Black Panther

[Marcdachamp]

yeah i realize that...look how many death threats Marvel recieved when they did the Truth story

Really? I never heard about that...

Out of curiosity, has anyone here read Truth? Is it any good? Who wrote it?

 

[brainchild81]

Really? I never heard about that...

Out of curiosity, has anyone here read Truth? Is it any good? Who wrote it?

I read the 1st 2 or three issues and then got pissed off w/the bad art. The story was good up until that point though.

 

[Red Mask]

JR JR is WAY OVERRATED

I didn't see what was so great about him when he drew X-Men and Spider-Man. Daredevil was the only stint I enjoyed. But now that I'm older I can understand what makes him a good artist. And this guy is more reliable when it comes to makin deadlines. (A very important ability.)

 

[Elijya]

I hated JRJR when I was younger and he was on x-men

his ASM run with JMS really made me love him and miss him

 

[roach]

The art on the truth needed help but it was a real good story....it was basicly saying that the US tested the Super Soldier Serum on african american males before the gave it to Steve Rogers(which was historically correct around the time). Out of the six or so subjects only one survived and by the end of the story he had the intelligence of a child due to the untested SSS running thru him. Cap had investigated this and went to meet him.......
....I read an interview where the writer and artist recieved death threats because everyone jumped to conclusions thinking that Marvel was gonna replace Steve with "Black Cap".

 

[euroq]

JR Jr is an art god! He's easily my all time favorite comics artist.

I want him back on ASM, now.

 

[iloveclones]

I liked this first issue. I'm not exactly sure where they're going with it, but I like JRJR enough that I'll try it for a while. I liked the flashback scene with Cap (and give Cap a little credit, it was at the beginning of his career.) A few questions/comments:

The guy that they referred to as Ross: Is that the guys from the last series? If it is, they really should've established it somehow because he seems so different.

I thought it was a little over-the-top with the general. I would've preferred that it been some uppity mid-level staffer making these kind of comments.

I didn't pick up on it until I went back to check if they gave her a name, but I was wondering if anyone else thought the black woman was supposed to "be" Condoleeza Rice. I guess so, her name is "Dondi" !

 

[Marcdachamp]

I didn't pick up on it until I went back to check if they gave her a name, but I was wondering if anyone else thought the black woman was supposed to "be" Condoleeza Rice. I guess so, her name is "Dondi" !

She's supposed to be a "clone" of her. The general refers to her as "Ms.Reese". I thought it was pretty funny myself.

Thanks for the summary, Roach. I'd be pretty pissed if I thought Cap was being replaced too, but the story sounds like a very solid, believable one. People need to learn to relax a bit.

 

[roach]

yeah I agree...Cap is one of those characters that only Steve Rogers can be....Much like only Kent can be Supes and Wayne Batman.....

 

[-WildCard-]

i like JRs Spiderman and i apperciates his deadline acuracy but he like others (finch) sucks at faces. His style is way to Kirby for me

 

[Varient]

(in one short-lived but vividly remembered comic book) Ronald Reagan, he is a head of state who somehow finds time to maintain an active presence in the superhero community. The black get-up he covers his entire body with supposedly has to do with his status as king of Wakanda, a small but technologically advanced nation in Africa, but we know a superhero suit when we see one.

The Panther was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the legendary team behind practically every 1960s Marvel series from X-Men to Sgt. Fury & His Howling Commandos. They first used him as an antagonist for The Fantastic Four, in Fantastic Four #52 (July, 1966), but made it clear even then that he was intended to be more than a two-bit villain. In fact, he was the first black superhero to achieve even modest success. Within a couple of years, he was a member of The Avengers, which Marvel was using partly as a parking place for characters they might want to use more prominently later on. At first, his reason for hanging out with an American outfit was to spy on them, but later even that threadbare excuse for neglecting his royal duties was dropped.

He was equipped with the usual super powers — abnormal strength, agility, sense acuity, etc., plus an uncanny ability to track his quarry across any terrain. (They usually give that one to indigenous superheroes in regions that have been heavily colonized by Europeans.) These powers, like those of Elongated Man and Atomic Mouse, came from ingesting a substance which was never, ever referred to as a drug. Also, his ancient, traditional garb has been technologically fortified to the point where stopping bullets is the least of its virtues.

The Panther first got a series of his own in 1973, when Marvel made him the star of Jungle Action, a title that had formerly consisted entirely of reprints from the 1950s. There, his adventures were written by Don McGregor (Killraven, Detectives Inc.), who brought him back to Wakanda. Not surprisingly, he'd gone way down in the polls during his long absence, which in the superhero world usually leads sooner or later to a physical confrontation with a rival for power. This theme has been repeated a couple of times since. McGregor's series ended in 1976, but was followed almost immediately by a Black Panther title written and drawn by Kirby.

Kirby's series ran until 1979, after which The Black Panther kept his trademark current mostly through guest appearances, with the occasional mini-series thrown in. McGregor returned to write him a couple of times, and came to be considered by many as the definitive Black Panther writer — until 1998, at least, when a new ongoing series began, scripted by Christopher Priest (The Falcon, Power Man/Iron Fist).

That one is still running, and is in fact one of the more popular series Marvel has going right now. Which proves it pays to keep a minor character's trademark current, no matter how little star potential he seems to have.

 

[Varient]

Real Name: T'Challa
Occupation: King of Wakanda, scientist
Legal Status: Citizen of Wakanda with no criminal record
Identity: Publicly known
Other Aliases: Luke Charles, Black Leopard
Place of Birth: Wakanda, Northern Africa
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: T'Chaka (father, deceased), N'Yami (mother, deceased), Khanata, Joshua Itobo, Ishanta, Zuni (cousins), Jakarra (half brother)
Group Affiliation: The Avengers (reservist), fomerly Fantastic Force
Base of Operations: Wakanda, mobile
First Appearance: FANTASTIC FOUR Vol. 1 #52

History: T'Challa is the son of T'Chaka, late king of the African nation Wakanda. When lawless ivory hunter Ulysses Klaw murdered T'Chaka in an attempt to possess the country's rare Vibranium deposit, a grief-stricken T'Challa swore vengeance and succeeded in thwarting the butcher's raid. In the process, the young prince destroyed Klaw's hand.

Educated at the finest schools in Europe and America, T'Challa returned to his homeland bearing a degree in physics and ready to assume the mantle of leadership. To do so required he pass two tests: defeat six of Wakanda's greatest warriors in unarmed combat, and obtain the secret heart-shaped herb that grants the country's chieftains their powers. Successfully carrying out the dual challenge, T'Challa donned the ceremonial garb of the Black Panther, totem of the Wakandan people.

Under T'Challa, Wakanda has become one of the wealthiest and most technologically advanced nations on the planet. After meeting Captain America, the Panther was offered membership in the Avengers. Taking a leave of absence from his royal duties, he served among Earth's Mightiest Heroes for a lengthy interval, acquainting himself with American methods of crimefighting. During his time with the Avengers, he met the love of his life: social worker Monica Lynne. Inevitably, T'Challa returned to Wakanda, only to find the country in turmoil due to his prolonged absence. The Panther subdued an uprising led by Killmonger, a revolutionary intent on assuming the throne. After regaining his people's respect, the Panther worked to bring his country out of isolation from the rest of the world.

Height: 6 ft.
Weight: 185 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black, shaved bald


Strength Level: The Black Panther is near the pinnicle of human physical perfection, his natural strength and abilities having been heightened by unidentified heart-shaped herb administered only to Wakandan kings during a sacred ascension ritual. THe herb os also only in Wakanda. While not superhuman, he is nearly as strong as a human being can become. He can lift (press) a maximum of 750 pounds with supreme effort.

Known Superhuman Powers: None

Abilities: An accomplished gymnast and acrobat, T'Challa is also an expert tracker. In addition, he has mastered various African martial arts.

Weapons: T'Challa's Vibranium micro-weave bodysuit not only stops bullets, but saps their momentum. His boots' Vibranium soles absorb sound and impact -- enabling him to leap from structures up to eight stories tall and land without injury, and literally run up the sides of buildings. The Panther's retractable claws contain a new composite of the experimental "anti-metal" Vibranium that can break down other alloys. T'Challa wields an energy dagger that can be fired, thrown or handled like a knife. At its highest setting, the weapon easily can cut through forged steel.

 

[roach]

thanx

 

[Varient]

thanx

nap,..

 

[SpideyInATree]

JR JR is WAY OVERRATED

Hehe...he's overrated to you, maybe. I like his art and think he's the best. I still think his art in Black Panther is beautiful. His near decade work on Spider-Man through the years is some of the best, in my opinion. Overrated or not I like him. You don't have to.

 

[superhuman]

I got it, it's ok. I bought the one with the alternate cover which looks great. I don't know why it would get a newsday write up other than fact that it's Black History month so Marvel is trying to push the black superhero thing, which is fine, but in comparison to other titles that have been published in the past that are far better written and illustrated, it doesn't deserve the hype its getting.
I love Black Panther, don't get me wrong, I mean I have every issue ever printed, but this new comic is....just ok. We'll see where they go with it.

 

[rubio]

I liked the first issue. I try not to compare Hudlin to Priest just yet, let's give him some time.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Randy's criticism of Cap's fight is undeserving. He said

There's an unwritten law in literature that guest stars don't outshine or beat the story's title character. Black Panther is the main character so he should beat Cap in a fight. And let's not forget that this Cap was still green in those days. He hadn't gained enough experience to be the great hero he is today. In a turn about way, Cap saved Wakanda in his own comic years ago. He repaired his shield and then prevented Klaw from destroying the Vibranium mines. I also recall an Uncanny X-Men issue starring both Captain America and the Black Widow. "Madripoor Knights" I believe it was titled? Wolverine saved Captain America twice in that issue. First when Cap was slashed in the back by the Hand. Then later Logan rescued him and their friends from Von Strucker and the Hand.

While I agree w/you, I think the fight both made Panther look like a badass and made Cap look like a tool of the American government who got slapped down for sticking his nose where it wasn't wanted.

 

[Chris Wallace]

Hehe...he's overrated to you, maybe. I like his art and think he's the best. I still think his art in Black Panther is beautiful. His near decade work on Spider-Man through the years is some of the best, in my opinion. Overrated or not I like him. You don't have to.

I dig Romita-any Romita. I dig Spidey. I dig the Panther. And so far, I dig this book. I will be sticking around.

 

[Chris Wallace]

You don't suppose they purposely released it in February for us black readers, do you?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

It probably couldn't hurt sales that Marvel's got a major black hero's comic debuting during Black History Month.

 

[Chris Wallace]

So you won't rule it out?

 

[Varient]

As Per Priest,.. The Previous writers Concept of the Panther:

"What are the Black Panther's powers?"

The title "Black Panther" is a rank of office, chieftain of the Wakandan Panther Clan. As chieftain, the Panther is entitled to eat a special heart-shaped herb that grants him enhanced senses: hearing, smell, taste, agility, speed, balance and night vision. Like Wolverine, he can pick up a prey's scent and memorize tens of thousands of individual ones. For instance, if T'Challa ran into Peter Parker at a press conference, he would instantly know Parker was Spider-Man (I did a similar trick with Logan in SPIDER-MAN vs. WOLVERINE #1).

Beyond his enhanced senses, the Panther is an above-average athlete. He is probably faster than Captain America, and can certainly track prey better, but Cap is probably a bit stronger than T'Challa and may have greater endurance. The two are very similar in terms of their abilities and their zeal for justice. And, like Captain America, Panther will always find a way. Unflappable even in the face of great peril, Panther, like Cap, ignores the odds and keeps fighting for victory.

The Black Panther has a very simple set of toys. As an inventor, he could certainly pull the Fractal TechGear Deep Sea Panther Armor (TM) out of his hat, but we try to play by the rules we set out. Panther's basic arsenal is:

[1] an energy dagger. This is supposed to be a virtual dagger, with a typical, ornate hilt carved out of ivory or stone or something, and an energy-generated blade that can be set to stun or kill. Early in the run, the editors and artist decided the energy dagger blades could be either handled like an actual knife or fired like darts.

[2] a Kimoyo card. Kimoyo is Bantu for "Of the Spirit." It is kind of a Mother Box with tons of applications. It is basically a Palm Pilot amped to the Nth degree. It functions a lot like the Avengers' communicards, but with a lot more practical applications (in issue #14, for example, Panther called up a virtual schematic of a jumbo jet's cockpit controls and took command of the plane, landing it safely in a river).

[3] energy dampening soles in his boots. Energy regulators create varying fields from the Vibranium in the molded soles of the boots, enabling Panther to survive a fall of eight stories and land like a cat. Given enough momentum, Panther can also scale walls or walk on water, and the field can be also used offensively to shatter or weaken objects.

[4] the Panther's costume contains a Vibranium microweave mesh that works a lot like super-kevlar. The microweave robs incoming objects of their momentum (bullets do not ricochet off but simply fall to the ground when they come in contact with the weave). Likewise, the Panther cannot be stabbed, but the costume (and Panther) can be cut if the attacker slashes along the grain of the costume (see the Kraven fight in issue #7 and 8). The lenses in the mask cut glare and enhance his natural night vision. The claws in his gloves are made of Vibranium-based "Anti-Metal," and can break down most any metal known to man at the molecular level. In *theory*, Panther's claws could damage Captain America's shield, the hardest metal known to the Marvel Universe. But, that's, in *theory.* Combined with the Vibranium-soled boots, the claws enable Panther to scale any wall to any height, and even cling to the underbelly of a plane in flight (again, issue #14). The cloak can be elongated or shortened or eliminated with just a thought, and the entire costume can morph into King T'Challa's trademark black business suit (he usually steps into a shadow and emerges in the other outfit). "

 

[Soup]

You don't suppose they purposely released it in February for us black readers, do you?

I'm just curious but is that a bad thing? or just a thing?

I'm filipino so... if they released a filipino book during
filipino history month... well..

guess I answered my own question.

 

[Thanos]

I liked it.

- Thanos