YIBAMBE! T’Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2022

[Vanguard]

Marvel isn't looking at what it will do to T'Challa. They're looking at spin-offs and other characters that can appear in other books and properties. The new Cap book with Sam has someone stealing vibranium. Remember how rare vibranium used to be? Now they sell it like I-phones.

Random Wakandans will appear in other titles with no reference to their former king. People were happy in Wakanda. Now, someone on every corner has a problem with T'Challa. He can't even be an Avenger anymore.

They plan on making Wakanda thrive without T'Challa for the foreseeable future. Marvel has lost interest in T'Challa.

We're just gonna have to ride out this phase.

TChalla will always be there, it’s just in what capacity? He is a Stan Lee, Jack Kirby creation. He has the pedigree to persist. I don’t like that they’re trying to make him less important either. But I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it seems.

[BlackClaw]

Yes and you definitely don't crater THE BIGGEST BLACK ICON OF ALL TIME. Who has literally Zero competition other than Miles. A franchise that has shown that it can make it's leads just as Big as Bats and Spidey. Ignorance and fear of a powerful Black man strikes again to completely hamstring the franchise.

Zero competition at the moment. With Reggie Hudlin and MBJ in his corner, Static is about to make a huge comeback. Mark my words.

[Ezyo1000]

Marvel isn't looking at what it will do to T'Challa. They're looking at spin-offs and other characters that can appear in other books and properties. The new Cap book with Sam has someone stealing vibranium. Remember how rare vibranium used to be? Now they sell it like I-phones.

Random Wakandans will appear in other titles with no reference to their former king. People were happy in Wakanda. Now, someone on every corner has a problem with T'Challa. He can't even be an Avenger anymore.

They plan on making Wakanda thrive without T'Challa for the foreseeable future. Marvel has lost interest in T'Challa.

We're just gonna have to ride out this phase.

yeah and those are all forgettable characters. They THINK Wakanda can thrive, but Folasade isn't interesting enough to try and play political intrigue, and when it comes down to throwing hands, what are they going to do? They should of learned already that only T'Challa sells, and that's especially made true when they hire all these wack writers who can't tell interesting superhero stories, no one likes surface level social commentary.

[chief12d]

Zero competition at the moment. With Reggie Hudlin and MBJ in his corner, Static is about to make a huge comeback. Mark my words.

DC is too incompetent to be a valid competitor. Are we even sure the Static film gets made lol. The Nova Corps is gonna eclipse the Green Lanterns in popularity within the next 4-5 years so even John Stewart isn’t looking like a strong counterpoint. And tbh, Reggie ain’t what he used to be anyway, I’m not confident he can put together a proper modern script for Virgil and everything he represents, the recent Milestone comics have been one big meh.

[Username taken]

It’s funny how the focus on Wakanda only seems to be on its women.

Seriously, are there no strong male characters in Wakanda apart from T’Challa for Marvel to highlight?

[BlackClaw]

DC is too incompetent to be a valid competitor. Are we even sure the Static film gets made lol. The Nova Corps is gonna eclipse the Green Lanterns in popularity within the next 4-5 years so even John Stewart isn’t looking like a strong counterpoint. And tbh, Reggie ain’t what he used to be anyway, I’m not confident he can put together a proper modern script for Virgil and everything he represents, the recent Milestone comics have been one big meh.

You never know brother. That Discovery merger could turn things around for them. We’ll just have to wait and see.

[BlackClaw]

It’s funny how the focus on Wakanda only seems to be on its women.

Seriously, are there no strong male characters in Wakanda apart from T’Challa for Marvel to highlight?

Well there’s M’Baku and the other male MCU Wakandans are either dead or imprisoned (W’kabi). On the comics side we got nuMbaku who’s currently in space, plus this new Tosin guy. But the other male Wakandans are either dead, in limbo, on the opposing side of T’Challa (Akili) or just not cared about enough by writers (Vibraxas).

[Frontier]

It’s funny how the focus on Wakanda only seems to be on its women.

Seriously, are there no strong male characters in Wakanda apart from T’Challa for Marvel to highlight?

I've noticed that too.

[XJlock]

Between Reed Richards and Steven Rogers, who would you say has the edge in the bond displayed over the years with T'Challa?

[Marvell2100]

Between Reed Richards and Steven Rogers, who would you say has the edge in the bond displayed over the years with T'Challa?

Gotta be Reed hands done. Their friendship is more personal whereas T'Challa and Steve's is more professional.

[MindofShadow]

Hickman about the only person that wrote Bast how I would want her treated TBH

"stand servant" ... i like that out of big headed gods lol.

I don't know.... what htat thing wasin Coates run. I'll take the big angry panther of that too.

[MindofShadow]

TChalla will always be there, it’s just in what capacity? He is a Stan Lee, Jack Kirby creation. He has the pedigree to persist. I don’t like that they’re trying to make him less important either. But I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it seems.

once the MCU Wakanda stuff calms down in like, 10 years, then yes, it will revert eventually.

But yikes, thats a long time... lol

[chief12d]

Between Reed Richards and Steven Rogers, who would you say has the edge in the bond displayed over the years with T'Challa?

Unnecessarily long post incoming lol.

I wouldn’t undersell the friendship between T’Challa and Steve but I tend to think T’Challa and Reed have a stronger bond. They’re kindred spirits, if T’Challa could be any hero other than himself he’d be Reed and vice versa. If T’Challa wasn’t busy ruling he’d jump at the opportunity to be a full time explorer with a wife and some of his closest friends while Reed’s attraction to the fantastical makes me think he’d enjoy being a king like T’Challa or Black Bolt, if only for a time. Reed’s relationship with kingship is a discussion in itself given how he’s “discovered” many ancient kingdoms.

They share a love of science and have strongly held beliefs about humanity’s boundless potential for growth and adventure, seeing themselves as leaders who aren’t just obligated to protect the Earth, but guide it to a better tomorrow. I think they have deeper, more complex conversations than T’Challa and Steve do. Not because Steve is dumb or has nothing to say on those topics, it’s just I think Reed and T’Challa would have given more thought to these things as scholars and scientists. And there’s no denying they have a lot of the same flaws, so they’d relate to each other as “great men” burdened with neglecting their own friends and family for the greater good. They have a similar “ends justifies the means” mentality that also helps them relate in a superhero community that tends to look down on that kind of thinking.

And then there’s the simple fact of the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby pedigree. T’Challa was introduced in the Fantastic Four book, Reed and his family are the first superheroes T’Challa meets. It was only after he met them that he felt it was time to open Wakanda and turn it into a beacon for the rest of the world. He already had the idea, but his experience with the Fantastic Four pushed him to act on it. He furthered spurred their interest in exploration and would be a source of resources on many of their subsequent adventures. The way their relationship was built harkens back to those old pulpy adventure stories of lost civilizations and brotherly friendship between different worlds, which gives it a timeless quality.

Cap is a close second, though as more a brother in arms. If Reed reflects the king/scientist element of T’Challa, Steve embodies the warrior. Their relationship was built through battles with cosmic gods and the worst the universe has to offer, whether it be HYDRA or Thanos. There’s an easiness to their friendship that makes it “warmer” than T’Challa’s dynamic with Reed because Steve is a nicer, more open person. It helps that they’re coworkers on the Avengers. By all accounts, they SHOULD hate each other since they represent nations always on the brink of war, but the fact they rise above it is admirable and probably wouldn’t be the case if both characters were created in the modern era. Nonetheless, the tension of Cap being America’s top soldier and T’Challa being king of Wakanda will always exist. And T’Challa’s more manipulative, emotionally closed off persona has always been an issue for both his relationship with Steve and the Avengers as a whole. I do think he sees them as friends, but not family the way he does the Fantastic Four.

[Marvell2100]

TChalla will always be there, it’s just in what capacity? He is a Stan Lee, Jack Kirby creation. He has the pedigree to persist. I don’t like that they’re trying to make him less important either. But I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it seems.

T'Challa will still be there of course. He just won't be the one driving the narrative.

[Marvell2100]

Hickman about the only person that wrote Bast how I would want her treated TBH

"stand servant" ... i like that out of big headed gods lol.

I don't know.... what htat thing wasin Coates run. I'll take the big angry panther of that too.

Yeah, Hickman's Bast is probably the best version we've seen. Certainly better than Coates and Doomwar.