Achebe (Character)

Created by: Christopher Priest

1st appearance: Black Panther #3, 1998

Nationality: Ghudazan

Team Affiliations: None

Legal Status: Wanted criminal in Wakanda

Weight: 190 lbs    Height: 6’

Eyes: Brown             Hair: Black

Relatives: Wife (deceased)

Skills and abilities: Skilled manipulator thanks to Ph.D. in Law (Yale) and degrees in Psychology, Political Science and Divinity.

Powers: Has mild superhuman strength, speed and agility.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X92MalkVjEY&feature=related]

Notes: He was the ‘Joker’ to priest’s Batman (Black Panther). Like Joker he always had a smile on his face and was psychotic. He also shared similarities to scarface another batman villain who had a similar relationship to his hand puppet.

Biography

Reverend Dr. Michael Lbn al-Hajj Achebe’s true identity is shrouded in mystery. One rumor surrounds who he was before he took to this new alias. It is theorized that he was a simple farmer until Guerilla soldiers took refuge on his farm. There he treated them with utmost kindness and in return they abused him physically through beating and stabbing. Worst his wife unfaithful as she was began to sleep with said soldiers. One day he fled into the desert and despite lack of water he survived on his own. The heat and trauma had given way to dementia. When he returned from the desert he was a changed man. He hunted down and killed everyone associated with his wife, from close family to casual Acquaintances. In time none remained who had known of his wife it was as if she had never existed. Born anew he made a pact with the devil (Memphisto) and sold his soul  [All New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z 01, 2006].

He ventured to America where he earned multiple degrees and formed ties with many rogue elements from U.S intelligence. His county bordered Wakanda and he gathered many who saw him as a means to an end to gain access to Wakanda’s technology. He and his allies escalated tensions in his country until civil war broke out, this lead to thousands fleeing to Wakanda. T’challa accepted them though they were housed in makeshift camps outside the main city. Achebe among those who fled into Wakanda escalated tensions once more as the refugees were restless over their living conditions and the more xenophobic Wakandans were angry T’challa had accepted them into their country. While T’challa was away he seized control of the country and shared power with the queen mother Ramonda. Unknown to Achebe T’challa was onto him and his allies and after convincing Memphisto to free Achebe from his calming influence which had kept his insanity in check for years, he began to crumble. Even Ramonda who had seemingly allied with him was a spy for her stepson. With no counsel from the devil he created a hand puppet “Daki” with whom he communed. When T’challa returned he fled into hiding resurfacing briefly to torture one of the Dora Milaje who would become the second Malice and later in a bid with Deadpool to kill Killmonger and cease control of Wakanda again. When this failed he returned to hiding once more [All New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z 01, 2006].