Black Panther Appreciation: Wakanda Forever!

[Zuri]

As long as Hickman leaves T'challa in a better place than Hudlin did I'll be mollified. Not necessarily happy, but mollified. If Hickman decides to break him like Hudlin broke him then I am done with Marvel. Period.

One of the strengths of Hickman is that as was the case with FF and F4 and probably is the case here he has his total run plotted and mapped out before he writes the first issue. So there should not be random alterations things put in to look cool that would leave T'challa in some weird spot. Also the benefit of a plot focused long range focused writer like Hickman is that even though fights might fewer and depicted more in overview form the characters get written properly and you are not left wondering as to how or why characters are doing whatever it is they are doing. NA has the longest plot/slowest pacing of any of the books Hickman has written/is writing so far so the end will be most likely be strong and leave those involved in good positions.

[ed2962]

Sorry ed2962, my response to your thread was more of a generalized reply encompassing my general feelings across the board as regards developments within NA.

Apologies for it coming across as being critical of your observations.

Yes, the Blood Bible does sound ominuous.

It's all good.

[ed2962]

BP needs Storm back. He needs a hot woman in his life

i like Storm, but she's not the only black woman in the Marvel universe. I'd like to see T'Challa with a new romantic partner.

[Smoov-E]

BP needs Storm back.

No he doesn't

He needs a hot woman in his life

Every hero needs that special someone

[JaggedFel]

Also yeah Hickman is perfectly capable of writing fights, we have seen some in Avengers and he done plenty of dynamic fights in East of West of various lengths. So I have to agree with more showing and less telling. On the bright side I don't expect us to get Doom Warred by Hickman so that is nice. However, I still grow tired of empty threats now if its Editorial that is the problem then Hickman needs to change the dialogue and have BP get the revenge he can without empty words. So If you cannot kill Namor for instance then just say "I will Have My Revenge". If there is no force stopping him then he needs to get it done even if the run is long, he can still add some hints

[XPac]

Also yeah Hickman is perfectly capable of writing fights, we have seen some in Avengers and he done plenty of dynamic fights in East of West of various lengths. So I have to agree with more showing and less telling. On the bright side I don't expect us to get Doom Warred by Hickman so that is nice. However, I still grow tired of empty threats now if its Editorial that is the problem then Hickman needs to change the dialogue and have BP get the revenge he can without empty words. So If you cannot kill Namor for instance then just say "I will Have My Revenge". If there is no force stopping him then he needs to get it done even if the run is long, he can still add some hints

I can go both ways on the issue of T'Challa's death threat.

Obviously he can't kill Namor, especially if Namor is being used in another title. So I can understand not wanting T'Challa to make threats that he can't back up. But then again, it's probably what T'Challa WOULD say in that situation. Regardless of whether or not he ends up doing it, I do buy T'Challa wanting to kill Namor and at least planning on doing it, even if he ends up not doing it for whatever reason.

[FLEX HECTIC]

I have a great idea...


Never write Doom or Namor doing something that has to be answered for on a national security level as if they are like Bin Ladin to Wakanda!


Street level Spiderman can give you a pass but Black Panther due to political and foreign domestic policies cannot!


Thor can lay waste to nameless frost giants but not Loki... The Punisher can kill whole battalions worth of random gangsters but cannot kill the Kingpin who more than deserves it... If Black Panther cannot exact revenge upon popular rogues of other characters then do not have them ever cross that line because it chumps him out!


A great opportunity existed to kill Black Dwarf on panel to add to his feats list but the fight not only took place off panel Black dwarf was slaughtered by other characters who got the on panel glory!


This is why you almost never borrow other characters rogues because you cannot kill off any potential revenue generating intellectual property and in ensemble rosters you have to give some focus to the other characters to appease their respective fan bases!


If Namor was due for a movie appearance killing him in the comics is not a heads up Disney executive move so having him on the receiving end of death threats is a waste of time for the character speaking them!


If someone like Killmonger was killed over and over again at least until you got him just right for toy sales as long as he is a Black Panther rogue he can keep coming back time and again just like Magneto or Dr. Octupus!


As future "Point Man" I would have a chart to keep track of all Black Panther's feats and accomplishments to make sure that many issues would not go by without something happening in between all those long "Slow Burn" months of waiting for empty promises to be fulfilled!


Even if I had writer's block I would have "King" T'challa on a political date with Princess Zonda out of the blue get attacked by high powered assassins that he curb stomped while sipping wine just to keep the diehard comic book readers satiated for the time being until I picked back up on a new great story arc!


This is comic books I'm paying for action that I can vicariously live through and cosplay in my onsie pajamas when nobody is looking so I would rather watch Black Panther and Killmonger go back and forth against each other like Wolverine and Sabretooth hundreds of times than to watch non fights and unfulfilled threats month after month!


I wonder what Priest would have accomplished with Disney money now on the table... Back then he was on his own but right now the Black Panther movie has buzz generating itself each time they play musical chairs with directors for Ant-Man and Dr. Strange!


I think Priest today would have more support to take things further with this intellectual property especially with Stan Lee pushing for the Black Panther movie publicly!

[FLEX HECTIC]

Erik + Killmonger = King of The Dead!


Anytime a super hero not named Ghost Rider or Spawn adopts dark type of arts he is actually flirting more with super villainy than actual super heroism!


This idea and concept works better for villains because subconsciously you associate super heroes with saving lives not necromancy!


Of course with Dr. Strange there are some exceptions but Dr. Strange never made the type of revenue that the other standard issue super heroes have seen!


As of now the concept of "King of The Dead" remains unfulfilled because it basically never had a real chance to begin with being attached to the hero!


When the Egyptian god Amun ra in the two Fantastic Four issues went through all that bloody heart knowledge hiding it looked more like some sacrificial act performed by villains seeking powers not meant for them with evil intent... Can you imagine Disney soccer moms letting their children cosplay this because it is canon to how Wakanda got their genius level intellectuals!


Disney Child: "Look mommy I'm cutting out the heart to transfer the knowledge!'

Disney Soccer Mom: "WTF!!! No way you play with Spiderman and just cosplay the radioactive spider thing... I'm calling the Disney offices right now and complain to management!"


The fact that Erik "Killmonger" has such an obvious name this would have been right up his alley as mystic enhancements to usurp T'challa's position but instead it was given to the hero and after 20 plus issue remains unresolved and lacking in definitive canon and continuity!


Place these powers in the villains hand and you have ready made story arcs that can go in multiple directions and allows for better fleshing out of the rogues gallery which moves the meta plot for the hero to react to!


Just like Doom in Doomwar talking to Bast if you had someone like Killmonger talking to dead Black Panthers of the past the plot thickens easily... Instead you have T'challa a grown @$$ man being scolded like a child by his deceased daddy and a bunch of other has beens adding more to his personal debasement and not growing the character toward something better!


Killmonger stealing the powers and knowledge of Black Panthers from the past allows the ish to hit the fans and places the hero T'challa in jeopardy...


If Killmonger's actions lead to Doras breaking spears at his feet for his antics it creates the drama itself as he has to be dealt with as a possible sexual menace to Wakanda but with T'challa it comes off like a form of castrating and neutering symbolically... As if to say "Hey dude not only is your ex wife banging someone you didn't want her to you also aint getting no where soon with any of these other wives in training!"


Necropolis now doubles as a bat cave of sorts but would have made a much better lair for Killmonger to launch his random terrorist attacks than T'challa using it like his own personal Fortress of Solitude!


What if like Nigeria you pulled a page right off the headlines and had Killmonger kidnapping Doras... And don't give me that "Damsel in Distress" talk Killmonger is one of the best if not the best hand to hand fighter in Wakanda and could easily do this with enhanced powers making himself the terror that he should have been decades ago!


The moral of the story is don't waste the good stuff on the hero when it is so much more fun to let the bad guys wild out as they do in other franchises...

[MrHashasheen]

Erik + Killmonger = King of The Dead!

Anytime a super hero not named Ghost Rider or Spawn adopts dark type of arts he is actually flirting more with super villainy than actual super heroism! This idea and concept works better for villains because subconsciously you associate super heroes with saving lives not necromancy! Of course with Dr. Strange there are some exceptions but Dr. Strange never made the type of revenue that the other standard issue super heroes have seen! As of now the concept of "King of The Dead" remains unfulfilled because it basically never had a real chance to begin with being attached to the hero! When the Egyptian god Amun ra in the two Fantastic Four issues went through all that bloody heart knowledge hiding it looked more like some sacrificial act performed by villains seeking powers not meant for them with evil intent... Can you imagine Disney soccer moms letting their children cosplay this because it is canon to how Wakanda got their genius level intellectuals!

Disney Child: "Look mommy I'm cutting out the heart to transfer the knowledge!'

Disney Soccer Mom: "WTF!!! No way you play with Spiderman and just cosplay the radioactive spider thing... I'm calling the Disney offices right now and complain to management!"

The fact that Erik "Killmonger" has such an obvious name this would have been right up his alley as mystic enhancements to usurp T'challa's position but instead it was given to the hero and after 20 plus issue remains unresolved and lacking in definitive canon and continuity! Place these powers in the villains hand and you have ready made story arcs that can go in multiple directions and allows for better fleshing out of the rogues gallery which moves the meta plot for the hero to react to! Just like Doom in Doomwar talking to Bast if you had someone like Killmonger talking to dead Black Panthers of the past the plot thickens easily... Instead you have T'challa a grown @$$ man being scolded like a child by his deceased daddy and a bunch of other has beens adding more to his personal debasement and not growing the character toward something better!Killmonger stealing the powers and knowledge of Black Panthers from the past allows the ish to hit the fans and places the hero T'challa in jeopardy...

If Killmonger's actions lead to Doras breaking spears at his feet for his antics it creates the drama itself as he has to be dealt with as a possible sexual menace to Wakanda but with T'challa it comes off like a form of castrating and neutering symbolically... As if to say "Hey dude not only is your ex wife banging someone you didn't want her to you also aint getting no where soon with any of these other wives in training!" Necropolis now doubles as a bat cave of sorts but would have made a much better lair for Killmonger to launch his random terrorist attacks than T'challa using it like his own personal Fortress of Solitude!

What if like Nigeria you pulled a page right off the headlines and had Killmonger kidnapping Doras... And don't give me that "Damsel in Distress" talk Killmonger is one of the best if not the best hand to hand fighter in Wakanda and could easily do this with enhanced powers making himself the terror that he should have been decades ago! The moral of the story is don't waste the good stuff on the hero when it is so much more fun to let the bad guys wild out as they do in other franchises...

Didn't Baron Macabre have some serious necromancy stuff going on from the Resurrection Altar. Always thought he'd have made a cool renewed villain against KotD.

Also, in terms of romance. Do a Zuri and bring back the Sun Goddess, lol.

[SilverZeal]

Look I would have liked the Romance to work...but it failed so lets move on.

It didnt fail...it was sabotaged. Diffrnt things entirely!

[SilverZeal]

Considering Hudlin left T'Challa recovering from a coma dethroned and depowered, it probably won't be TOO hard for Hickman to leave him in a better place.

But I do believe some degree of character deconstruction will occur to some members of the Illuminati. I think they're building up a story where they're going to pay some sort of price for their actions. Really, when does an Illuminati story NOT end that way.

Beast and Reed will likely get off easy since they're really characters that Hickman is sort of borrowing. But I think the rest will likely have a tough time in the upcoming months. Though I'm sure they'll all recover from it good as new. Comic books characters are infinately resilient in that way.

We/SZ will as usual since Maberry remain very cautious....damn we/SZ miss McGregor, Priest, Hudlin & Liss.

[XPac]

Didn't Baron Macabre have some serious necromancy stuff going on from the Resurrection Altar. Always thought he'd have made a cool renewed villain against KotD.

Also, in terms of romance. Do a Zuri and bring back the Sun Goddess, lol.

Yeah, Baron Macabre could be used in some way with T'Challa now that he's King of the Dead. I don't think he's a good fit in any of the current New Avengers stuff, but maybe down the line if Black Panther were ever to get a solo book.

In the Naruto manga, but bad guys from time to time have resurrected former Hokages to fight the protagonists. Maybe someone doing that with previous Black Panthers against current ones might be kinda cool.

[XPac]

We/SZ will as usual since Maberry remain very cautious....damn we/SZ miss McGregor, Priest, Hudlin & Liss.

If you think about it, really almost all the BP writers put T'Challa through the ringer though. McGregor and Priest both ended up deconstructing the hell out of BP during their runs. And of course Hudlin doing it just prior to Maeberry taking over has already been discussed.

Really, the only one that didn't deconstruct T'Challa was Liss, and in large part that's because he essentially got the character pre-deconstructed.

[MrHashasheen]

Yeah, Baron Macabre could be used in some way with T'Challa now that he's King of the Dead. I don't think he's a good fit in any of the current New Avengers stuff, but maybe down the line if Black Panther were ever to get a solo book.

In the Naruto manga, but bad guys from time to time have resurrected former Hokages to fight the protagonists. Maybe someone doing that with previous Black Panthers against current ones might be kinda cool.

I would like to know what the hell was up with the Resurrection Altar. Who came up with it? Who used it? How did they figure out how to use it? And yeah, the Orochimaru path of reincarnating deceased predecessors hold some weight in a Black Panther setting. Especially if you get Bashenga or T'Chaka vs. T'Challa. Actually, just in general there's a lot of mineable ideas out of Naruto (mostly Part 1/early Part 2) that could create new interesting villains, supporting cast or reinterpretations for characters in the Black Panther setting.

[FLEX HECTIC]

Pop Quiz...


You will be graded on punctuation, spelling, canon and continuity!


1. Define in full detail the King of The Dead powers and how they benefit the user

2. Using miles per hour or kilometers per hour how fast is the Black Panther at top speed

3. How strong is the Black Panther by overhead press standards

4. The short range teleportation used by the Black Panther is manifested by what means or energy source

5. What combat style or martial arts does Black Panther favor over others and why

6. The ghosts of Black Panther past are they real souls, zombies or ancient mystic recordings upgraded to answer for current or recent events

7. What region of Wakanda does Necropolis reside in and does it have questionable national security concerns

8. Does Bast remain in the basement of Necropolis at all times to do question and answer sessions or does he come and go as he pleases

9. When Namor visits Wakanda for New Avengers meetings does he use the backdoor service elevator or drop out of the sky through unprotected Wakandan air space

10. Do Wakandan citizens acknowledge the concept of King of The Dead or pay it no mind and go about their own personal business


http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/stan-lee...s-a-superhero/