So I said I was going to review the Peter Gillis Black Panther miniseries this week. This is issue one:
Black Panther Vol. 2 #1 -
Cry, the Accursed Country!
This miniseries begins with something very clearly inspired by Don McGregor - the Black Panther wrestling a Rhinoceros. In the background, two Black Panthers creep out of the Jungle. Considering
one hasn't been seen in the real world in 100 years, two must be an incredible sight. Meanwhile, in racist shithole Azania, white police officers beat a black man who cries out a prayer to the Panther. These two events seem related as the panthers surprisingly attack T'Challa and the man turns into some kind of cat beast. The Black Panther defeats the cats through his superior fighting skills and sleep gas deployed from his gloves. That being said, T'Challa wonders why the "totems of his office" attacked him and why he wasn't as effective in battle.
In Wakanda, people begin to whisper about T'Challa. About how he is too western. How he fights for others more than for them. They wonder if the Panther spirit has left him. Likewise, news of a cat monster attacking in Azania spreads and foreign dignitaries wonder if this was the Black Panther. T'Challa knows it wasn't him, but also recognizes that his efforts at diplomacy in Azania have failed and either he will have to support a revolt that will likely fail (and result in thousands of deaths) or look like he has abandoned them. It's also possible the decision has been taken out of his hands as Azania is already in the throws of revolution where people are convinced the black panther is on their side. T'Challa's words on this please nobody. He essentially says that this apartheid regime is evil, but the violence against it isn't helping.
T'Challa turns to Medinao for his views. Medinao tells him that the panther god might have left him and that he needs to undergo the ordeal of the white ape. He climbs the mountain and easily plucks the leaf he needs. Then he sees the White Ape who picks him up, they struggle, and T'Challa essentially dives off the side of the mountain. He runs and makes it to safety only to discover that his supporters had been secretly using technology to weaken the White Apes in order for T'Challa to survive. Given this, the ritual is in doubt and T'Challa is to face trial over his fitness to rule.
Random thoughts:
* The knockout gas might be the first technological use of his panther costume.
* T'Challa has green cat eyes throughout this issue. Was that a thing?
* This issue has well-worn themes about the people in Wakanda distrusting T'Challa's fitness to rule, as well as technology vs. tradition. There are two main differences, though.
* The first is Azania, which is a blatant South Africa metaphor. That being said, I like that, because it's close to Wakanda, it might share in some of the same traditions. I like that they might pray to the Panther god for help and that the god might answer (for purposes of this, I'm going to use "god" generically because that's what the story uses, rather than Bast).
* Interestingly, the cat monster is attacking people who hate but support the state. The first is a governor who has been trying to reform the system from within with no apparent success. The second is a middle class bureaucrat who evicted some non-whites because, to do otherwise would cost him his job, but hated to do it. I suppose the message is perpetuating the system is being a part of it regardless of intent.
* The other main difference is the explicit focus on the Panther god. We've seen the Lion god before and the White Ape seems to be just based on a real terrifying animal, but this is the first time the Wakandan god is seen as having supernatural powers. They also expand on Wakandan religion. Apparently, each day, the White Ape kills the Black Panther only for the Panther to be reborn the next day. It's not much to go on and I feel like the Panther/White Ape dynamic has taken a backseat since Bast arrived on the scene, but it's worth noting.
Overall, it's a good start. I remember being hesitant to see the explicit supernatural parts of the story the first time but it drives the conflict in a way that is quite good. I like the idea of another avatar of Bast acting because T'Challa would not.