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Blachồng Panther. Marvel
This article contains spoilers và addresses the plot in Captain America: Civil War.
At Howard University"s commencement on May 7, the leader of the free world talked about a supernhân vật. President Barachồng Obama spoke about the possibilities awaiting the class of năm nhâm thìn — running a company, changing politics, or becoming a boundary-breaking musician lượt thích Prince — and he also mentioned Marvel"s Black Panther.Bạn đang xem: T'challa, black panther
"You can write a book that wins the National Book Award, or you can write the new run of Blaông xã Panther," he told the graduates. "Or, like one of your alumni, Ta-Nehisay mê Coates, you can go ahead and just vì chưng both."
The president name-checking Blachồng Panther, a.k.a. T"Challa, is a pinnacle for the anh hùng, a moment that signifies that the character has finally arrived.
Obama was referring lớn Coates"s collaboration with artist Brian Stelfreeze for a new, stellar Black Panther comic book that Marvel released last month. This past weekkết thúc, Marvel introduced comic fans to lớn a live-action version of the character played by Chadwiông xã Boseman in Captain America: Civil War. And in 2018, Blachồng Panther will star in his own solo movie before joining up with the Avengers in the epic two-part Infinity War.
But what"s even more exciting than Black Panther entering the cultural consciousness is the feeling that the people behind the lathử nghiệm incarnations of the character have gotten hyên ổn right. That his depiction in Civil War — lauded by critics & fans alike — has finally brought lớn life a character who is respected, challenging, and integral to lớn the Marvel universe.
Here"s what Civil War did so well.
Blaông xã Panther is a force to lớn be reckoned with
Blaông xã Panther, a.k.a. T"Challa, plays an important role in Civil War"s most gasp-inducing sequences. He"s chasing after Bucky Barnes during the freeway pursuit và outrunning cars. He"s going toe to toe with Bucky during the gigantic airport fight scene. He"s also in the movie"s final scene và apprehends the film"s real villain.
Blaông chồng Panther is undoubtedly an important powerhouse, since he can go up against the Winter Soldier.
But Civil War also contains a smaller scene that gets this point across with more impact. Bucky, who has been mind-controlled by Hydra, escapes his containment unit in Berlin, and Tony Stark/Iron Man, Sharon Carter, and Black Widow all mix out khổng lồ try khổng lồ slow hyên ổn down. One by one, Bucky swats them away like flies. Then Blaông chồng Panther shows up — he doesn"t have sầu his armor, but he still goes punch for punch with Bucky before Bucky ultimately runs away.
Blaông chồng Panther isn"t a demigod like Thor or a megaton powerhouse like the Hulk, but he can more than hold his own in combat.
The way Civil War hints at Blaông chồng Panther"s strength and endurance reminded me of a scene in 2008"s Blachồng Panther No. 39, a tie-in lớn a crossover sự kiện called Secret Invasion. Earth is under attachồng by the Skrulls, a powerful group of aliens with the power to lớn shape shift; some of them can even mimic superpowers. They"re big, they"re bad, and they"re possibly unstoppable. And they have sầu their sights on Wakandomain authority, the fictional African country Blaông xã Panther calls home page.
The only thing standing in their way is Blaông xã Panther, his wife, Storm (yes, of X-Men fame; Storm is now Blaông chồng Panther"s ex-wife — comic book relationships are complicated), and the Wakandan warriors. They must hold the line. And when the battle begins, Black Panther comes face to face with a juiced-up Skrull who flashes various superpowers (Wolverine"s claws, Luke Cage"s unbreakable skin, Danny Rand"s Iron Fist).
The Skrull says he"s been training all his life to lớn kill Black Panther, to which Blaông xã Panther coolly replies, "I have sầu trained my entire life to lớn face the unknown."
Black Panther No. 39. (Marvel) Many other fighters in the Marvel Universe wouldn"t st& a chance against this Skrull. The fight continues in the next issue, Blachồng Panther No. 40, where Black Panther studies the Skrull"s fighting style, notes his weaknesses, và starts breaking hyên down lượt thích a chef butchering a chicken.
Black Panther No. 40. (Marvel) In a story written by Jason Aaron and drawn by Jefte Palo, we get lớn see Blaông chồng Panther beat the odds that are stacked against hyên and observe sầu how he reacts when he"s backed into lớn a corner. We also get khổng lồ see what he does when a powerful enemy standing in front of hyên seems to be the path of least resistance. And the primary lesson is that you don"t fuck with Blaông chồng Panther.
Blachồng Panther is his own man
Schảy Lee & Jaông chồng Kirby created Black Panther; the character first appeared in 1966 in an issue of The Fantastic Four (No. 52). In an interview with the Comics Journal, Kirby said he created the character because no other comics creators were incorporating blachồng characters inlớn their stories & he felt a responsibility lớn vày so:
How did you come up with the Blaông chồng Panther?
KIRBY: I came up with the Blaông chồng Panther because I realized I had no blacks in my strip. I’d never drawn a black. I needed a blaông xã. I suddenly discovered that I had a lot of blaông chồng readers. My first friover was a black! And here I was ignoring them because I was associating with everybody else. It suddenly dawned on me — believe sầu me, it was for human reasons — I suddenly discovered notoàn thân was doing blacks. And here I am a leading cartoonist & I wasn’t doing a blaông chồng. I was the first one to bởi an Asian. Then I began khổng lồ realize that there was a whole range of human differences. Rethành viên, in my day, drawing an Asian was drawing Fu Manchu — that’s the only Asian they knew. The Asians were wily…
Granted, the language Kirby used khổng lồ describe the diversity, representation & inclusion he was weaving inkhổng lồ his stories was a bit blunt. But what he was getting at with the idea of representation (và the lachồng of it he"d observed) is something that comic books are still striving for và struggling with today.
With Blaông chồng Panther, we"ve sầu seen the comic industry"s fluctuating commitment to representation & diversity play out in the form of stops & starts for both the character và his solo books (the sales of his books weren"t the most spectacular). And though some components of Black Panther"s mythology are very svào và the character is now an integral part of the Marvel universe, there were times when nobody seemed khổng lồ know what lớn vày with hyên. He was essentially limited lớn guest-star status, a special friover who would help out the Avengers in a pinch.
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The rise of the Blachồng Panther we know today started around 1998, when he got his own series with Christopher Priest và artist Mark Teixeira (though even his journey from then khổng lồ now hasn"t been without speed bumps). Priest & Texeira fleshed out his special skills — he"s a master strategist & tactician — but more importantly, they established and crystallized his motivation: that he must protect Wakandomain authority at all costs.
Blachồng Panther will vày anything lớn keep Wakanda safe. This includes forging alliances that might be unseemly or manipulating friends. Blaông chồng Panther"s only loyalty is khổng lồ his country.
In Blachồng Panther No. 8 (drawn by Joe Jusko), we see Blachồng Panther join the Avengers for the first time — not because he wants to lớn save sầu the world, but because he"s suspicious of them:
Blaông xã Panther No. 8. (Marvel) The issue offers a complex look inlớn the mind of Blaông xã Panther, và it shatters the relationship he has with the other Avengers. They couldn"t fully trust hyên ổn, and he couldn"t fully trust them:
Blaông xã Panther No. 8. (Marvel) This isn"t necessarily a bad thing. In more recent stories (see: New Avengers), Blaông xã Panther is cast as a voice of reason. He provides a different viewpoint for many of his Avenger pals, và is seen as a safeguard against groupthink. (He also plays this role when he"s asked to lớn join the Illuminati, a cabal of powerful superheroes.)
As the king of Wakandomain authority, Blaông chồng Panther/T"Challa has much more at stake than the rest of the Avengers. He has to lớn protect his country. He believes (rightly) that every action the Avengers take can affect hyên ổn by association (see: the 2012 Avengers vs. X-Men crossover, when Namor floods Wakanda because he believes the Avengers are hiding someone valuable there).
In Captain America: Civil War, Blaông chồng Panther"s motivations aren"t as spelled out as they are in the comic books, và though he still fights on Tony Stark/Iron Man"s team, whether he"s officially joined the Avengers is unclear. All he really wants to bởi is avenge his father, who was killed in the attack on the United Nations, which means going after Bucky, who he believes detonated the bomb. And if you look at each fight scene in Civil War, Blaông xã Panther is going after Bucky right off the bat every single time.
When he finds out his father"s true killer, T"Challa/Blaông chồng Panther drops his beef with Bucky and turns in Zemo, the film"s true villain, khổng lồ the authorities. In Civil War"s mid-credits scene, when T"Challa offers Bucky his cryogenic refuge, we begin to understand that while T"Challa/Blaông xã Panther did fight on Tony Stark/Ironman"s side, he didn"t exactly sign an unconditional contract of fealty, & is still a man who acts independently & is capable of making his own decisions .
Blaông chồng Panther is a man of his country và of tradition
In one of Civil War"s quieter scenes, T"Challa/Black Panther talks lớn Natasha Romanov/Blaông xã Widow about the death of his father và explains lớn her that in Wakanda, death is not the kết thúc of someone"s being.
"In my culture, death is not the kết thúc. It"s more of a stepping-off point," he tells her. "You reach out with both hands, and Bast & Sekhmet, they lead you inkhổng lồ the green veld where you can run forever."
It"s a nifty callbaông chồng lớn the mythology of the character — the notion that "the Blaông chồng Panther" is not a person but a mantle worn by someone worthy or a title that someone earns (Bast is the panther god & patron god of Wakanda in the Marvel Universe). Though writer Reginald Hudlin and artist John Romita Jr., who expressed this idea during their run on Black Panther in 2005, aren"t considered as iconic a pairing (và some consider Hudlin"s dialogue dodgy) as the Priest/Teixeira collaboration, they really drove sầu home the theme of identity and what the Black Panther means.
Hudlin and Romita begin with an arc that asks, "Who is Blaông xã Panther?" và focuses on Black Panther"s role as a protector. Wakanda has historically been a place that outsiders have sầu wanted khổng lồ conquer, but the Black Panther & the Wakandans have resisted those forces again and again. Hudlin & Romita tell this story by connecting the present and the past, showing the greed of humanity and the need for the Black Panther lớn protect it:
Blaông chồng Panther No. 1. (Marvel) Pop culture is rife with depictions of Africa that paint the continent as a war-torn, savage place. But in Blachồng Panther, Wakanda is a place of pride. Wakanda is a place that"s desired, that"s protected và resists colonization. Black Panther embodies it. And we get lớn see a little bit of this Wakandan legacy in Civil War"s post-credits scene, where Blaông chồng Panther/T"Challa tells Captain America that he challenges anyone to try to lớn invade it.
It"s a powerful scene — T"Challa daring anyone khổng lồ fight hyên on his trang chính turf. In terms of the cinematic universe, we don"t really know what"s going on there. But in the Blachồng Panther comic today, the tie between T"Challa and Wakanda is as pertinent as ever.
In Ta-Nehiđam mê Coates và Stelfreeze"s current Black Panther run, the pair explores Blaông xã Panther"s connection khổng lồ Wakanda — and his responsibility to protect the country — in political và social spheres.
Coates and Stelfreeze"s Blachồng Panther is ruling a country in turmoil. He hasn"t done a stellar job of keeping it safe (recently). Wakanda is supposed khổng lồ be exceptional, the technological zenith of the world, but Coates và Stelfreeze present the experience of living in it as anything but. And it weighs on Blachồng Panther/T"Challa:
Blaông xã Panther No. 1. (Marvel) "Wakandan identity held that this is a nation that has never been conquered," Coates says in a Marvel đoạn Clip about his comic. "First job of the king is lớn protect the nation. And when the king can no longer protect the nation, what is the king?"
Coates và Stelfreeze"s comic is one of the best out there today, giving both the character và his trang chính nation a political depth & personal texture that"s riveting. The pride T"Challa has in his trang chủ country is made clear in the movie. And hopefully Marvel will explore it even further in Blaông xã Panther"s solo movie.
The one thing about Blachồng Panther we didn"t get to lớn see in Civil War
If there"s one element of Black Panther that"s missing from Captain America: Civil War, it"s his intelligence and analytical skills. Blaông chồng Panther is one of the smartest people in the Marvel universe, và it"s a testament to lớn his battlefield strategy that his country has never been conquered.
In the Skrull fight I mentioned above, we get a glimpse of his fighting skills. He analyzes the Skrull"s moves and beats hyên even though the Skrull is blessed with an amalgam of superpowers. And in that same arc, when the Skrulls desckết thúc upon Wakandomain authority they"re greeted by this, a garden of Skrull heads:
Blaông chồng Panther No. 39. (Marvel) Blaông chồng Panther also plays a pivotal role in Marvel"s recent Secret Wars crossover, outsmarting Doctor Doom and allowing his teammate Reed Richards khổng lồ take Doom down:
Secret Wars. (Marvel) Essentially, no one ever has the upper hvà against Blaông xã Panther. And once they start to lớn believe they bởi, it"s all downhill from there.
Even though we don"t get khổng lồ see this side of Black Panther in Civil War, the movie is efficient enough to convey the core characteristics of his existence. I didn"t keep an official tally of the character"s Civil War screen time, but he"s only in the movie for maybe 15 minutes or so. Still, Boseman manages lớn communicate T"Challa"s tenacity, his xúc tích, và his toughness. I can only imagine và hope that Blaông xã Panther"s upcoming solo movie will give us even more of the rich history and spirit that Marvel & his several writers & artists have instilled in the character over the years.