Beginners Guide: Black Panther

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inferiorego

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Edited By inferiorego  Staff
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One of the biggest pieces of news to come out of the Marvel event was that Black Panther would be getting his own film and the part will be played by Chadwick Boseman who has also played Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get On Up. Black Panther isn't one of Marvel's most forefront heroes, but he is an important character and a very important part of Marvel's long history. Many fans aren't aware of this, so we thought we'd fill everyone in on where this character came from, who Black Panther is, and even a few of some must read material for the character. Let's delve into the past of Black Panther.

T'Challa's first in story appearance in FANTASTIC FOUR #52
T'Challa's first in story appearance in FANTASTIC FOUR #52

Black Panther is mainstream comics first African superhero and one of the first black superheroes in comic history. He was created by the legendary Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1966. His first appearance happened in FANTASTIC FOUR #52, and since then, Black Panther has been a member of the Avengers, held his own in multiple on-going series, and member of the secretive group The Illuminati.

Black Panther is one tough hero. In his first appearance, he went toe-to-toe with all the members of the Fantastic Four, and he came out on top. That's a pretty hard act to follow. He took down a super-powered team upon first meeting them, and at that time, he wasn't a super-powered and that's pretty hard to do.

Black Panther is more than just a tough-guy character. It's a title given to the leader of Wakanda. The current Black Panther, whose real name is T'Challa, leads the advanced African nation cut off from the rest of the world. Due to a large vibranium deposit because of a meteor strike, they've become a country far advanced in technology.

On his own, Black Panther is highly intelligent, a genius. He's become a master with technology and fighting. He's also an expert tracker, so running from T'Challa is not an option. To boot, he's also rich. Black Panther is like a more emotionally stable Batman. To make things even cooler, those from T'Challa's bloodline can eat the ceremonial Wakandan heart-shaped herb and gain super-powers. By ingesting the herb, T'Challa gets a slew of abilities including superhuman senses, durability, strength, stamina, and healing factor. What's really cool is that the herb allows him to draw upon the experience and knowledge of previous Black Panther's in his bloodline.

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T'Challa has had some major moments in his life, including marrying Ororo Munroe (Storm). T'Challa helped Ororo reunite with her family, and afterwards, T'Challa popped the question. After they were married, they headed back to the United States to find it was in the midst of a super-hero Civil War. They took sides in the fight and were an unstoppable team. However, all great things must come to an end. During the Avengers vs. X-men story line, Namor, empowered by part of the Phoenix Force, attacked and almost destroyed Wakanda. T'Challa declared all X-Men enemies of Wakanda, after losing thousands of his own people. T'Challa, struken with grief, yelled at Storm and she attacked him The High Priest of Wakanda annulled their marriage.

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It's not all rough and sad for Black Panther though. The rest of the Marvel universe considers T'Challa to be one of the most powerful, intellectually, on Earth. He's highly respected and one of the members of The Illuminati. This group was formed after the Kree-Skrull War by Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, Mr Fantastic, and Beast to prevent an event like this from happening again. T'Challa declined his first invitation to the group, but after the events of Avengers vs X-Men, T'Challa joined, which can all be seen in NEW AVENGERS. Currently, the group deals with the idea that universes are colliding and have the potential to destroy the 616.

As you can see, Black Panther isn't just an interesting character. He's someone who deserves his own film. His history is deep and incredibly interesting. We'll finally get to see the leader of his own country star on the big screen. He's an important part of Marvel's history and not just because the character broke down racial barriers. He's a part of major and current events at Marvel and a character worth celebrating.

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Kal'smahboi

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Cool. I'm always very appreciative when CV catches me up on Marvel movie stuff.

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Fallschirmjager

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also. the T is silent.

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longbowhunter

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I hope this movie prompts Marvel to collect the whole Christopher Priest run so I can finally read it.

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AllStarSuperman

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Cool.

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Cloakx14

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i bet the movie will be awesome ! i hope they make a Black Panther game , but knowing Marvel that probably won't happen.

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DrellAssassin

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Really excited about this character, he's always interested me but I've never read anything with him in it. Recently I just picked up Vol. 1 of New Avengers on a Comixology sale, are there any more series that should be required reading for the character? I don't think he's going to win Character of the Month, so an abridged recommended reading list would be cool.

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ScrappyDont27

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#7  Edited By ScrappyDont27

My first time seeing black panther was in the 90's fantastic four cartoon. Me and my brother would wake up super early to watch it on Saturday mornings. My favorite animals were big cats so he immediately caught my attention and became a favorite of mine, I still have a sketch somewhere from the first con I went to in the 90's of black panther don't know who the artist was, need to find it. Super pumped he is getting his own movie now.

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inferiorego

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#8 inferiorego  Staff

Really excited about this character, he's always interested me but I've never read anything with him in it. Recently I just picked up Vol. 1 of New Avengers on a Comixology sale, are there any more series that should be required reading for the character? I don't think he's going to win Character of the Month, so an abridged recommended reading list would be cool.

We'll have a write up about that tomorrow or late today... probably tomorrow

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Knightsofdarkness2

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So f*cking excited!

I wish Marvel would make an Assassin's Creed/Arkham styled Black Panther game though.

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Cloakx14

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StMichalofWilson

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Cool. I'm always very appreciative when CV catches me up on Marvel movie stuff.

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DrellAssassin

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@drellassassin said:

Really excited about this character, he's always interested me but I've never read anything with him in it. Recently I just picked up Vol. 1 of New Avengers on a Comixology sale, are there any more series that should be required reading for the character? I don't think he's going to win Character of the Month, so an abridged recommended reading list would be cool.

We'll have a write up about that tomorrow or late today... probably tomorrow

Sounds good Mat thank you.

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superior_prime_maybe

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LET REED COME OVER TO MARVEL STUDIOS!!!!!

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Al_capOWN

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Cool, coo, now i got something to read while I poop.

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inferiorego

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#16  Edited By inferiorego  Staff
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Lone_Wolf_and_Cub

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Can't wait for this movie to come out.

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wundagoreborn

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It was so amazing how he made the greatest hero teams of the day look like chumps early on. He introduced himself to the Avengers by sneaking in to the mansion undetected and, when he revealed himself, making their attacks look like child's play. Bringing him on board was much better strategy than trying to fight him.

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Nelomaxwell

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@drellassassin: The client by Chris Priest and The entire Reggie Hudlin run.

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IronAngelX

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doombot890

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deactivated-5d9fc01f2e453

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Beats wasn't a founding member of the Illuminati he replaced Proffesor X after the laters death in Avengers vs X-Men. I really do enjoy it when ComicVine writes articles like this but you need editors and proof readers to make sure you have your history right.

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Captain13

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@inferiorego: Thank you so much for this! It's great to see T'Challa get so much love!

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GrenadeFlow

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@wundagoreborn: The avengers thing was a retcon. He originally joined the avengers because cap asked him to but the retcon really makes more sense than the original version.

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TheFuelRobot

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amazing_webhead

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#26  Edited By amazing_webhead

Like the Lion King if he was Batman

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vandinejd_1991

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I hope this prompts more people to vote for Black Panther for Character of the Month. Out of the five choices that @k4tzm4n picked for the poll he is the only one im interested to learn about.

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feargalr

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I wonder if Marvel could be building up to bringing in the illuminati in Phase 4....

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StarBrand1

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@feargalr: idk how i feel about reed not being there, makes me sad!

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Onemoreposter

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@inferiorego: Not to be that guy.....

....but I'm going to be that guy...... lol

Wasn't Xavier the one who formed the group? Hank only joined after Chuck bit it.

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snarkybits

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I just want Marvel Studios to get the rights to Namor. Atlantis vs Wakanda is something I want to see.

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Captain13

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I just want Marvel Studios to get the rights to Namor. Atlantis vs Wakanda is something I want to see.

That would be pretty epic.

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Captain13

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@fallschirmjager said:

also. the T is silent.

It is?

It's supposed to be silent, but it's commonly pronounced with the "T" by fans--and sometimes even the voice actors!