Black Panther Prelude Comic Reveals T'Challa Was a MCU Superhero Before Iron Man

Iron Man is often seen as the first superhero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but a new Marvel comic reveals otherwise

Spoilers incoming for Marvel's Black Panther Prelude, so if you don't want to know look away now.

Still here? Great. So, Black Panther debuted officially in Captain America: Civil War, teaming up with Iron Man's side of things in the superhero conflict. That is not when T'Challa took on the mantle, however, something revealed in the Black Panther Prelude comic.

In an early panel, fans are taken to the office of T'Chaka, King of Wakanda. He is watching the press conference taking place at Stark Industries from the original Iron Man, where TOny Stark tells the press and the world that he is Iron Man. T'Challa enters the room shortly after, and T'Chaka confirms he is already Black Panther.

"T'Challa -- you've held the mantle of the Black Panther for merely a week, and already you walk as if you'd been at it for a lifetime," T'Chaka says. In fact, he later confirms he's already performed a mission in the costume, saying that T'Challa was spotted by a U.N. Peacekeeper.

You can view the panel in the gallery.

So, T'Challa's Black Panther has been watching from Wakanda throughout pretty much all of it. From the destruction of Iron Man 3 to the assault on New York to Ultron's destruction of Sokovia and more. Now, at the time he wasn't King of Wakanda yet, as that mantle wasn't passed until T'Chaka died in Captain America: Civil War.

It looks like the world already had T'Challa as the Black Panther before Iron Man, the world just didn't know it yet.

That club will likely get even more crowded once Captain Marvel comes out, as that film will take place in the 1990's, and will reveal she was really the world's first superhero.

You can find the official description for the Black Panther Prelude comic below, which is in stores now.

Wakanda. The most technologically advanced nation in the world—and protected by the mighty BLACK PANTHER! Learn how T'CHALLA became the legendary hero of Wakanda in this ALL-NEW, NEVER-BEFORE-TOLD tale set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! See how the mantle was passed to the future king, in a time when super heroes were just emerging in the larger world before this fall's BLACK PANTHER film hits theaters!