Black Panther Character Gets a New Status Quo in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Marvel’s new Ultimate Universe reveals a change to a major player in the Black Panther franchise. Ultimate Black Panther is the newest installment in Marvel’s rebooted Ultimate Universe, which promises to offer a different take on some of your favorite heroes and villains. For example, Ultimate Spider-Man features Peter Parker and Mary Jane as a married couple with kids. We already know Ultimate Black Panther is introducing Ultimate Killmonger and Ultimate Storm as freedom fighters, but the debut issue also going a step further by changing up the power dynamics in Wakanda.

*WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Ultimate Black Panther #1. Continue reading at your own risk.

Ultimate Black Panther #1 comes from the creative team of Bryan Hill, Stefano Caselli, David Curiel, and VC’s Cory Petit. Early on in the issue we the quarters of T’Challa, the King of Wakanda. He isn’t alone, however, as Okoye sleeps in a bed right next to his. While they may not share a bed together, it’s revealed that Okoye is T’Challa’s queen, and the former general of the Dora Milaje. Nothing else regarding the relationship is told to the reader, but the two beds could allude to this being more a marriage of necessity, and not out of love. Perhaps they felt T’Challa couldn’t properly lead Wakanda if he didn’t have a queen by his side, hence the marriage to Okoye. 

When T’Challa corrects Okoye after she calls him, “My king,” he corrects her and tells her that they don’t have to worry about such pleasantries in his quarters, calling them equals. “Not in tradition,” Okoye replies. “Not in the eyes of the people. You are king. I am your wife. And I serve your throne.”

Difference between Black Panther in Ultimate Universe and Marvel’s 616 universe

ComicBook.com spoke to Ultimate Black Panther writer Bryan Hill ahead of the series launch, where he discussed the differences between Black Panther in the Ultimate Universe and on Earth-616.

“I think the biggest difference is tonally, this is very much an epic story in a lot of ways. It’s about responsibility of the kingdom lineage,” Hill said. “It’s about when to enter a war and what’s the cost of war. It’s about prophecy and the price of serving prophecy. So I think the difference between what’s going on now in the 616 and what’s going on in Ultimate Black Panther is I’m using a broader philosophical canvas. And I think that Wakanda and the world of the Black Panther is vast and extends into history up until now, headed towards the future. It’s a lot. I’ve been using Frank Herbert’s Dune as an analog to what I’m doing in the sense that you have a rich world with varying philosophical ideas and the sort of conflict and synergy between ancient spiritualism and modern practical politics. That’s very much what Dune is about.”

Hill also talked about the war between Wakanda and Moon Knight, and what brings the two sides into conflict. “Well, without getting into plot specifics, I think there’s a limited amount of time that you can see people suffer without wanting to get involved. And who Black Panther is in Wakanda is different than who Black Panther is outside of Wakanda,” Hill said. “I mean, outside of Wakanda, the Black Panther, I think, takes on a near spiritual aspect. It is almost a faith for a lot of people not often seen but believed in when seen. And within Wakanda, they have their own ecosystem. They have their own political system, they have their own economic system. They are fully functioning and largely protected from this stuff. But outside of that geographical territory, people are suffering. So, I think it’s what moves any king to join a cause that is not necessarily theirs. It is to see suffering out there in the world that you could stop. So that’s kind of where it all sort of begins.”