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Know Your Heroes: Black Panther

by Andrea Purcell

Black Panther is celebrating 50 years in comics with a bang this year by making his live action film debut in the hit blockbuster Captain America: Civil War. T’Challa’s first appearance in comics was in Fantastic Four #52 back in 1966 and the enigmatic king of Wakanda has been a ground breaking and fan favorite character ever since. Black Panther has been the defender of Wakanda, an Avenger, and was even married (then divorced) to an X-Men in his long history at Marvel Comics.

Now you can explore the rich history of the Black Panther with a handpicked reading list of some of his best battles and team-ups, all available now at your local comic shop!


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Black Panther: Who Is Black Panther

Wakanda, a highly advanced and technologically superior country located in the heart of the African continent, stands as an unconquerable land protected by the Black Panther. Warrior-kings that possess heighted speed, strength, and agility; the mantle of has now been taken up by the latest in the family line - T’Challa, as told in the updated origin tale Who Is Black Panther (DEC140988). As outsiders that hunger for the wealth and riches Wakanda possesses mass on its borders T’Challa must come face to face with their leader, the deadly assassin that killed his father. Will T’Challa be able to fight against his desire for revenge and protect his people from the threat of invasion, or will the line of the Black Panther end forever?

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Black Panther by Priest: The Complete Collection, Volume 1

T’Challa travels to New York as he investigates the murder of a young girl while Wakanda is on the brink of civil war in the popular 1998 series Black Panther by Christopher Priest (MAY150831). A razor sharp political satire, Priest’s series finds T’Challa as an enemy of the state when a coup overthrows his regime in Wakanda as his relationship with the Avengers devolves at the same time. Wearing out his welcome in America and Wakanda, T’Challa is forced to become the ultimate statesman or risk losing his freedom in both countries. An intriguing look at the more political side of the Black Panther, this action packed series is a must have for fans of Captain America: Civil War.

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The Avengers: The Complete Collection by Geoff Johns, Volume 2

Taking place around the same time as the Black Panther series by Priest, another great writer was adding to T’Challa’s story in The Avengers by Geoff Johns (MAY130740). The biggest storyline for the Black Panther starts in the second volume with the Red Zone, an infectious plague cloud emanating from Mount Rushmore. As the Avengers rush to aid the citizens affected, Iron Man and Black Panther work together to find a cure but are attacked and captured. With help from Falcon, the Avengers learn that the madman behind this terrible plague is none other than Red Skull. Looking to set up Wakanda to take the blame, the Avengers must band together and destroy the menace of the Red Zone before it wipes out the entire county.   

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New Avengers by Jonathan Hickman, Volume 1

Marvel’s most powerful and secret alliance, the Illuminati, must decide the fate of our world and all others in New Avengers by Jonathan Hickman (NOV140870). Black Panther, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Beast of the X-Men gather to take on the monumental task of deciding which planets will survive and which shall die - if they can stop fighting long enough to make a decision. When tensions start to flare between Black Panther and Namor, countries start going to war as the long simmering cold war between Wakanda and Atlantis explodes into a full scale conflict. In trying to come together and save the multiverse, have the Illuminati doomed their planet?

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Black Panther #1

MacArthur Genius and National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates makes his comics debut with Brian Stelfreeze on the all new series, Black Panther #1 (FEB160736). Coates takes T’Challa back to Wakanda where violent uprisings lead by a superhuman terrorist group known as The People are challenging the rule of the Black Panther and the ways of the country’s past. T’Challa knows that Wakanda must change to survive, but will the Black Panther be able to weather this dramatic upheaval? Everything that T’Challa knows and loves will be challenged as he struggles to do what is right for his people and his country.

Black Panther #2 (MAR160829) is available now at comic shops!


 

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