T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2021

[Huntsman Spider]

The thing is all you have to do to counteract T’Challa’s vibranium is say that Klaw, who should basically be an omega-level sound manipulator, can overload or otherwise render the metal inert. How’d he pose a threat under Coates, didn’t he just steal some reverbium? The issue with Klaw isn’t his power levels (it doesn’t take much for a writer to make him one of the most dangerous beings on the planet) it’s that he’s a boring one note villain.

Killmonger’s worked across the comic and now movie medium because even if he can be a bit bland himself, he has an actual personality and sometimes actually stands for themes and ideas bigger than himself. Or at least he can convince himself and the audience of that lol. He’s power-hungry, a broken kid stolen from paradise lashing out against the world, the dark mirror of the worst traits T’Challa sees in himself. It helps that there have been little tidbits to humanize him, from Madame Slay to his “son” among the Death Regiments. Killmonger’s not a “great” antagonist but he has something other than “evil guy after Wakandan resources”.

Outside killing his dad, Klaw doesn’t have any real connection to T’Challa, he doesn’t represent anything on a thematic level other than global (post)-colonial white supremacy which is an interesting contrast but what else is there? A dead sister no one gives a **** about? Where’s his compelling backstory, what are his views on the world in a changing geopolitical landscape, what does it really mean for him to be living sound, who are his subordinates and why do they follow him? He’s a stock villain, a comedic one at best like in the BP movie. There are plenty of great, epic stories to be told with Klaw but no one at Marvel seems to want to tell them.

Moses Magnum should be a much bigger deal than he currently is. I personally don’t love the whole leader of a rival nation angle, I’d like to see someone lean into him being a legitimate (but corrupt) arms dealer because T’Challa needs more global threats with assets across multiple continents. Plus it diversifies the rogues gallery to include other realistic threats to Wakanda, sure other nations can be a big deal but in the modern world corporations can be just as big a threat to national security.

Viper would be really great too. She’s one of Marvel’s best female villains and having another criminal/smuggler would be great. Haven’t had one of those since pre-Coates. Helps that she’s not often used all that much, a lot like Magnum. They wouldn’t be too hard to annex into the BP rogues gallery.

I’d also like to see Kraven make a comeback or maybe reveal he had a son with a Wakandan spy and have him be an enemy.

Damballah would be interesting. The son of the Elder God Set and one of the most powerful demons at Marvel, who may or may not be masquerading as the Voodoo god of life and creation. Lots of lore could be mined with him as maybe a deity of the ancient Wakandans and you have potential ties to other heroes like Brother Voodoo.

Good, even great ideas there. While Kraven is back to being dead thanks to the Hunted saga that closed out the first year of Nick Spencer's Amazing Spider-Man, he does have a clone son out there who's taken up his name and mantle, so he could easily show up as an antagonist for Black Panther. I particularly like your assessments of Killmonger and Klaw as well. Moses Magnum as a corrupt weapons manufacturer and dealer with an interest in appropriating Wakandan technology (and vibranium) to make deadlier and more powerful weapons that he can turn an even bigger profit from . . . that would be pretty inspired, too.

[DigiCom]

True story... I first saw Klaw in the original SECRET WARS in the 1980s, when Doom carved his solid-sound body up to use as lenses in a machine to steal the Beyonder's power.

As he was depicted a bit loopy, I have _never_ been able to take the character seriously, since in the back of my mind, he was always this guy:

[MindofShadow]

They actually got the scope of Klaw's power levels in that Klaw's book of Shuris.

Nobody read it though lol

WITBP was a good enough klaw (but it was an origin story, which is his only story basically). But my favorite was his appearance in Priest run. One, because they did some interesting things with his powers. Two, because they got T'challa's demeanor around him correct.

Klaw should be the one person in the world that makes T'challa see red. T'challa is mr king, avatar, poker face... but he can't with Klaw. He sees klaw and he is that 10 year old kid again that watched his dad get murked.

T'challa isn't a true "killer" but Klaw is his exception. Like he said in priest run

"I shall not rest until every atom of his essence has been destroyed"

[DigiCom]

"I shall not rest until every atom of his essence has been destroyed"

Which is great from a character perspective, but becomes counter-productive when they've had their "final battle" 5 or 6 times.

[Ezyo1000]

Who all I want to see show up in the gallery (updated and annexed in)
Zanda (RJs version)
Moses Magnum
The supremacist (updated name and look)
Klaw (updated and buffed)
Black swan
Black dwarf (time we see dwarf put down on panel by T'Challa)
Achebe
I wouldn't mind Tetu and Zenzi getting actual development. Tetu I feel can become a shaman of great power and Zenzi can be a lot better defined in her powers with the right writer.

[Ezyo1000]

Which is great from a character perspective, but becomes counter-productive when they've had their "final battle" 5 or 6 times.

I think MoS idea works, it also is a way to haunt T'Challa because klaw is made of sound, he can't "kill" him permanently, so he is forever tortured by this fact. That, and then make klaw just become a lot stronger. He needs to become an avengers level threat. World ending threat like in klaws but actually kills some characters (such as GOLD BALLS lol) and makes sound clones that start to ramsack the world. Only vibranium can hurt him but he is so strong now that it becomes something that harms him, but to kill him your needs a lot of it and it's not just slashing him to bits that will get the job done.

At the end of a very emotional and personal fight before klaw fades away or "dies" he tells T'Challa "I'll be back, you know this as much as I. In the end, you know you can never truly kill me, you missed that opportunity a long time ago" after that retire klaw for a few years to come back again stronger than before, something T'Challa also knows, the longer he fails to kill klaw for good, the harder it becomes to do the next time, he basically is on a time crunch to end him

[chief12d]

Funny enough, "Spider-Punk," actually called the Anarchic Spider-Man, is an A/U version of Hobie Brown that became the Spider-Man of his reality after being bitten by a spider exposed to toxic waste dumped by Oscorp and started a punk rock revolution against President Norman Osborn, who was also the Venom of that reality. That being said, I would definitely love to see Hobie and T'Challa interact at some point, and since somebody brought up Cress Williams, I'm thinking that if the big owners behind Marvel and DC start playing nice with each other (again), it'd be great to see a Black Panther/Black Lightning team-up.

That said, congratulations on making it past 200 pages, everyone. Looking forward to more conversation, discussion, and debate with you all on Black Panther and everything related.

Congrats on 200 pages. We really do move fast in this thread lol.

I gotta say I’m tentatively optimistic about the future of our guy this year. From what I’ve heard the Avengers game is slowly improving so maybe the Black Panther expansion really hits it out the park. While I don’t have the highest hopes for the solo relaunch maybe I’m proven wrong and we really get someone amazing to spearhead a new BP era. We already had an amazing anthology book I’m probably gonna end up rereading soon. Hopefully the Avengers book keeps on being BP competence porn and if the book gets relaunched we have Ewing or someone writing T’Challa as a big player. 2021 could POTENTIALLY be the best year of BP comics/non-MCU stuff since Liss. 2022 I expect fuckery in this thread but for now I’m looking forward to what Marvel has planned lol.

[Hypestyle]

In the comics, has the Panther/Shuri started establishing schools for urban youth in the United States? STEM charter academies, etc.?

[Ezyo1000]

I have basically given up on the MCU for the time being all together. I'm not going to lie, impost interesting in the MCU after the 2nd avengers movie and only watched a few of the solos after. And then only cared about BP and IW/EG but both were in particular because T'Challa was going to show up.

Now I just don't care. Of T'Challa isn't around and they are going to shelf his entire story and move on with lesser known or cared about characters, then frak it

[BlackClaw]

I’ve given up on BP’s side of the MCU as well. And no amount of gaslighting and guilt tripping from unfans is gonna get me to see BP2. At least I have other mediums to get my T’Challa fix.

[The92Ghost]

Congrats on 200 pages. We really do move fast in this thread lol.

I gotta say I’m tentatively optimistic about the future of our guy this year. From what I’ve heard the Avengers game is slowly improving so maybe the Black Panther expansion really hits it out the park. While I don’t have the highest hopes for the solo relaunch maybe I’m proven wrong and we really get someone amazing to spearhead a new BP era. We already had an amazing anthology book I’m probably gonna end up rereading soon. Hopefully the Avengers book keeps on being BP competence porn and if the book gets relaunched we have Ewing or someone writing T’Challa as a big player. 2021 could POTENTIALLY be the best year of BP comics/non-MCU stuff since Liss. 2022 I expect fuckery in this thread but for now I’m looking forward to what Marvel has planned lol.

Yep, actually, I am having some fun with the game now, after the new patch. It is improving slowly and in a good way. I do hope all the content they promised before BP makes it in, so when BP comes, he will land on stability. Also, Wakanda looks absolutely stunningly in the trailer for BP.

And since, I didn't see the video for BP from MA here, here it is from me, enjoy it:

[Vordan]

In the comics, has the Panther/Shuri started establishing schools for urban youth in the United States? STEM charter academies, etc.?

Don’t think that’s happened yet. It would be a pretty cool arc to see them doing so. Especially since there’s no way the American government would be cool with a foreign country opening schools within its borders.

Yep, actually, I am having some fun with the game now, after the new patch. It is improving slowly and in a good way. I do hope all the content they promised before BP makes it in, so when BP comes, he will land on stability. Also, Wakanda looks absolutely stunningly in the trailer for BP.

And since, I didn't see the video for BP from MA here, here it is from me, enjoy it:

The trailer definitely looks cool but they increased the amount of grinding you have to do apparently, so I just don’t what the hell their plans is. I’m just going to wait for a “Complete Edition”.

[Huntsman Spider]

Congrats on 200 pages. We really do move fast in this thread lol.

I gotta say I’m tentatively optimistic about the future of our guy this year. From what I’ve heard the Avengers game is slowly improving so maybe the Black Panther expansion really hits it out the park. While I don’t have the highest hopes for the solo relaunch maybe I’m proven wrong and we really get someone amazing to spearhead a new BP era. We already had an amazing anthology book I’m probably gonna end up rereading soon. Hopefully the Avengers book keeps on being BP competence porn and if the book gets relaunched we have Ewing or someone writing T’Challa as a big player. 2021 could POTENTIALLY be the best year of BP comics/non-MCU stuff since Liss. 2022 I expect fuckery in this thread but for now I’m looking forward to what Marvel has planned lol.

Yeah, that's generally in the ballpark of what I'm thinking as well. The Avengers game rendition of T'Challa looks slightly better than the leaked/hacked image led me to believe, so there's at least some hope there, in my view.

[Ekie]

Which is great from a character perspective, but becomes counter-productive when they've had their "final battle" 5 or 6 times.

But that's Comics though. Batman versus Joker never gets tired because they come up with interesting ways to keep going despite the fact that it should have ended after 3 fights

[taozen]

This 65 year old lookin T'challa has got to go lol

And who is the fire/ice chick in the last panel?

You right. T'Challa looks at least in his 50s!!