YIBAMBE! T’Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2022

[Ezyo1000]

I don't think Akil switched on T'challa. I think he's a plant to draw out the real enemy. As for Tosin, he needs the same treatment Barry got in the Necropolis LOL

He needs a Barry treatment, a Karnak moment AND a space werewolf moment all wrapped in one.

[Mantis-Ray]

I usually give writers the benefit of the doubt, but I agree with everyone else here. "The I don't want to be King" storyline is getting old. It made sense for s1 of Coates run. But after that T'challa should have been unapologetic about almost any and everything. Especially after his N'yami told him to get on his feet in the Djalia.

This story reminds me of a smaller version of Tower of Babel in the Justice League. When they gave Batman a chance to speak he told them "In the same situation I'd do it again". T'challa should have told everyone to go to hell. Ororo included. What country doesn't have spies? Ororo can't throw a stone about Gentle being a sleeper agent when she broke into Wakanda to steal a sacred sword. Plus let's not act like the X-men haven't gone rogue before. God forbid Storm loses her spot in the Circle of Trust or whatever it is they got going on planet mars, there's no telling what kind of threat her replacement would pose.

Before T'challa is a scientist, or a hero, or an avenger, he is a KING. And as long as Wakanda remains unconquered, he shouldn't feel bad about anything he does to protect the nation. Writers like Priest, and Red Jacket understood that.

I have to say there is something incredibly cringy how Folsade keeps spouting "we the people" lines when this is the same country that nearly hung out its king to dry simply because he allowed refugees in.

Yes let it be reminded that Wakanda has the same social problems as anywhere else. Yes I know democracy is a better system of government than most but lets not be naive idiots and forget that for all our optimism humans are largely a dimwitted, ignorant, self-sabotaging bunch and I say this as an American whose country is going to crap exactly because of that.

Even Superman has more self-awareness than this.

[jwatson]

I have to say there is something incredibly cringy how Folsade keeps spouting "we the people" lines when this is the same country that nearly hung out its king to dry simply because he allowed refugees in.

Yes let it be reminded that Wakanda has the same social problems as anywhere else. Yes I know democracy is a better system of government than most but lets not be naive idiots and forget that for all our optimism humans are largely a dimwitted, ignorant, self-sabotaging bunch and I say this as an American whose country is going to crap exactly because of that.

Even Superman has more self-awareness than this.

Let us also not forget this is fiction and the many fictional monarchs who never had this problem because they were the heroes of their story. just saying. It's one thing for a character to face up and downs but the amount of real world b.s they throw at or on tchalla as though it doesn't fall from someone's pen and the amounts of justification they try to dab into a story to make it fact must be tiring on some level either mind body or soul. cause i know reading it can take you out sometimes. or maybe it's fun for them.

[Mantis-Ray]

What some of y'all are saying is right on the money. I mean this panel speaks for itself.



"No bad time to let a guy know he was an ass." The whole point of this book seems to be how bad black men are. T'Challa, Akili, the Hatute Zaraze, all apparently terrible. Except Tosin, I guess.

I'm reminded I can't believe Ommola has the gall to blame her own affairs on it being T'Challa.

Like dud unless he straight up forced you to become a sleeper agent, it was your choice to get into this with everything that entails. You don't get to blame your boss because you stupidly attempted to maintain a long distance relationship while undercover.

[Mantis-Ray]

Let us also not forget this is fiction and the many fictional monarchs who never had this problem because they were the heroes of their story. just saying.

Let it be repeated that people don't have a problem that he's king. Same with Batman being rich, they don't care. The only people who care are people on twitter who make hot takes about stories they never bothered to read before and some prose writers who write culture essay articles and stuff. If people actually had a problem with this, then Game of Thrones wouldn't have become a big success as it did with everyone getting invested on who should win the war of kings.

These people are ultimately a small minority and aren't the larger audience actually interested in this character. Tring to suck up to these people us ultimately suicidal as you are effectively driving away the larger casual audience.

[Dariel81]

Both are bad. Coates ost STILL the worse because he did just as much of not more damaging than Ridley did on the same amount of issues. Ridley is getting heat not just because his run is bad, but because he started out/ was expecting better of him and he dropped hos story for a shoddy hit job and isht slinging of T'Challa

Intergalactic Empire Tchalla was not this much of a chump under Coates. I hate to say it even the dialogue in Coates Run is so much better..

[Nate Grey]

Too many writers in comics these days LOVE "deconstructing" heroes, but HATE putting them back together.

"Yeah now that I spent years deconstructing him let's put him back toget---oops, look at the time, darn it. Well maybe the next writer will do it."

*giggles and tee-hees out the door, probably*

[BlackClaw]

Let it be repeated that people don't have a problem that he's king. Same with Batman being rich, they don't care. The only people who care are people on twitter who make hot takes about stories they never bothered to read before and some prose writers who write culture essay articles and stuff. If people actually had a problem with this, then Game of Thrones wouldn't have become a big success as it did with everyone getting invested on who should win the war of kings.

These people are ultimately a small minority and aren't the larger audience actually interested in this character. Tring to suck up to these people us ultimately suicidal as you are effectively driving away the larger casual audience.

All of this. And these are probably the same people who made a lot of noise about how great Ghostbusters 2016 and Wrinkle in time were only to let them flop.

[skyvolt2000]

Black female characters have often had it worse when it comes to mainstream comics (but not in mass entertainment going over the last 40 years or so, there’s no Black male equivalent of The Color Purple, Waiting to Exhale, or Scandal, and there’s no concerted effort to really cater to Black males specifically as there is for Black females in everything from movies, television, to books, though comic books are lagging far behind the rest of the entertainment world in that). I don’t believe that you should build up Black males at the expense of Black females, or vice versa. I want to see more Black female superhero/comic book projects. It’s a shame that Marvel has never really pushed hard enough to make Storm a solo headlining character like they have even the female Wolverine, or that they continually underuse

They exist.

They tend to be the films or books you NEVER hear about but trip over when you surf through Tubi, Hulu, Netflix and used book stores.

I have a few books that mirror your examples but not to the extreme of some of the stuff Color Purple had.
Look up George Washington (2000 film) and Zig Zag with Sam Jones III.

Black males specifically as there is for Black females in everything from movies, television, to books, though comic books are lagging far behind the rest of the entertainment world in that)

You have no idea how many famous writers I have heard say there is money to be made going after black males in books. Every SINGLE black writer I have met have said this. Including some who are trying.

I need to reread the new Icon/Rocket series. I would have to check to see if I have all the issues. But Hudlin has been thorough when it comes to trying to depict Black people in heroic lights.

The Icon book has ALWAYS been about Rocket. Even the first series. It was seeing the world through her eyes and Icon was there to challenge everything she believed in and vice versa.

I do have problems with his Batman series, though, with the most being the character doesn’t need to be called Batman. I would rather he have taken on the Orpheus identity or just become a brand-new Bat character, or taken on another code name.

If that book was called Orpheus the HATE for it would be greater and the usual suspects would SCREAM for its demise way WORST than they do for I Am Batman. Part of the reason he is Batman is because it's about SHELF SPACE. How many stores would not stock the book because it stars a black guy under the DC banner??

That has ALWAYS been an issue. For all the trolls that screamed for Falcon to be himself and NOT Cap America-they sure did NOT show up to support his book as Falcon, Same with Luke Cage & Mosaic. Panther and Miles avoid this because of their movies and the WORK by others.

With are at 7 volumes of Black Panther and NOT 7 volumes of Storm, Shuri, Vixen, Batwing, Orpheus and Michael Holt for a reason.

Monica Rambeau. I was very disappointed in the stereotypical take on Rambeau I saw in a Spider-Man book a couple months back where she was calling herself “Auntie Monica” for some reason. I could tell that it wasn’t a Black person writing the book.

Al Ewing did that in Mighty Avengers where she did call herself that when she went back to one of her old looks.

[skyvolt2000]

All of this. And these are probably the same people who made a lot of noise about how great Ghostbusters 2016 and Wrinkle in time were only to let them flop.

I actually enjoyed and own Wrinkle in Time.

As much SMACK Melissa McCarty threw out-those trolls never went after her (who had a hit show and other MOVIES 1 hit and 5 FLOPS) like they did Leslie Jones (who managed to be in 2 hit movies and 1 flop).
McCarty had 5 flops and NOBODY (including those trolls) said a word. One flop got 3 Oscar nominations( won 34 out of 80 awards).

Because too much of that toxic behavior had NOTHING to do with plots by CERTAIN WOMEN as the leads.

Take Redjack's KIB issue. How many complaints about Panther not DUMPING Wakanda and going after Storm did we see? Along with Shuri REMINDING Okeye about her place.

NOTHING else is that book mattered to that crew.

[Dariel81]

Blood Syndicate is top notch imo..

[Ekie]

Intergalactic Empire Tchalla was not this much of a chump under Coates. I hate to say it even the dialogue in Coates Run is so much better..

The dialog for Coats was better. Everything else was equally bad or worse.

[Ezyo1000]

Intergalactic Empire Tchalla was not this much of a chump under Coates. I hate to say it even the dialogue in Coates Run is so much better..

No... IGEW started out decent then quickly fell back into Coates bad habits. He had Storm tell nuNakia that T'Challa essentially needs a sidepiece when she is away. He had nuNakia blow herself up and then T'Challa, in the middle of a freaking invasion, somehow had time to erect a Giant ass monument of her. Coates NEVER had T'Challa defeat a villain with actual skill.

T'Challa and emperor Njadaka never actually met except in a flashback where space Achebe warned T'Challa that he would betray him and Coates stupidly has him ignore it because Achebe is evil in 616 (while somehow ignoring the same thing applies to Erik as well) and then surprise Pikachu face when the seen from a mile away betrayal happened.

He had Okoye front and center and T'Challa obscured by her robe when they faced venom monger. He is gaslit by Bast who tries to blame him for her departure of Wakanda prime, and also said bast has fused with a nonwakandan Nazi sympathizer, a terrorist and murderer of Wakandan people and she is now the god of Wk.

Coates dialogue is just as **** and nonsensical, he just hid it behind flowery prose, where as Ridleys is just as American as it gets. Neither capture the voices of ANY of these characters. Again, we are comparing, isht piles. But Coates pile is King

[Emperorjones]

They exist.

They tend to be the films or books you NEVER hear about but trip over when you surf through Tubi, Hulu, Netflix and used book stores.

I have a few books that mirror your examples but not to the extreme of some of the stuff Color Purple had.
Look up George Washington (2000 film) and Zig Zag with Sam Jones III.



You have no idea how many famous writers I have heard say there is money to be made going after black males in books. Every SINGLE black writer I have met have said this. Including some who are trying.



The Icon book has ALWAYS been about Rocket. Even the first series. It was seeing the world through her eyes and Icon was there to challenge everything she believed in and vice versa.



If that book was called Orpheus the HATE for it would be greater and the usual suspects would SCREAM for its demise way WORST than they do for I Am Batman. Part of the reason he is Batman is because it's about SHELF SPACE. How many stores would not stock the book because it stars a black guy under the DC banner??

That has ALWAYS been an issue. For all the trolls that screamed for Falcon to be himself and NOT Cap America-they sure did NOT show up to support his book as Falcon, Same with Luke Cage & Mosaic. Panther and Miles avoid this because of their movies and the WORK by others.

With are at 7 volumes of Black Panther and NOT 7 volumes of Storm, Shuri, Vixen, Batwing, Orpheus and Michael Holt for a reason.



Al Ewing did that in Mighty Avengers where she did call herself that when she went back to one of her old looks.

The mere fact that masculinist books or movies exist that counter Black feminist works like The Color Purple does not make them equivalent. They are not given the same promotion, and definitely not the same respect. People can quote The Color Purple to this day, and that movie is close to 40 years old. There’s nothing masculinist that is as embraced or revered as The Color Purple, The Women of Brewster’s Place, For Color Girls…, etc., etc.

I think there is money to be made in going after Black males when it comes to books; years ago, I went to a talk with one Black male author who sought to counter the narrative that Black men/males don’t read. When I thought more about that narrative it made me personally think about how much literature is not geared toward, or caters, to Black males, which creates a kind of disconnect almost from the start. I have to wonder if sports aren’t so embraced not only because it’s something physical that males can also participate in, and some hopefully make a career of, but that it’s one of the few major public spheres where Black males are prevalent and often dominant, so you get to see heroes, villains, and role models outside of warped stereotypical police/crime series or melodramas.

While I think Jace Fox should be Orpheus instead of claiming the Bat mantle, that’s just a personal want. I get why they made him Batman. It’s notable, and sad, that in all this time, the original Orpheus has not been resurrected by DC Comics, more than an inkling of the little regard they have for the character. I can imagine the suits would think to give Jace a chance of succeeding he needs to be more directly tied to Batman, and even better, take on the name Batman. He’s their Miles Morales or hoped for Miles Morales.

Personally, I think Orpheus, as he was designed, fits the story Ridley is telling with Jace better. And I wish DC put more faith in the Orpheus and did a lot to bring him/the concept back in style. When it comes to the haters it’s a damned if you do, damned if you don’t deal. They bemoan a Black Batman as bowing to the woke “mob” and assert DC should create more original diverse characters, and when DC, Marvel, or whoever does, they don’t buy those books (and today) still gripe about those characters being created only for “identity politics” reasons. If the diverse characters are never going to be fully embraced by that crowd, DC should go for more receptive audiences, or if nothing else, revive an original neat Black character for use in movies or television sometime in the future.

No matter how good Jace will be, he will never eclipse Bruce Wayne’s Batman, and arguably neither Jean-Paul Valley’s or Dick Grayson’s. And while Jace as Orpheus would still be a legacy, the original Orpheus wasn’t around long enough, and unfortunately wasn’t embraced strongly enough, that his time in the suit would eclipse whatever Ridley and DC did with Jace.

The larger issue, as you allude to, is a lack of support for Black characters-original or legacy. Some of that is due to the quality of the various works, but it’s not just, or only, a quality issue here, with this lack of support being largely consistent. Quality also doesn’t diminish support for other characters at the same level, because just about every bestselling character has had a crappy run at some point in their publishing histories.

It is a wonder how Black Panther has kept something of a normal publishing history, but it is also notable that perhaps he has at times been written in such a limiting or neutered way to make him more acceptable.

IMO, the way to try to get that shelf space is to create more original characters, and legacies when needed or appropriate, and don’t give up on them. Do all they can to make these characters cool and get over. If the books don’t sell, put them in animation, movies, with more popular characters so they can still get shine, and eventually, some might break through. And do what Hudlin did, and that’s do more to tap into diverse audiences. The MCU films have done that, or are attempting to, but it still feels like the comics are lagging. They are better than when I was growing up, but still, when you get dreck like what Marvel has done with Black Panther and Wakanda for the last several years, it’s like they are cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

When It comes to Monica Rambeau, I don’t think Ewing wrote this particular Spider-Man issue, but I can’t be sure. And though there might be precedent for it, that still doesn’t make it good or feel organic. I think it was Ewing who also put Blade in that ridiculous Spider-Hero costume. But it was also Ewing who I think did the Mighty Avengers ’72 arc which I thought was cool, so there’s that.

[Klaue's Mixtape]