Let's game that out.
Say they do ask me.
My response would be, "Sure but, my first 3-5 issues will basically erase everything that came before. We'd be setting things back to roughly the time of SEE WAKANDA AND DIE. I would leave a backdoor for the next writer to come and revert things to the Coates era version but, while I'm writing, NONE of that will be in effect."
And, I mean none. That erases everything since Coates came in, the Ridley stuff which means, sadly, despite the quality of her work, Dr. Ewing's as well. No Space Empire. No Wakandan democracy. No "Goddess" Storm. No Queen Storm. No Griot. None of it. The version of BP you saw in KiB is the version I'd write as the baseline.
Think they'll agree to that?
No chance.
The sad part of this is that at some point, they will have to put some things back to the way they were pre-Coates but they will have wasted years of good BP stories in the process.
I read Jason Aaron's Thor and he he was deconstructed but he put things back to the point where Thor became King of Asgard.
Chip Zdarsky, same thing with Daredevil. Stripped down, then put things tight before he left.
But BP? nah, we gotta watch the slow, painful downfall of a great character with no prospects of things getting better. 616 wise anyway.
I mean, who knows? They know that the current direction failed. At some point these characters have to return to status quo. It's been almost a decade since he has been reverted. MCU is dead and they aren't pushing none of that WK stuff on comics because it doesn't sell. If Hill comes correct and the book keeps its sales maybe it will be the kick on the pants to course correct for marvel.
Honestly they are sitting on a gold mine, people want to enjoy BP. There's gotta be a chance
If sales on Ultimate Black Panther hold I could see Marvel shifting some things around in 616. 616 Panther is simply not sellable right now, enough readers have disengaged from the book that there’s gonna need to be a huge shift in approach and status quo to bring people back. Ridley could be written off as a fluke but two back to back failed runs is a repudiation of Marvel’s direction for T’Challa.
Hill is saying in interviews that he’s not doing what the last few runs have been doing and his sales are much better (for now). While I don’t think an editor would want to import the Ultimate universe’s status quo, Hill’s willingness to think of high concept stories for the character with a more recognizable voice is something they’ll want in 616. I think the readership is thoroughly tired of BP deconstruction and any future runs focused on T’Challa’s alienation from his people, the exile/democracy, or space Wakanda seemed destined for a quick cancellation.
Last edited by Redjack; 03-25-2024 at 02:00 PM.
I don't mind them keeping IGEW around because it would distinguish it from Ultimate BP. And yeah, I'm sick and tired of deconstruction in comics (I read Iron Man and he's as bad off as T'Challa). Who ever the next writer is will need to come out of the gate strong with BP. It has to be established right off the bat that T'Challa is King, strong and in charge. There's going to have to be some impressive feats very early on.
If Hill gives us a strong T'Challa that has a spine with some impressive feats to go along with it, that will raise the bar for the next 616 BP writer. So far, the only person that we know of who can do just that is Redjack but like he said, he's not waiting around for them to decide and you can't really blame him.
I also liked the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda as a concept. I think it opens doors for more cosmic stories. While I overall didn't care for how Coates wrote T'Challa or saw Wakanda, I do think his worldbuilding was one of his strongest aspects. I wouldn't throw out everything from his run. There's little to keep with Ridley, and not that much with Ewing's truncated run either. There's basically one character introduced during Ewing's run that I could see in other BP/Marvel books. I don't see any of Ridley's being used again.
The only thing Worth Keeping from Coates is the aesthetics of Wakanda, the Force push and lighting up of the habit, and Shuri becoming a wizard Instead of taking T'Challas genius. Everything else from his run, Ridley and Ewings can all be torched.
The IGEW is good in concept, but how it was created is absolutely garbage and does nothing but leave a stain on the entire thing and the franchise. Maybe they can try again another time
I'd say we need more weird fun adventures and villains.
I'm always reminded of this villain concept I came up with River-Rot, basically a frog demon who is always in a jar, travels between jars, and only ever shows it eyes to other people. Functioning a sinister trickster spirit who wants to case chaos and does so by manipulating people, granting them powers, and turning them into frog people.
Bring in a wackiness, high concept stuff. The recent runs have been deadly serious and only feature villains who represent the "dark side of Wakanda's past", its all very boring.
I would also keep the things you said. To me, a lot of Coates's run had decent to good ideas, but weren't always executed well. The People weren't a bad idea, but not well executed in part because of Coates's refusal to hold Zenzi accountable for her actions. I also would keep his Orishas, and a lot of the words he introduced for things. I also liked the revival of Kasper Cole and his new suit. More could've been done with Ras the Exhorter and Klaw/Stane too.
Man, F*** the orishas, they were one of the dumbest additions to the mythos ever. They're whole creation was two fold. Primarily to give the excuse and bullisht that if people simply prayed hard enough, someone could ascend to godhood so that he could make Storm a god. And second was to take away what made Wakanda special. The orisha protected them and develop technology. They did everything thing to make Wakanda as great as it was. Not Wakandans doing it of their own ingenuity and ability. They can die right along with Zenzi Bast, Tosin, and every other let character added to the mythos