T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2021

[MindofShadow]

Didn't someone in here want this:

The T’Challa of Black Panther #1 feels far more assertive, and perhaps a little headstrong in comparison to the character in Coates’ run. I don’t normally like comparing takes on characters when creative teams change, but it’s a noticeable shift that readers, especially those that began with the preceding volume may find jarring. Part of this is Ridley’s use of captions, or rather a lack thereof. Outside of the opening and final pages, there are no captions that allow the readers inside of T’Challa’s head, creating a bit of mystique. You don’t quite know exactly what T’Challa is thinking in every moment, and that adds to the mystique of an espionage plot.

I can't remember who.

[BlackClaw]

I’m just glad T’Challa isn’t a mopey sad sack anymore. Hopefully Ridley keeps this energy throughout his run.

[KingNomarch]

Didn't someone in here want this:




I can't remember who.

Leaning towards the Priest/Redjack T'Challa is a step in the right direction. Hard to do worse than Coates T'Challa, the only examples I can think of off the top of my head are ultimate T'Challa and the other AU T'Challa that got manipulated by Storm into fighting Killmonger with both getting killed by her so that she can rule Wakanda.

[Dariel81]

Early reviews are out there.

I won't go into details, but my interest has dropped another notch or two.

Early reviews are very good to Great.

Ole negative @$$

[DigiCom]

Didn't someone in here want this:

I can't remember who.

That was me, actually.

Early reviews are very good to Great.

Ole negative @$$

What can I say... I've been burned too often.

[chief12d]

Everything I’ve read so far makes me think this is a MASSIVE step in the right direction. The general consensus is T’Challa is more sure of himself and shady than ever before. Some elements of Coates were rolled over but Ridley’s usage of them is decidedly more distinct while emphasizing the more Priest-like elements of T’Challa as a personality. It’s action packed, sets up some intriguing commentary about T’Challa’s role in the MU, and has some interesting new ideas. Overall, it sounds like a modern day Priest run with some MCU and Coates stuff thrown in for a sense of synergy and continuity. I’m hyped lol.

And the secret he’s keeping is kinda wild so I’m interested to see how it all plays out. This is NOT Coates or MCU T’Challa at all.

[BlackClaw]

Everything I’ve read so far makes me think this is a MASSIVE step in the right direction. The general consensus is T’Challa is more sure of himself and shady than ever before. Some elements of Coates were rolled over but Ridley’s usage of them is decidedly more distinct while emphasizing the more Priest-like elements of T’Challa as a personality. It’s action packed, sets up some intriguing commentary about T’Challa’s role in the MU, and has some interesting new ideas. Overall, it sounds like a modern day Priest run with some MCU and Coates stuff thrown in for a sense of synergy and continuity. I’m hyped lol.

Co-signed. Though the 200 issue is gonna be Ridleys make or break moment.

[chief12d]

Co-signed. Though the 200 issue is gonna be Ridleys make or break moment.

Easily. For all we know this could be set up for a Storm booty call that results in T’Challa getting his ass beat by the X-Men. But just going off reviews it seems the #1 is gonna put some much needed respect on T’Challa’s name while setting up some really interesting conflicts moving forward for the character.

I’ll worry about issue 200 when it gets here lol. The bar is still very low rn and if this run only meets half that potential everything points to it being a big improvement over Coates, Ayala, and the other shitty BP writers we’ve gotten these last few years.

[Dariel81]

That was me, actually.



What can I say... I've been burned too often.

Lol I'm joking by the way and I definitely understand... I'm
Giving it three issues that's it

[chief12d]

Thta was written by Rob Reed who used to post here. He is an actual BP fan.

Wasn’t he a big Coates supporter? It’s no surprise he seemed to have an issue with the lack of insight into T’Challa’s thoughts and probably prefers a less aggressive take on the character going by his review. I imagine Ridley’s run won’t be considered a critical darling in part because (as of right now) he doesn’t seem to be writing a neutered version of T’Challa that relies on his supporting cast to get things done and who isn’t a completely nice person.

That’s definitely gonna be a shock to people who prefer the more defeated take of the Coates run. Especially if they started reading BP with the Coates era, which for many reviewers and Twitter users is the case. For all intents and purposes Coates is the definitive modern BP for most commentators because most of them didn’t give a **** about BP prior to the MCU.

[Marvell2100]

Everything I’ve read so far makes me think this is a MASSIVE step in the right direction. The general consensus is T’Challa is more sure of himself and shady than ever before. Some elements of Coates were rolled over but Ridley’s usage of them is decidedly more distinct while emphasizing the more Priest-like elements of T’Challa as a personality. It’s action packed, sets up some intriguing commentary about T’Challa’s role in the MU, and has some interesting new ideas. Overall, it sounds like a modern day Priest run with some MCU and Coates stuff thrown in for a sense of synergy and continuity. I’m hyped lol.

And the secret he’s keeping is kinda wild so I’m interested to see how it all plays out. This is NOT Coates or MCU T’Challa at all.

I would say so. T'Challa from what we've seen so far has been authoritative, confident and assertive. Coates T'Challa did not have these qualities.

He's back to being someone you trust but really don't know. The aura is back.

[Marvell2100]

That was me, actually.



What can I say... I've been burned too often.

Yes, Jedi, let your pessimism flow through you!!!!! Release your anger and doubt and strike down those positive reviews and take your rightful place by my side!

[chief12d]

I would say so. T'Challa from what we've seen so far has been authoritative, confident and assertive. Coates T'Challa did not have these qualities.

He's back to being someone you trust but really don't know. The aura is back.

Yup I think 2 or so reviews made it a point to highlight how this is a sharp deviation from Coates so I’m already on board just for the sake of getting some different stuff with the character for a change. Always gotta keep in mind that could all go away as the story unfolds, but right now this feels like Priest 2.0. Or maybe Hudlin since this does seem to be a more informal T’Challa. I’m excited to see a return to globetrotting espionage and conspiracy for the mythos. And it really does set up some compelling conflicts for his character both physically and thematically (both of which have been missing for awhile.)

[MindofShadow]

Wasn’t he a big Coates supporter? It’s no surprise he seemed to have an issue with the lack of insight into T’Challa’s thoughts and probably prefers a less aggressive take on the character going by his review. I imagine Ridley’s run won’t be considered a critical darling in part because (as of right now) he doesn’t seem to be writing a neutered version of T’Challa that relies on his supporting cast to get things done and who isn’t a completely nice person.

That’s definitely gonna be a shock to people who prefer the more defeated take of the Coates run. Especially if they started reading BP with the Coates era, which for many reviewers and Twitter users is the case. For all intents and purposes Coates is the definitive modern BP for most commentators because most of them didn’t give a **** about BP prior to the MCU.

I think he was ok with it initially then soured as it went along

Rob is also team recast for the MCU.

He posts on the black panther subreddit

EDIT

More from Rob btw

As a critic, I gave it an 8/10, it's a solid book with good qualities, but I wasn't so keen on the dialogue.

As a fan, I'm probably a bit less warm on it. For those fans who did not care for Coates' take on T'Challa, I think this feels like a pivot from that iteration (though how far away we're going isn't quite clear). At the same time there's still a lot of questions to be answered in future issues.

EDIT: of course my ass has been thinking about this book for three days and it only now coalesces in my head: with regards to T'Challa's characterization, it's MCU Civil War T'Challa but we haven't reached the point in the story where he has an opportunity to kill (or pass on killing) Zemo. A (slight, I'm really trying not to oversell it) touch of Priest's Panther.

[Marvell2100]

Weird thought came into my head: How dangerous is an evil T'Challa? We saw what Stevil could do, how worse would it be with T'Chevil?