Black Panther Is Actually a Bad Avenger (So Why Does the MCU Try to Convince Everyone Otherwise?)

Black Panther has been one of the biggest successes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. T’Challa was one of the first major black superheroes and starred in his own stories throughout the ’60s and ’70s (even if they usually came in anthology titles like Jungle Action; yes, they put the African character in a book called Jungle Action), but calling him popular would be incorrect. Sure, he joined the Avengers several times and was the monarch of his own nation, but he rarely got any solo series love. Black Panther first appeared in 1966; he only had two solo series by 1998, when the third one debuted as part of the Marvel Knights line.

It felt like Marvel tried several times over the 21st century to make T’Challa popular and it wouldn’t be until they announced his movie and spent enough money to get Ta-Nahesi Coates to write his solo book that he actually finally became popular. Even then, it wouldn’t be until his actual movie came out that he would become truly popular, becoming the icon he is today. Black Panther is a Marvel legend and has been played as a major Avenger for years now. T’Challa is suddenly everyone’s friend (except Wolverine’s, but that’s mostly because of Storm) and one of the most respected Avengers. However, this wasn’t ever the case in the past; the king of Wakanda was the opposite of a good Avenger and the other heroes really didn’t like him all that much.

Black Panther Spent Decades On the Outside of the Marvel Universe

So, the above picture comes from one of the most beloved Avengers rosters of all time. It was a combination of the A-list of Marvel characters back in the late ’70s, before the mutants took all of the attention away from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Look there, in the middle, peaking out from behind Captain America’s back. That’s Black Panther, a hero who nowadays is more popular than nearly everyone else in that picture. If this was drawn today, he’d be right up front.

I think one of the most interesting things about T’Challa is that he is devoted to the people of Wakanda. He’s the platonic ideal of what a monarch can be and that’s one of the reasons why he’s become such a great hero. While there are lots of things about him that have changed over the years, which we’re about to get into, he’s always been an honorable man, a character who readers look up to almost immediately. He just has that vibe to him. However, it’s that love of Wakanda that would play a big role in his early problems with the rest of the Marvel Universe.

Nowadays, we’re used to T’Challa right alongside the A-list heroes, but back in the day, that wasn’t the case. It was something of a surprise for him to join the Avengers and we’d eventually learn that he didn’t join because he wanted to be friends with the other heroes or because he wanted to save the Earth because he was a good person. No, he joined the team so he could spy on them. This was back in the period when the Avengers had a government liaison; they were linked to the government and Black Panther would be able to keep an eye on the US and their plans against Wakanda.

This was the way Marvel played Black Panther in the past. Another more modern example of this comes from New Avengers: The Illuminati Special #1. This story takes place right after “The Kree/Skrull War”, with Iron Man calling together the leaders of the superhero community. He asks them to meet in Wakanda, gives his sales pitch, and then is told by Black Panther that this is a stupid idea and he wants nothing to do with it. He even bars them from Wakanda (which would change years later during the Incursions). His second stint with the Avengers was another example of him joining to just spy on the group; this time they literally kicked him out of the Avengers.

Black Panther would return to prominence when he was married off to Storm, but other than being friendly with the members of the Fantastic Four, T’Challa was not everyone’s buddy. In fact, his lack of a good relationship with most of the Marvel Universe at the time meant that Storm would also kind of disappear during this period, especially once the couple’s stint as leader of the Fantastic Four ended, which was a huge disappointment for fans of the X-Men’s weather-controlling mutant.

Back then, Marvel fans loved Black Panther, but they loved him partly because he was antagonistic with everyone. He wasn’t going to compromise his devotion to Wakanda for a seat at the table. Look at his time with the Illuminati in New Avengers (Vol. 3); he hates every single one of them more and more as times goes by, except maybe Namor (which is ironic because Namor tried to destroy Wakanda a few months earlier). Black Panther was never the cuddly monarch who treated everyone with respect; he was a man who knew what it took to save his people and didn’t care who he hurt to get there.

In a lot of ways, it’s weird to read modern Black Panther and compare him to the old Black Panther. He’s a completely different character; sure, he still sasses his fellow heroes at times, but he’s basically a watered down version of the king he was for decades. The interesting thing is that before, creators never really saw the need to change him to make him more popular. It was only after the MCU he changed, which is something that Marvel fans have gotten used to over the years.

MCU Synergy Completely Changed Black Panther

Marvel often changes its characters for MCU synergy. It’s often explained like this – that since more fans have seen the movies than read the comics, we should make the comics more like the movies on the chance that movie fans are going to buy some comics. This has never happened in any kind of large numbers, but it has never stopped Marvel. Black Panther is an example of a character that has been affected by MCU synergy, but it was done in such a way that the only people who would notice it are fans who have paid attention to Black Panther over multiple decades.

Marvel changed Black Panther in order to appeal to MCU fans, but it ended up working out for all of his fans. Making Black Panther into the model Avenger and one of the geniuses everyone goes to is a weird change, but if I’m being honest, it’s one that fits the character. Black Panther needed to grow beyond being the rigid monarch he was for decades. These changes have allowed him to take a more active role in the Marvel Universe. It’s one of the few examples of MCU synergy that works really well. It’s a change that fit the character, which isn’t always the case with MCU synergy.

Do you remember when Black Panther was a jerk? Do you like him better now or do you miss the old mean T’Challa? Sound off in the comment section below.

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