T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. 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 his father,
T'Chanda aka Azzuri the Wise.
John Kani portrayed the character in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
films ''
Captain America: Civil War'' (2016) and ''
Black Panther
A black panther is the Melanism, 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 Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
'' (2018) while Kani's son
Atandwa portrayed a younger version of the character. Kani returned to voice alternate versions of the character in the animated
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
series ''
What If...?'' (2021).
Publication history
T'Chaka first appeared in ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' #53 (1966) and was created by
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
and
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
.
Fictional character biography
T'Chaka is the Chieftain of
Wakanda who ascended to the throne after the death of his father King
T'Chanda, also known as Azzuri.
During 1941 at the time of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
,
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
traveled to Wakanda where he met T'Chaka. Together, they assisted
Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos against
Red Skull and
Baron Strucker. T'Chaka and Captain America also faced threats from
Master Man,
Warrior Woman, and
Armless Tiger Man when they partook in an all-out attack on Wakanda. Armless Tiger Man even threatened to kill T'Chaka if he did not surrender. Outmanned and outgunned, T'Chaka and Captain America held their own against Master Man, Warrior Woman, Armless Tiger Man, White Gorilla, and Red Skull.
Sometime later, Captain America visited Wakanda and gave T'Chaka his triangle shield in exchange for some Vibranium. When he got engaged to his first wife N'Yami, T'Chaka adopted
Hunter who T'Chaka groomed as the heir to the throne until the day N'Yami gave birth to
T'Challa and then died from childbirth. Shortly after T'Challa's birth, his brother Jakarra was born. T'Chaka later married Ramonda who gave birth to
Shuri.
In the fall of 1959, T'Chaka was kidnapped by Geoffrey Sydenham of the organization ICON and brought to Latveria as part of their plan to weaken Wakanda and steal its technology. However,
Dum Dum Dugan and
Eric Koenig rescue him and safely return him to Wakanda.
Many years later, Wakanda had their technology coveted as they had no ties to any other countries.
[''Black Panther'' vol. 3 #10. Marvel Comics.] Ulysses Klaw and his mercenaries invaded Wakanda and demanded that T'Chaka give them their vibranium. When T'Chaka refused to give them vibranium, Klaw had his mercenaries kill T'Chaka. This angered T'Challa who used one of the mercenaries' weapons to destroy their camp and rendered Ulysses Klaw's right hand useless. Afterwards, T'Challa's uncle
S'Yan ruled Wakanda until he came of age to become Chieftain Wakanda.
Powers and abilities
Upon eating a special heart-shaped herb, his natural powers are enhanced. T'Chaka possesses superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, reflexes, and senses. He is also an expert martial artist, a known weapons expert, a skilled marksman, an expert tracker and hunter, and a master tactician outside of his mutant powers.
Weaknesses
T'Chaka's heightened senses cause bright lights, loud noises, and strong smells to potentially overwhelm him.
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
In the ''
Ultimate Marvel'' universe, T'Chaka's full name was T'Chaka Udaku. In addition to T'Challa, he was also the father of
M'Baku.
Ultimate Universe
An alternate universe variant of T'Chaka from Earth-6160 appears in "
Ultimate Invasion". This version was killed by a suicide bomber working for
Ra and
Khonshu.
In other media
Film
T'Chaka, based on the
Ultimate Marvel incarnation, appears in ''
Ultimate Avengers II'', voiced by
Dave Fennoy.
[ A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.] This version possessed the ability to transform into a humanoid black panther and was killed by a
Chitauri disguised as Nazi general Herr Kleiser.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
T'Chaka appears in media set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...
(MCU), portrayed by
John Kani as an adult and
Atandwa Kani as a young adult.
* T'Chaka first appears in the live-action film ''
Captain America: Civil War'',
in which he and his son
T'Challa attend a United Nations conference to ratify the
Sokovia Accords before
Helmut Zemo detonates a bomb near the building, which kills T'Chaka.
* T'Chaka appears in the live-action film ''
Black Panther
A black panther is the Melanism, 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 Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
'' (2018). In flashbacks, he confronted his
War Dog brother
N'Jobu for helping
Ulysses Klaue steal Vibranium from them and attempting to force Wakanda to take on a more aggressive foreign policy to fight social injustice, which led to T'Chaka killing N'Jobu in self-defense. Concerned with maintaining Wakanda's security, he subsequently abandoned his nephew
Erik Stevens. Upon learning of what happened and amidst Erik's effort to take over Wakanda in the present, T'Challa confronts T'Chaka and their ancestors in the ancestral plane before vowing to correct their mistakes.
* Alternate timeline variants of T'Chaka appear in the
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
animated series ''
What If...?.''
** In "
What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", T'Chaka was first seen in a flashback advising his son T'Challa against exploring the outskirts of Wakanda which led to him getting abducted by the Ravagers by mistake and becoming
Star Lord. He would later be reunited with his son when he and the Ravagers come to Wakanda and hears about his exploits throughout the galaxy.
** In "
What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?", T'Chaka meets his estranged nephew
Killmonger after he brings Ulysses Klaue's dead body to him sometime after T'Challa's death.
** In "
What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?", a younger T'Chaka is among the heroes recruited by
Howard
Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
Stark and
Peggy Carter to fight a young
Peter Quill and
Ego.
Television
* T'Chaka as the Black Panther makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the ''
X-Men: The Animated Series'' episode "Sanctuary".
* T'Chaka appears in the ''
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
'' episode "Panther's Prey", voiced by
Beau Weaver.
* T'Chaka appears in a flashback in the ''
Black Panther
A black panther is the Melanism, 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 Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
'' (2011) episode "Revenge of the Evil", voiced by
Jonathan Adams.
* T'Chaka appears in ''
The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' episode "The Man in the Ant Hill", voiced by
Hakeem Kae-Kazim.
This version was killed by
Man-Ape and Klaw.
* T'Chaka appears in ''
Avengers Assemble'', voiced by
Keith David as an adult and
James C. Mathis III as a child.
This version provided Howard Stark with the Vibranium used in the creation of Captain America's shield after he helped him fend off a
HYDRA invasion during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, before later dying under unspecified circumstances.
* T'Chaka as the Black Panther appears in the ''
X-Men '97'' episode "Tolerance is Extinction - Part 3", voiced by Isaac Robinson-Smith.
References
External links
T'Chakaat Marvel Wiki
T'Chakaat Comic Vine
{{Jack Kirby
Black characters in films
African superheroes
Characters created by Jack Kirby
Characters created by Stan Lee
Comics characters introduced in 1966
Fictional World War II veterans
Male characters in film
Marvel Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds
Marvel Comics martial artists
Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman senses
Marvel Comics characters with superhuman strength
Marvel Comics male superheroes
Jungle superheroes
Wakandans