Black Panther 101
Wakanda is a mysterious nation in Africa. For centuries, invaders have tried to breach their walls but have all ended in failure. Their strength lies in being the Earth’s most advanced society, thanks in part to their precious resource, Vibranium. When Klaw assembles a team of villains, it is up to Black Panther to defend his city from their toughest foe yet.
The overall story does a good job telling us about the nation of Wakanda. From the first few pages, we get an idea of how advanced their civilization is. Because of this, they became an ongoing target, especially for their Vibranium. We also get a feel for how society works and how Black Panthers are chosen, which is through physical combat. When chosen, they are tasked with leading the nation and protecting them at all costs.
***Warning: Spoilers***
One of his biggest foes, Ulysses Klaw, forms a team to claim the technologically advanced nation. He manages to get Batroc, Rhino, Radioactive Man, and The Black Knight. The combination of their specialties proved to be a threat to Wakanda, but it was a little hard to take them seriously with their outlandish and comical original costumes.
I really liked the older graphic violence of this book. This was only about a decade ago, showing someone get stabbed or melting faces totally flew, which probably wouldn’t in today’s state of Marvel comics. This added to the mature feel of the book. They were also able to tackle race and war in a more on-the-nose way. No need to sugar coat the issues here.
The story was very straight-forward and intriguing, but it didn’t come without some flaws. It started to feel convoluted near the end with the amount of characters at play. It’s a little unclear as to the role that America had, and could have done away with their zombie robot forces. I also wish that there was cleaner end to wrap up this enclosed story. The bad guys are thwarted, and everyone is just left in this mess. It would be nice to at least get a lead on what happens next.
This was a great entry point into learning more about technically advanced Marvel hero of color. It tells standalone story and gives you an overview to the character and where he’s from. It does get a little messy at the end and has some weird villain choices, but intense storytelling makes up for it.