The Dark History Of Black Panther

Marvel introduced Black Panther in 1966, yet in spite of his long history in the comics, he only recently made his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. As the king of Wakanda, the guy gets around, is Tony Stark rich, and has some pretty solid powers to boot. But what's the real story behind the man who calls himself Black Panther?

Black Panther's debut marked a milestone for racial equality in comics, as there had never been a major African hero in mainstream comics before. With the American civil rights movement in full swing, even a fictional expression of racial equality was extremely important to a younger comic audience. It was only a few months after Black Panther's first appearance that the completely unrelated Black Panther Party came together, leading to some confusion about the relationship between the hero and the organization. In 1974, Black Panther tried going by Black Leopard to escape the "political connotations" of his name, but it didn't stick.

Panther hung with the Avengers for a few years before embarking on his first solo adventures. Making his standalone debut in Astonishing Tales #6, Panther returned to Wakanda after being alerted to Doctor Doom's attempt to steal the country's vibranium. After a short battle, Black Panther threatened to destroy the nation's entire reserves of the precious ore—proving he'd rather put his country in poverty than give in to Doom. His kingly arrogance impressed Doom, who already had the throne in his native country of Latveria, and he briefly considered making Black Panther an ally.

Panther started a relationship with musician Monica Lynne, and the couple divided their time between Wakanda and Georgia, USA. During a visit to Monica's hometown, Panther got caught up in KKK business, saving Monica multiple times from their attacks—as well as a slightly-too-permissive local sheriff. By issue 21 of Jungle Action, Black Panther was strapped to a burning cross and surrounded by men in white hoods. It's probably the darkest moment in the character's history, and even after he escaped and eliminated the immediate danger, it was clear that the Klan wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. It's a moment in comics that proved the real evils of mankind can be just as vile as any superpowered villain.

It was revealed in Marvel Team-Up #100 that Black Panther had a history with Storm of the X-Men—a connection dating back to when Storm was only a teenager named Ororo on a walkabout in Africa and Pather was still only Prince T'Challa. This retcon planted the seeds for the characters' eventual marriage 26 years later, which took place right in the middle of the superhero Civil War. Even Man-Ape peacefully attended the 2006 ceremony, getting drunk at the reception. Sadly, Black Panther's wedded bliss wouldn't last long.

Remember those golden time-travelling frogs? Marvel needed to find a way to explain the strangeness of their errant miniseries and came up with a story that revealed the frogs actually split Black Panther in two. The mainstream Marvel Universe got stuck with a rather dour T'Challa, while an errant splinter of past reality got a Panther who was always in a really, really good mood—due in part to an inoperable brain aneurysm. "Fruity Pebbles" Panther, as he was once called in canon, had some good times and tangled with Asgardians before finally succumbing to his ailment. Soon after, dour Panther realized that he too had an aneurysm, due to being punched really, really hard by a mind-controlled Iron Fist.

It's all the equivalent of Marvel saying, "Sorry about that. Brain damage. Carry on."

As threats against life itself grow more intense, Marvel's most powerful heroes occasionally convene in secret to discuss how things should go down, all without the knowledge of most of Marvel's everyday heroes. It's shady business. When Black Panther decided to re-form this disbanded group—dubbed the Illuminati—after seeing an alternate-reality Wakanda being destroyed, only the best and brightest were invited... and they started to take some pretty extreme, murderous measures to protect Earth from colliding alternate realities. Black Panther eventually succumbed to his better nature and tried to put a stop to it, but Namor, ever the warrior, violently opposed his efforts.

Like just about every major Marvel hero, Black Panther faces a seemingly never-ending series of challenges, whether they're threats from outer space or just plain ol' Earth racism, and it's unlikely he'll find lasting happiness anytime soon. But hey, at least he's getting his own movie.

As threats against life itself grow more intense, Marvel's most powerful heroes occasionally convene in secret to discuss how things should go down, all without the knowledge of most of Marvel's everyday heroes. It's shady business. When Black Panther decided to re-form this disbanded group—dubbed the Illuminati—after seeing an alternate-reality Wakanda being destroyed, only the best and brightest were invited... and they started to take some pretty extreme, murderous measures to protect Earth from colliding alternate realities. Black Panther eventually succumbed to his better nature and tried to put a stop to it, but Namor, ever the warrior, violently opposed his efforts.

Like just about every major Marvel hero, Black Panther faces a seemingly never-ending series of challenges, whether they're threats from outer space or just plain ol' Earth racism, and it's unlikely he'll find lasting happiness anytime soon. But hey, at least he's getting his own movie.

More recently, in the ever-expanding multiverse of Marvel Comics, a new Panther has emerged, and he is far more powerful than any other iteration. Introduced in an origin story in "Avengers Forever" Vol. 2 #6, this overpowered T'Challa has cosmic abilities and an exosuit that would make Tony Stark jealous. However, at the time of this writing, this character is so new to the comic world that much of his story is still being written. To follow along, find this upgraded Black Panther in the pages of "Avengers Forever." Thankfully, a quick breakdown will get you caught up.

A version of T'Challa from an alternate Earth was sent to space as the last of his kind following an attack from King Killmonger. Growing up in the Shi'ar Empire, the Wakandan takes on the identity of Sky Spider as he travels the stars fighting King Killmonger and his band of War Panthers. Later adopting the name Vibranium Man, T'Challa is defeated by his archnemesis only to be found days later trapped within an active star by members of The Avengers. As T'Challa awakens, he discovers that he has gained new abilities from his solar slumber and once again changes his name to Star Panther, vowing to get his revenge on King Killmonger.

Just like how there are future versions of Black Panther and many of his superhero peers, there is also ancient mythology surrounding the Avengers. The Avengers 1,000,000 BC were introduced in "Marvel Legacy" #1. Representing their future counterparts, these forgotten heroes include the first Sorcerer Supreme, the original Moon Knight, and Odin, the first to wield Mjolnir. Included in their ranks is the first Wakandan to survive consuming the heart-shaped herb. A man named Mosi was able to form a connection with Basi the panther spirit after using the herb, becoming the original Black Panther in the process.

These ancient Avengers were brought together by Firehair, a prehistoric mutant bonded with the Phoenix Force. Although relatively new to comic books, the Avengers 1,000,000 BC have already had a fair few literary adventures, including defeating a Celestial, meeting a time-traveling Tony Stark, and fighting a young version of Thanos. We learned more about this Stone Age super team in the 2022 "Avengers 1,000,000 BC" title, though, unfortunately for fans of the character, the prehistoric version of Black Panther doesn't play a significant part — he dies in the first issue.