Black Panther Vol. 2 #4 -
A Cat Can Look at a King...
Wakanda celebrates T'Challa's victory, including Malaika (yay). But T'Challa doesn't feel like celebrating. He has one battle left to fight. He goes to face the Panther god. During the fight, the god scolds T'Challa for not helping [his] people. T'Challa thought he was helping, but the god doesn't think it was nearly enough. The Panther god's views are interesting. Honestly, they remind me a lot of Erik Killmonger in the movie. The fight takes T'Challa into the technological jungle. That seems to help for a moment, but then they fight anew. T'Challa eventually uses the techno jungle to gain an advantage over the man the Panther god is inhabiting, who collapses unconscious. But the Panther god itself is still strong.
Meanwhile, in Azania, a few men walk into a government meeting. One of them has proof that T'Challa was in Paris when the Panther god attacked. Specifically, he has photographs and T'Challa's Avengers ID Card. They realize that, if the revolt got this far without the Black Panther, maybe it would succeed with him. They decide to reach a political solution to end apartheid.
Back in the fight, T'Challa tells his god that he will never stop fighting against what is wrong, even if it's against his god. At this, the god tells him that he's learned his lesson and leaves.
And that's pretty much how the issue ends. When I first read this story, I thought it was OK, but not great. This time, I like it much more. I think I was skeptical of the literal religious aspects. I love the Black Panther's mythology, but I didn't like an actual physical entity being there. It also felt like it was undercutting T'Challa's own fighting skills and the Heart-Shaped Herb if the Panther god is what gave him strength. But I read this story fairly early, having only really read Lee's Fantastic Four, McGregor's Jungle Action, Kirby's Black Panther, and the stories that finished out that volume. Since then, the role of the Panther god[dess] took on a much stronger aspect of the character's background. I also think the art is quite strong for the time. The story takes much greater influence from Panther's Rage than I had realized considering, to my knowledge, the only character who overlaps is T'Challa.
That being said, issues one and three are the strongest. I thought issue two was OK, but not great. Issue four has some very good moments, but I also found the ending to be underwhelming. Still, I would definitely recommend anyone check it out if you're a fan of the character.