T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2021

[Marvell2100]

The leader of the most technologically advanced nation on earth and arguably the most powerful military force on earth I lacks confidence and constantly relies on the ones around him sounds like the theme of a comedy action anime. But even then on most cases by the end the protagonist is confident and overpowered. Not T'Challa though, he is one of those anime that end with the protagonist never growing but **** just keeps happening to him and he is rewarded for his inaction

But it made him more human and relatable.

[Ezyo1000]

But BP would win the fights except for Killmonger.

And the folks would who take BP through the ringer were mostly the main villains....No Goon Slam Barry stupidity from TNC were a single lackey woops BP.

What I liked about McGregor's BP going through the ringer was that BP wins the fight HIMSELF (except for Killmonger).

And of course the Tchalla/Lynne love story was pure Bliss.

I didn't mind the suit getting torn... it didn't have vibranium weave anyways. I see that whole pre-Priest era are BP/Tchalla challenging himself by not wearing a tech infused vibranium suit.

He got beat up by a lob of randos on a store, an old lady split his scalp with a can. He got best IL by a bunch of teenagers and he got beat up by KKK goons. Mcgregor did some good but he also out T'Challa through torture porn

[skyvolt2000]

I think that was a problem for all the arcs with Coates. He had a overarching story, but no mini-bosses to keep up the action while the big plot played out. It was just random nameless goons.

So would you say this run would have worked better as a graphic novel with better editing and an understanding of who Panther is?

[DigiCom]

So would you say this run would have worked better as a graphic novel with better editing and an understanding of who Panther is?

I think this run would have worked better with an active editor, not one who let the story spin its wheels for months.

[Ezyo1000]

So would you say this run would have worked better as a graphic novel with better editing and an understanding of who Panther is?

This run would of worked better of it never got past the pitching stage.

[Marvell2100]

So would you say this run would have worked better as a graphic novel with better editing and an understanding of who Panther is?

Nah, just scrap the whole thing. The premise just doesn't work for BP. It's like saying Steve Rogers never wanted to be Captain America to begin with.

And treehouse rape camps is a bad idea no matter what.

[Klaue's Mixtape]

Imagine if we had Boseman's T'Challa vs. Ejiofor's Achebe.

He's been wasted as Mordo.

[Cville]

So would you say this run would have worked better as a graphic novel with better editing and an understanding of who Panther is?

With all these changes it might as well have been a different run. Lol.

But no, I read trades all the time. And plenty of times I dont make it through the first "issue" without throwing it aside and forgetting I have it.

There are TV shows where you need to get to episode 4 or 5 for it to get good, but those early episodes usually sell sex and violence to get you through the setups. Coates rejects those ideas, so if his was my first exposure to BP like Hudlin was, I probably wouldn't have made it through that first issue.

[Huntsman Spider]

So would you say this run would have worked better as a graphic novel with better editing and an understanding of who Panther is?

I think this run would have worked better with an active editor, not one who let the story spin its wheels for months.

A lot of comic runs (and characters, for that matter) would be served better as or with original graphic novels telling complete stories in and of themselves. Come to think of it, if Coates was really serious about Black Panther being "Spider-Man for black kids," he could have taken Mark Millar's approach in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1-12 and written up an overarching showcase of T'Challa himself, his nation, his supporting cast, his allies and friends in the larger Marvel Universe, and his enemies, who --- like how Millar depicted Spider-Man's classic rogues after years of them being treated as jokes --- would be reemphasized as deadly and challenging foes. That could have definitely worked.

[Marvell2100]

A lot of comic runs (and characters, for that matter) would be served better as or with original graphic novels telling complete stories in and of themselves. Come to think of it, if Coates was really serious about Black Panther being "Spider-Man for black kids," he could have taken Mark Millar's approach in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1-12 and written up an overarching showcase of T'Challa himself, his nation, his supporting cast, his allies and friends in the larger Marvel Universe, and his enemies, who --- like how Millar depicted Spider-Man's classic rogues after years of them being treated as jokes --- would be reemphasized as deadly and challenging foes. That could have definitely worked.

If and I say if Coates were to have a do-over, his story should have been an out-of-continuity story of young T'Challa while T'Chaka was still alive. He could have been learning about what it means to be king and the hard decisions that need to be made. He leaves Wakanda and meets other young heroes(and yes he still meets Storm).

He sees what life is outside of Wakanda and sees the racism and injustices around the world. He could even take part in a BLM event and see police brutality first hand. He could have commented on all of the social ills of the rest of the world that he loves dumping on Wakanda

[MindofShadow]

A lot of comic runs (and characters, for that matter) would be served better as or with original graphic novels telling complete stories in and of themselves. Come to think of it, if Coates was really serious about Black Panther being "Spider-Man for black kids," he could have taken Mark Millar's approach in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1-12 and written up an overarching showcase of T'Challa himself, his nation, his supporting cast, his allies and friends in the larger Marvel Universe, and his enemies, who --- like how Millar depicted Spider-Man's classic rogues after years of them being treated as jokes --- would be reemphasized as deadly and challenging foes. That could have definitely worked.

What Ellis did with Moon Knight for 6 issues is more towards the goal of "making him someone's spider-man"

Let's hope Ridley can provide that pallet cleanse.

[Marvell2100]

What Ellis did with Moon Knight for 6 issues is more towards the goal of "making him someone's spider-man"

Let's hope Ridley can provide that pallet cleanse.

This is the only way.

[Ezyo1000]

A lot of comic runs (and characters, for that matter) would be served better as or with original graphic novels telling complete stories in and of themselves. Come to think of it, if Coates was really serious about Black Panther being "Spider-Man for black kids," he could have taken Mark Millar's approach in Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #1-12 and written up an overarching showcase of T'Challa himself, his nation, his supporting cast, his allies and friends in the larger Marvel Universe, and his enemies, who --- like how Millar depicted Spider-Man's classic rogues after years of them being treated as jokes --- would be reemphasized as deadly and challenging foes. That could have definitely worked.

The ultimate problem and why that wouldn't work is the simple fact that Coates doesn't like T'Challa or his nation or mythos. He made it abundantly clear. He didn't care to make him some kid's spiderman, he was too busy pushing an agenda. He doesn't like the idea of a powerful Black nation and power Black man leading. Doesn't matter not he has another shot or a 100. The results would be the same. Hell in his interview he wanted to drag put his lost memories for 21 issues.

[Mike_Murdock]

[B]This is a good post here. I would say that I don't think Mcgregor played down T'Challas super genius at all, in fact he had W'kabi possibly act like the audience as he was reacting to all the changes and technological advancements.

True. I guess the aspect that was played up a lot more with Priest's run isn't about technological intelligence, but tactical intelligence. McGregor's T'Challa was far more reactive and wasn't typically ten steps ahead/playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers.

The problem with treating Black Panther like a team is that there is nothing that supports that. The black panther IS Wakanda, it's the nation's protector, it's not a team name, it's an individual. The problem also occurred that Coates was so determined to ensure that "T'Challa's intelligence is presented as him knowing how to use the team to save the day but, over and over again, it demonstrates that he needs to rely on others and not just himself" that he made T'Challa passive, reactive and lacking agency. It where people started commenting that his greatest super power was delegating.

I agree that he ended up being fairly passive. Or, more accurately, that the resolutions seemed to depend on others being active. That being said, the idea of having a team isn't entirely new. I think there's some support with characters like Vibraxas. Maybe under Priest, those characters seemed much smaller and much more pawns in a bigger scheme while, under Coates, they seem more like equals?

[Ezyo1000]

True. I guess the aspect that was played up a lot more with Priest's run isn't about technological intelligence, but tactical intelligence. McGregor's T'Challa was far more reactive and wasn't typically ten steps ahead/playing chess while everyone else was playing checkers.



I agree that he ended up being fairly passive. Or, more accurately, that the resolutions seemed to depend on others being active. That being said, the idea of having a team isn't entirely new. I think there's some support with characters like Vibraxas. Maybe under Priest, those characters seemed much smaller and much more pawns in a bigger scheme while, under Coates, they seem more like equals?

I agree, Mcgregors panther was extremely passive and reacted/ stumbled into situations which was a problem for the king and a warrior of his caliber. You would think he was some second rare warrior by how much and How often he got beat down. Not great.

Yes he had allies but like you said they were More pawns. They worked and functioned under his command. Hudlin they were more asset's than pawns. But they never were equals. Coates shifted completely and made them come off as the heroes while T'Challa was just the guy to happened to be there. Hell when N'Jadaka comes to Wakanda prime Okoye is front and center and T'Challa is off to the side, Okoye takes down Erik and T'Challa takes down Zenzi. Like, who's supposed to be the hero? T'Challa or Okoye because how he is treated you would not think he is THE guy.