T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2021

[BlackClaw]

It is over.

We all win lol

A new era is upon us. Thank Bast.

[Ezyo1000]

Thanks for appreciating my Superman analogy.



That's an interesting point you raise about T'Challa as a revolutionary figure getting watered down into a "moderate" who consigns himself to upholding an increasingly evidently corrupt and untenable status quo, and I'd add that the same argument could be applied to the superhero genre as it currently exists on the whole. A number of characters in the genre did start off as somewhat revolutionary or even radical, only to then get "sanitized" by corporate ownership into something more "palatable" to the masses and, not-so-coincidentally, the same corporate ownership that would balk at those revolutionary or radical messages being applied against them in real life. It's not so much to excuse what Coates did with the Black Panther mythos, as more an explanation of the kind of creative environment that would ultimately yield something like this.



Thank you as well, and I can definitely agree with that. It's just a shame that some of the glimmers of better ideas or concepts had to be wedded to such an awful, regressive take on the character and the mythos.

It's also very telling about how these corporations operate. No lie, if Coates was a white male, this run and marvel would of been crucified. People would not be hailing this as some legendary run abd worshipping Coates. They would of cancelled this so hard and had a vet writer on so fast doing damage control and putting as much distance from the run as possible while trying their damnedest to bury it away.

Now take his Cap run. Way more restricted, way more oversight, he wasn't allowed to do whatever he wanted like T'Challa. Because Cap is protected and they would be Damned of they let Coates turn him into something even remotely similar to how T'Challa has been treated.

[4sake Baned]

Your right he did do it... He became a worse comic writer and storyteller than he was at the start

Can't take that away from him indeed

Big facts......

[Redjack]

My question is... Why? What is SO radical about your pitch, SO controversial, that your pitch is turned down, yet Blatant racist stereotypes, contrived sexism, and all around sidelining and Character assassination of T'Challa and the BP mythos by a neophyte comic writer with no oversight and full control as well as pull for his other neophyte colleagues to further damage the franchise save two, is somehow okay?

hm.

well, not to get TOO real about this stuff but, if you're reading my GL right now, you'll see I write the kind of stories I write. Company doesn't matter. I'm never going to be Somebody-Else Lite.

Fine for a one-off but committing to a vision for multiple years (possibly) is not something these folks want to do with a guy they never heard of. And it's just possible the stuff I would do doesn't line up with what the company plans for the character or his universe.

And I'm not interested in just carrying on with what was built over the last few years. So? unlikely it'll ever be an issue.

[Klaue's Mixtape]

Your right he did do it... He became a worse comic writer and storyteller than he was at the start

Can't take that away from him indeed

Even you dont believe that.

[Cville]

Standard Coates, pretty underwhelming. None of his themes really get resolved, just a bunch of philosophy loops that really mean nothing. The outcome of the first arc is erasedspoilers:

Tchalla becomes Emporer, but no explanation of why. Unless it's keep what you kill logic. And unlike some where thinking he doesn't really embrace it. He's essentially the same as from issue one.

end of spoilers, the second swept under the rugspoilers:

They give the originators their own planet

end of spoilers The Orishi do nothingspoilers:

Zenzi volunteers to become Bast, the new form looks cool

end of spoilers Storm does nothing but talk at the end as the biggest contribution.

I don't know how much Ridley can wipe away, but most of the stories don't need any follow ups anymore except for how the empire will continue. And will the former slaves get reparations? Lol

[chief12d]

Standard Coates, pretty underwhelming. None of his themes really get resolved, just a bunch of philosophy loops that really mean nothing. The outcome of the first arc is erasedspoilers:

Tchalla becomes Emporer, but no explanation of why. Unless it's keep what you kill logic. And unlike some where thinking he doesn't really embrace it. He's essentially the same as from issue one.

end of spoilers, the second swept under the rugspoilers:

They give the originators their own planet

end of spoilers The Orishi do nothingspoilers:

Zenzi volunteers to become Bast, the new form looks cool

end of spoilers Storm does nothing but talk at the end as the biggest contribution.

I don't know how much Ridley can wipe away, but most of the stories don't need any follow ups anymore except for how the empire will continue. And will the former slaves get reparations? Lol

spoilers:

Hopefully Zenzi becoming Bast means she died. No good reason why after spending most of her publication history slaughtering Wakandans she should actually be anything more than a vessel. It’d be a slap in the face if the people of Wakanda worshipped her. Her sacrificing herself after realizing she was wrong about T’Challa is far more fitting than her legitimately being a goddess. T’Challa becoming Emperor basically makes me think the democracy **** is dead and he has full authority now. The Constitutional Council is back to being a secondary body like the Tribal Council and they’ll mostly be sidelined in favor of royal power. That’s good to hear. Yeah I pretty much expected the Originators to get their own planet, that’s the closest to reparations they could’ve gotten. I’d be perfectly fine never seeing them again but if they do return it’d have to be with retconned origins and a new villainous turn. Maybe they turn to the worship of the Old Gods after realizing their true origins and become a marauding force in the Empire. Happy to see Storm was irrelevant here, she deserves nothing from BP. Looking forward to her being irrelevant in future books. I doubt she’s the love from Ridley’s first arc and going off spoilers from X-Men she’s gonna be in space with Ewing’s SWORD after X-Men #20. How prominent she’ll be after is anyone’s guess but her relationship with this franchise seems dead for now. Of course the Orisha did nothing lol. What constitutes a god is so arbitrary in the BP mythos that I would not be surprised at all if someone like Kokou or Ptah weren’t mentioned again and replaced with Ridley’s own pet characters like Anansi who was called out in KIB. The space Empire should be Serpent Valley or Western Foothills status, present but mostly ignored by writers unless you have a story to tell. I suspect Ridley will eventually want to at least do one story there but I hope he doesn’t try to turn BP into a cosmic title for several arcs like Coates. Overall like many theorized, Coates put several toys back in the box and the wider MU ensured his legacy would be limited. It’s open-ended enough we’re future writers can pick up on his plot points if they want or completely go in their own direction. Whether this run has any true relevance going forward has to do with the MCU and whatever synergy comes out of potential adaptations of his run. But in the immediate aftermath Coates’ run affects nothing substantial. Good riddance and my apologies to Superman fans in advance.

end of spoilers

[Cville]

spoilers:

Hopefully Zenzi becoming Bast means she died. No good reason why after spending most of her publication history slaughtering Wakandans she should actually be anything more than a vessel. It’d be a slap in the face if the people of Wakanda worshipped her. Her sacrificing herself after realizing she was wrong about T’Challa is far more fitting than her legitimately being a goddess. T’Challa becoming Emperor basically makes me think the democracy **** is dead and he has full authority now. The Constitutional Council is back to being a secondary body like the Tribal Council and they’ll mostly be sidelined in favor of royal power. That’s good to hear. Yeah I pretty much expected the Originators to get their own planet, that’s the closest to reparations they could’ve gotten. I’d be perfectly fine never seeing them again but if they do return it’d have to be with retconned origins and a new villainous turn. Maybe they turn to the worship of the Old Gods after realizing their true origins and become a marauding force in the Empire. Happy to see Storm was irrelevant here, she deserves nothing from BP. Looking forward to her being irrelevant in future books. I doubt she’s the love from Ridley’s first arc and going off spoilers from X-Men she’s gonna be in space with Ewing’s SWORD after X-Men #20. How prominent she’ll be after is anyone’s guess but her relationship with this franchise seems dead for now. Of course the Orisha did nothing lol. What constitutes a god is so arbitrary in the BP mythos that I would not be surprised at all if someone like Kokou or Ptah weren’t mentioned again and replaced with Ridley’s own pet characters like Anansi who was called out in KIB. The space Empire should be Serpent Valley or Western Foothills status, present but mostly ignored by writers unless you have a story to tell. I suspect Ridley will eventually want to at least do one story there but I hope he doesn’t try to turn BP into a cosmic title for several arcs like Coates. Overall like many theorized, Coates put several toys back in the box and the wider MU ensured his legacy would be limited. It’s open-ended enough we’re future writers can pick up on his plot points if they want or completely go in their own direction. Whether this run has any true relevance going forward has to do with the MCU and whatever synergy comes out of potential adaptations of his run. But in the immediate aftermath Coates’ run affects nothing substantial. Good riddance and my apologies to Superman fans in advance.

end of spoilers

Speaking of Superman, you watching that CW Superman and Lois. The writing for that show is excellent.

[DigiCom]

Well, that was dull & incoherent. But hey... it's "The Circle". That's all the explanation you need. :P

See you folks in August.

[Ezyo1000]

hm.

well, not to get TOO real about this stuff but, if you're reading my GL right now, you'll see I write the kind of stories I write. Company doesn't matter. I'm never going to be Somebody-Else Lite.

Fine for a one-off but committing to a vision for multiple years (possibly) is not something these folks want to do with a guy they never heard of. And it's just possible the stuff I would do doesn't line up with what the company plans for the character or his universe.

And I'm not interested in just carrying on with what was built over the last few years. So? unlikely it'll ever be an issue.

O am reading your GL strictly Because I know the treatment and respect you give to these characters. I am not at all a DC fan really, I have zero idea what goes on in the DCU, however, what your doing with GL is Amazing work.

I don't get it, how much more do you have to prove your up to the task. You did the Panther quest for bast sake and got critical acclaim and overall positivity from fans. Sure your not a celebrity writer but cotdammit your a veteran comic writer. All this big flashy people we got over the last 5 years contributed nothing valuable to the run and simply used it as a means for their own bias and forced the Character to behave OOC to make their stories work.

Simply put. You deserve your shot just as much as anyone else. Especially given what you have done already (King in Black is still the best oneshot I have ever read and the best thing to come out of this Coates era nightmare out of the solo)

[Ezyo1000]

Even you dont believe that.

Yes I do... Season one was his best season by far... But that's like saying season one was the least smelliest turd he produced

[MindofShadow]

Hey, Nicholas Cage, is Black Panther some kids Spider-Man yet?



Damn that's cold Mr. Cage. MJ, the GOAT, did Coates accomplish his goal?

[Devaishwarya]

I just want to say...
Hallelujah.jpg
Free at Last.jpg

[Devaishwarya]

Let's celebrate!!! To August!!!
Moet e Chandon.jpg

[MindofShadow]

Well, that was dull & incoherent. But hey... it's "The Circle". That's all the explanation you need. :P

See you folks in August.

This dude literally has no idea how to write fiction.

Zenzi has been absent for years. You cannot have a character who has BARELY SPOKEN, who's backstory was told in another book, suddenly become so important to the story. It makes no story telling sense.

AND WTF ARE ZENZIS POWERS lol??

Speaking of which... Bast makes no story telling sense. From beginning to end, she been... nonsensical. And Coates writes this off as "god doing what gods do, get over it"

Dude still never learned that the main character needs to be the main focus. This whole issue should have had T'challa narrating. The whole time. You are ending 5 years... and you chose Bast/Zenzi to narrate most of the book?

Coates said he had 5 stories in his head, but truth is, he had one. Season 1. The only season that had any sort of semi-coherent story telling involved.