Black Panther vs. Panther

[XBRoughneck]

Someone wrote up something outlining the Black Panther character and stated..." I did not call him "Black Panther" as that name is (in English, at any rate) a redundancy in its description; panthers are, by definition, great cats (mostly lions, leopards, and jaguars) with all-black coats of fur."

I didn't agree because...

1. There are also white panthers
2. I'd say that T'Challa has been referred to as the "black" panther through comic history way more times than he has just Panther.

Sure, I can understand just the name Panther fitting as well but I've identified with the character as the Black Panther for so long...saying Panther loses a bit of his name's punch. imo.

I guess my question is...is the name Black Panther as it applies to T'Challa's super hero character redundant?

 

[ctriis]

"Panther" is not a zoological term and has nothing to do with whatever color a great cat may have. There's a subfamily of Felidae (cats) called Pantherinae, with its own genus Panthera, which again comprises the species tiger, lion, jaguar and leopard. "Black panther" is a term describing any cat from either species in the Panthera genus with melanistic color variants (melanism is the opposite of albinism). So there's no redundancy here. A panther is a great cat of the genus Panthera, a black panther is a great cat of the same genus with black or dark colored fur.

 

[Silvermoth]

I like that he calls himself black Panther. He's not ashamed of his blackness, he celebrates it and shows how badass he is with it

 

[DarKush]

^
Well said Silvermoth.