics) characters Black characters in animation Black characters in films Black people in comics Characters created by Jack Kirby Characters created by Stan Lee Comics characters introduced in 1966 Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Fictional characters with superhuman senses Fictional kings Fictional princes Fictional professional hunters Fictional tribal chiefs Jungle (genre) comics Jungle superheroes Male characters in animation Male characters in film Marvel Comics adapted into films Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength Marvel Comics film characters Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics scientists Wakandans