T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2021

[MindofShadow]

I can already hear people calling T'Challa a Mary Sue from the latest Hulk issue.

Shulk dialogue was perfect for T'challa

spoilers:

And When it comes, it is graceful. I've SEEN T'challa angry. This isn't that-- It's CALCULATION. Take down the immediate danger first-- and then deal with Sterns. Take Bruce down first. He yells something over my cousin's screams

end of spoilers

Poetry lol

[Pulp Fiction]

Ewing's T'challa has always been a boss

[MindofShadow]

Oh and Okoye was the main character of hte Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon mini btw

So, if you like the character, check it out.

spoilers:

Poor Danny, he gave up his Iron Fist nad gave it to Okoye lol. Depowered again. Okoye ended up giving up the powers though but she defeated the main boss

end of spoilers

Not a bad day for TEam Wakanda lol

[BlackClaw]

That seriously might be the most impressive physical feats T'challa has managed... ever? in Immortal Hulk.

holy **** lol

spoilers:

dagger through the eyes hurting Hulk, cutt of his arm with his claws, then speared the dude to the point Jen turned traitor to save Hulk lol.

end of spoilers

Gotdamn Ewing. Invite Ewing to the BBQ lol

What’s this? A new feat? Impossible! Impossible I say!

[Marvell2100]

Oh and Okoye was the main character of hte Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon mini btw

So, if you like the character, check it out.

spoilers:

Poor Danny, he gave up his Iron Fist nad gave it to Okoye lol. Depowered again. Okoye ended up giving up the powers though but she defeated the main boss

end of spoilers

Not a bad day for TEam Wakanda lol

Yeah, I've been following that book. Some real good things for Okoye.

It's good we get to see Wakandans other than BP do some badassery . And it's outside of a BP book.

Anyone know what's going on with the Wakandan Valkyrie?

[Marvell2100]

What’s this? A new feat? Impossible! Impossible I say!

What we need to do is gather all the pages of BP and Wakandans doing things in other books and call it Black Panther.

[Frontier]

Oh and Okoye was the main character of hte Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon mini btw

So, if you like the character, check it out.

spoilers:

Poor Danny, he gave up his Iron Fist nad gave it to Okoye lol. Depowered again. Okoye ended up giving up the powers though but she defeated the main boss

end of spoilers

Not a bad day for TEam Wakanda lol

Really not what I expected from this mini.

[Ezyo1000]

That seriously might be the most impressive physical feats T'challa has managed... ever? in Immortal Hulk.

holy **** lol

spoilers:

dagger through the eyes hurting Hulk, cutt of his arm with his claws, then speared the dude to the point Jen turned traitor to save Hulk lol.

end of spoilers

Gotdamn Ewing. Invite Ewing to the BBQ lol

Ewing at the very least, has consistently done right with T'Challa when he writes him. I may to check out this issue just for the sheer awesomeness. It's crazy how T'Challa outside his own book moonwalks so well through the MU

[DigiCom]

I think it's important to remember just HOW unimportant T'Challa was pre-Priest.

He didn't have an ongoing after Kirby (and that series was just plain WEIRD). He wasn't on any teams. He only showed up when Reed needed Vibranium, or someone felt like doing a Wakanda story. And when he did, he was basically "an acrobat in a kitty suit". He was so Z-List that this was Priest's reaction to getting the book:

I was a little horrified when the words "Black" and "Panther" came out of Joe's mouth. I mean, Black Panther? Who reads Black Panther? Black Panther?! The guy with no powers? The guy in the back of the Avengers class photo, whose main job was to point and cry out, "Look— A BIG, SCALY MONSTER! THOR— GO GET HIM!!" That guy?!

No, PANTHER was not the move. Panther was, by most any objective standard, dull. He had no powers. He had no witty speech pattern, bub. His supporting cast was a bunch of soul brothers in diapers with bones through their noses. King T'Challa is, by necessity, a man of secrecy and cunning, which is difficult to illustrate if he has thought balloons over his head telling the reader everything he's thinking. Or, worse, if he's narrating his own story and blathering on and on and on. Hard to convey cunning from a motormouth.

And when he DID agree to do the book (after reading the original Panther story in FF) people yelled at him for giving T'Challa tech:

The use of technology in this version of PANTHER has caused perhaps the greatest controversy among fans and even some pros, who so disagree with my approach to Panther that some may be reluctant to use him in other comics. I've been accused of making Panther too mean and too techie and flashy; like he's supposed to be Tarzan or something. Like he's supposed to eschew technology and insist on riding bareback and going mano-a-mano in order to prove something.

Or, maybe it's some bizarre capitulation to "the way it's always been done;" Panther has never had any tech weapons, and his costume has never been bullet proof. Why start now?

Please recall that in those days, T'Challa basically had three gadgets:

1) The suit, which was a fancy bulletproof vest with claws and the ability to climb walls.
2) The Kimoyo Card, which was a fancy PDA, and probably less powerful than a modern iPhone.
3) The energy daggers, which aren't even USED anymore.

And people thought that was too much.

You have to filter McGregor's work through that lens. To many fans (and even pros) Panther was a nobody... Daredevil without the radar sense. (And back then, DAREDEVIL was C-list... a cut-rate Spider-Man. Only after Frank Miller did that change.)

Really, Priest completely re-invented the character... and Coates tried to takee that all away.

[MindofShadow]

3) The energy daggers, which aren't even USED anymore.

IT'S A NEW DAY DIGI! THE DAGGERS ARE BACK lol

[Ezyo1000]

Oh and Okoye was the main character of hte Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon mini btw

So, if you like the character, check it out.

spoilers:

Poor Danny, he gave up his Iron Fist nad gave it to Okoye lol. Depowered again. Okoye ended up giving up the powers though but she defeated the main boss

end of spoilers

Not a bad day for TEam Wakanda lol

I legit think it's interesting how Okoye is getting a bigger push that Shuri, I could honestly see her getting an ongoing and being the first to branch off BP for her own adventures with success before Shuri can. She is simple to bail down and doesn't have conflicting traits like Shuri. Plus with the MCU rumor's going around and you might say she will have the next BP character outside T'Challa or stand on their own

[MindofShadow]

Really not what I expected from this mini.

Stealth Okoye mini lol

[DigiCom]

IT'S A NEW DAY DIGI! THE DAGGERS ARE BACK lol

I stand corrected.

I legit think it's interesting how Okoye is getting a bigger push that Shuri, I could honestly see her getting an ongoing and being the first to branch off BP for her own adventures with success before Shuri can. She is simple to bail down and doesn't have conflicting traits like Shuri. Plus with the MCU rumor's going around and you might say she will have the next BP character outside T'Challa or stand on their own

Or Letitia Wright burned too many bridges at Disney...

[DigiCom]

Stealth Okoye mini lol

It's helpful to note that Larry Hama is a very "seat of the pants" writer. It's entirely possible he didn't plan this ending from the beginning.

[Ezyo1000]

I think it's important to remember just HOW unimportant T'Challa was pre-Priest.

He didn't have an ongoing after Kirby (and that series was just plain WEIRD). He wasn't on any teams. He only showed up when Reed needed Vibranium, or someone felt like doing a Wakanda story. And when he did, he was basically "an acrobat in a kitty suit". He was so Z-List that this was Priest's reaction to getting the book:



And when he DID agree to do the book (after reading the original Panther story in FF) people yelled at him for giving T'Challa tech:



Please recall that in those days, T'Challa basically had three gadgets:

1) The suit, which was a fancy bulletproof vest with claws and the ability to climb walls.
2) The Kimoyo Card, which was a fancy PDA, and probably less powerful than a modern iPhone.
3) The energy daggers, which aren't even USED anymore.

And people thought that was too much.

You have to filter McGregor's work through that lens. To many fans (and even pros) Panther was a nobody... Daredevil without the radar sense. (And back then, DAREDEVIL was C-list... a cut-rate Spider-Man. Only after Frank Miller did that change.)

Really, Priest completely re-invented the character... and Coates tried to takee that all away.

Which is why Priest will forever be the GOAT, what he did for T'Challa saved him from a complete non-existence. T'Challa was out into obscurity after his debut from Lee and Kirby, Priest saved him from Limbo, Hudlin came on and further pushed him into the limelight, taking Wakanda with him for the ride and made the MU pros, and fans alike, HAVE to take them seriously and as a powerhouse.

Both did such a great job (with a nice assist from McDuffie) and sustained that long enough for Hickman to pick him up again and out him into the biggest Marvel event on the last decade, from then on T'Challa can't go back. Even though Coates tried valiantly to erase all that hard work as we have seen, his efforts are on vain because everyone ignores the old T'Challa. T'Challa has been shown as the priest and Hudlin version for so long (also thanks to the MCU and Chad for putting in that work,) that going back to African Tarzan on a cat suit won't work anymore.

Which is why I am so glad that despite these last 5 Yes having the most focus on T'Challa they was unfortunately wasted on the Solo, enough spin offs and guest appearances that ignored Coates kept that isht from sticking and gaining traction again. The fact that Ewing had that happen in hulk, ad well as JAs treatment of T'Challa, and with Ridley (hopefully) going back to Priest eras panther, T'Challa will realign with the greater MU again.

At this point his tech simply needs to be consolidated back into the core gear Priest introduced. With tech providing multiple functions to prevent bloat