Rise of the Black Panther (2018) #2: "Coffin For Head of State"

To avoid getting into a tired loop of reviewing Fantastic Four / Avengers / Defenders appearances, I try to choose my material based on whatever might be happening in the real world. It's often dictated by a movie release or an upcoming comics event (lord knows there are many), something along those lines.

Obviously, in this case, it was the sad passing of Chadwick Boseman. I will not pretend that I was a huge fan or any such; I haven't even seen the Black Panther movie. But by all accounts he was a great person making his corner of the world better and on that basis alone, the news came as a shock nonetheless. 

This book is actually far more recent than I realized, having been published in 2018. It takes place very early in T'Challa's (Black Panther, I assume you know) reign as king of Wakanda and debates whether Wakanda is best-served by remaining a secret to the rest of the world or by "going public", as it were. 

But first, Wakandan citizens have gone missing. As Black Panther searches form them, he hears an explosion miles away. Thinking it may be a lead, he heads towards it and finds an Atlantean ship has been shot down.

This upsets Atlantis' most hot-headed monarch who was with said ship and is still a little miffed at the whole thing.

The tradition of two heroes fighting upon first meeting is short-lived in this case as, after Namor mentions seeking traitors to Atlantis, Black Panther deduces that perhaps the two are looking for the same thing. 

Meranno? Isn't that U-Man from the original Invaders books?

Black Panther tracks down his missing countrymen to what appears to be a large barn out in the country. Namor gets tired of waiting for Panther to crack the password to break in stealthily so he uses one of his own.

And we find out that it is, indeed, U-Man! 😀 Dude has teamed up with some asshole from a neighboring country that has it out for Wakanda.
 

We only see Namor land one punch on U-Man and even that is in the background of the panel. Of course, it's not his book, so we can only expect so much, but it was still a little disappointing. 

The prisoners are released, the villains are captured, everyone's relatively happy. 

Black Panther is polite and diplomatic but he again weighs the question of exposure. Namor knows where Wakanda is. He's a friend now but Panther wonders if he will be the next time they meet? That was a nice way to work in more current tensions between Wakanda and Atlantis.

It took a long time for Namor to show up, to the point that I feared he might get the last-panel cliffhanger treatment, but that was not the case. It is clear that this is meant to be their first meeting and I'll be curious to see if it clashes with past material. These two characters have good chemistry. The line between respect and a wicked throw down always feels very, very thin. 

New Avengers (2013) #7, "Thrones"

Early into the creation of this little blog, I decided that I would follow Namor's adventure from the point that he was brought back into continuity in Fantastic Four #4 in 1962. The material prior to that is often brutally drawn racist nonsense.  Yes, different times and such, but I found it impossible to enjoy.

I might do something similar and block out the last decade or so. It seems that whatever I read in the 2010s is dreadfully dull, especially when it involves around events such as Secret Empire, Dark Reign and Avengers vs. X-Men. I'm going to get into Namor's recent "heel turn", to use a wrestling term, in Avengers then Invaders soon so hopefully those stories are more entertaining.

This one, as is often the case, seemed to have some promise based on its cover, but that's misleading. It's just another gab-fest.

Tony "Iron Man" Stark and Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards are discussing the state of affairs and the subject turns to Atlantis. Richards explains that the Wakandas have captured some Atlanteans and plan to try them for war crimes against the Wakandan capital. And so...

"Something went wrong" seems like an understatement based on the image above. Something goes wrong when you clog your toilet. The massacre above looks like more than just something going wrong.

Be that as it may, we cut to another conversation (because that's all this book is) between Namor and T'Challa, the Black Panther. Going contrary to nature, Namor actually offers peace.

The "she" that Panther refers to is his sister Shuri who appears to be in charge at this point.

T'Challa turns out to be quite correct. The next day, as Wakanda's leaders meet. T'Challa recommends a peaceful course of action but Shuri decides against this and declares war on Atlantis.

A war between Atlantis and Wakanda sounds like it could be entertaining as hell. In this book it'll probably be equivalent to watching two dudes play Battleship.

Black Panther (2005) #21

It is the second of three weekends during which the book being read/reviewed will be a Black Panther book as something of a countdown to the movie. Comixology and Marvel made it nice and easy for me by having a sale on Black Panther material so I've bought a couple of $1 each.

Coincidentally, they are also having an X-Men Red (whatever that means) sale for a while which includes several Namor titles so I'm spending more than I should but I'll be stocked up for quite a while.

And with that, let's look at Black Panther #21 and its rather striking cover by Gary Frank.

CIVIL WAR: BLACK PANTHER PART 3 King T'Challa and Queen Ororo continue their diplomatic tour. They've been to Latveria and the Moon. Next stop: Atlantis, for a meeting with Namor. Will T'Challa's comrade receive the royal couple with open arms?

Yes, actually, despite what the cover might suggest. The point of the meeting is for Namor to suggest to his Wakandan counterpart that the Panther should lead the resistance against Iron Man and Reed Richards and the superhero Registration Act (or whatever the hell it's called). Much of the book is Namor making his case and Panther debating the merits of this course of action until he (Panther, that is) eventually agrees.

A Sub-Mariner fan, however, will enjoy a flashback to the character's days as an Invader and meeting Black Panthers' grandfather. Its relevance is somewhat questionable but Namor's trademark arrogance is on full display in a comical way, as is his power as he fights a Nazi dick named Master Man.

Meanwhile, in the present, it is his sexism that is on display as Storm questions his motives. She believes Namor is sending Black Panther against Reed Richards in order to remove Richards from the playing and making Susan Storm/Richards that much more accessible.

A miracle to behold. Oh my. Try that line on Twitter, Avenging Son, I dare you.

A pleasant read, brought to us by Reg Hudlin and artists Manuel Garcia and Jay Leisten. Namor doesn't respect many people (he takes a shot at Doctor Doom at some point) but Black Panther is one of few people he holds in high regard, as he should. As entertaining as it can be to watch him tell everyone off, his relationship with Panther makes for a nice change.

Black Panther (1998) #28

I don't watch Marvel's movies. I don't avoid them out of some sort of protest, they just don't appeal to me. They typically appear to be nothing but flashy explosions and one-liners. If there's any substance to most of them, it isn't immediately obvious.

This does not appear to apply to Black Panther, however. No doubt there are humourous moments, but the drama/action/humour ratio seems to be more on point.

Having seen good early reviews, I thought I would direct some of my attention to interaction between that character and the Avenging Son. This weekend, we look at issue #28 of the Panther's 1998 series. It is written by Christopher Priest, who's about as good as it gets.

Suggestion: I went back and purchased #27 after reading #28. While there is a clear attempt at catching up the reader in #28, reading the previous issue helps tremendously and I'm glad I did.

While no Marvel Comics fan by any stretch, I do like their ability to tell a political tale. Rulers of Latveria, Wakanda, Atlantis and others debating alliances and resolving conflict can be entertaining. I much prefer DC Comics, and have my entire life, but I don't find they can carry that aspect quite so well (even with their own Atlantis and Themiscyra, etc.). Or if they do, I haven't come across it.

Namor's appearance in #27 is minimal but his role is much more significant in #28. Summarizing it briefly would be difficult (and spoilerific) but suffice to say that someone is making it appear as though Wakanda is holding a child hostage (which he is, but with cause) and planning war (which he's not, of course). That war would affect water dwellers and naturally, that doesn't sit well with Namor.

Following a meeting of "world leaders" (Panther and Namor are joined by Magneto and a holographic projection of Dr. Doom, among others) in New York, Panther stops a robbery in progress. He is unaware that Wakanda is being made to appear as though they launched an attack against Atlantisd. That attack, false though it may be, irks Namor greatly and he seeks out King T'Challa right away.

After a brief skirmish, Magneto, of all people comes by to clarify things. The two accept the explanation and move on.

Namor's appearance is a short one, but a quality one. He takes no crap from Doom or Magneto, comfortable in his position, and has his people's well-being first and foremost in his words and actions. Good stuff from Priest, as usual.