Dive into the legend of the Black Panther in this new origin story by acclaimed author Tochi Onyebuchi and New York Times-bestselling illustrator Setor Fiadzigbey, perfect for middle grade readers! T’Challa and Hunter are brothers growing up in the idyllic royal palace of Wakanda. Theirs goes beyond the usual sibling rivalry, though – Hunter, although older, is adopted, and T’Challa is the true heir to the throne. Both brothers wrestle with fairness and the future, readying themselves for responsibility, when tragedy strikes and takes the choice from them. This new series, ideal for young fans and loyal readers alike, will explore the moments that make T’Challa who he is, from his adventurous upbringing to his walkabout as a teen where he meets the enchanting Ororo Munroe before she becomes the legendary Storm, to when he first invites the Fantastic Four into Wakanda! Son, Brother, Warrior, King – as each chapter unfolds, new pieces of T’Challa’s character will be revealed and the Black Panther will emerge.
What I thought
Art– Setor Fiadzigbey’s art is sleek and sexy. Their is a certain kinetic fluidity to the action scene throughout. I especially liked when Zuri sliced off the villain’s arm.
History-Apartheid in South Africa is brought up in this issue which I found was fitting and much needed as we contineu our global fight against Anti Black racism. “Apartheid, (Afrikaans: “apartness”) policy that governed relations between South Africa’s white minority and nonwhite majority for much of the latter half of the 20th century, sanctioning racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against nonwhites. (britannica.com). In this issue we see how those policies separated the Anglo-saxon minority from the Black majority in hotels, in airports etc. When we talk about the fight against Anti-black racism we need to realize that this is a global conversation involving histories and legacies that you have never even dream of. Get woke!
Family– I loved how the familial and brotherly bond between T’challa and Hunter was illustrated in this issue. Their rivalry was shown as well as how connected they were despite being of different ethnicity’s. Hunter has always fascinated me as a character because he is an Anglo Saxon WAKANDAN prince in a land of only black people. He is literally a minority in the place that he has spent his whole life. This quality makes him perfect for espionage in any Anglo Saxon populous nation like the United States/Europe etc. Shuri’s interaction with T’challa was also a nice touch as was the touching moment between Hunter and Ramonda. Hunter has been very badly treated in recent years and I have always been curious about his history with his uncle S’yan, sister Shuri, cousin T’shan and his “new” mother Ramonda. If this is where wee are headed in this series I am all here for it!
Retcon– This serves as yet another soft reset of How King T’chaka is killed and how Ulysses Klau lost his hand. Personally I still think the Reginald Hudlin penned “Who is the Black Panther” is the definitive version but this one does have its charms. The reduction of the age of Hunter is and interesting choice. He was always shown as being a good number of years older than T’challa. He was established as having far more time with T’challa’ biological mother and as a result they always had that between them. By making them both roughly the same age it makes the years with N’yami tricky to work out.
Overall I think this was a pretty strong opening issue with action, emotion, history and art that get the job done!
