As Moon Knight falls, a new Black Panther rises. The first year of Marvel’s Ultimate Black Panther, from writer Bryan Hill and artist Stefano Caselli, introduced the isolated kingdom of Wakanda and King T’Challa, the Black Panther. The vibranium-rich Wakanda has been at war with Ra and Khonshu — collectively known as Moon Knight — who have laid claim to the Upper and Lower Kingdoms spanning the continent of Africa. As Ra and Khonshu vowed to destroy Wakanda by the light of the moon, T’Challa formed a trusted inner circle of force: his wife, Queen Okoye, sister Shuri, and the guerilla fighters Erik Killmonger and Storm.
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T’Challa’s counsel Matron Imala, Sacred Mother of the Vodu-Khan, told of an alchemical element that landed in Africa at the same time as indestructible vibranium. The unknown element acts counter to vibranium and has the ability to accelerate the growth of life — a power that Ra and Khonshu stole to terraform Africa, build the Kingdom of Khonshu-Ra, and empower their army that worships Moon Knight as a god.
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As T’Challa sought to understand the anti-vibranium, he tasked Killmonger and Storm with finding a sorcerer supreme. Meanwhile, Imala questioned whether vibranium is more than just a metal — but a living substance with a consciousness and will of its own that formed a symbiotic relationship with Wakanda. “Are you certain that Wakanda controls vibranium, or does Wakanda serve it?” she asked the king.
When T’Challa was wounded with a dagger infused with the anti-vibranium, he began to experience dark dreams in which he kills Moon Knight. A cosmic spirit representing the vibranium appeared to T’Challa and told him: “You are vibranium.” Meanwhile, Killmonger and Storm found their mystic Godkiller: Inan, the Sorceress Supreme.
Shuri described T’Challa’s draw to the vibranium as an “infection of the spirit” caused by the anti-vibranium in his blood. He then accepted Khonshu-Ra’s challenge of a fight to the death, Black Panther versus Moon Knight, to decide the fate of Africa and the vibranium.
In Black Panther #12, T’Challa had a vision of brutally defeating Moon Knight and making his followers kneel to the Black Panther beneath the full moon. He recognized this gleeful bloodlust as something inside of him and turned to Imala, who explained he is becoming the great vessel for the God-substance speaking to him. “The moon will rise, and you will face Khonshu and Ra,” Imala said. Before Black Panther and Moon Knight’s moonlit duel to the death could end with T’Challa giving in to the vibranium’s urges to kill his opponent, he was stopped by Inan.
“You have a vibranium problem,” the Sorceress Supreme told T’Challa. “And it might not be too late to save everything you believe in.”
“Even though this is the Ultimate Universe, as it were, I still think there are some essential qualities of Black Panther and Wakanda that need to be carried through,” Hill previously told ComicBook about the ongoing title launched between Ultimate Spider-Man and The Ultimates. “So for me, it’s interesting because there’s always that balance of, ‘What would you do if this was simply your sand in the sandbox’? And then what would you do when you’re sort of honoring the spirit of the thing, but you also want to take some of the rules away.”
Hill continued, “I think it’s a combination of the minor rules and the major rules and the major rules I tend to leave alone, but the minor rules I tend to play with a little bit.”
Year two of Ultimate Black Panther begins in February with issue #13. T’Challa will then face a new enemy, the Progenitor, in March’s issue #14, before debuting an all-new suit in April’s Ultimate Black Panther #15 — possibly without vibranium. See what’s ahead in the second year of Ultimate Black Panther below.
Ultimate Black Panther #13
ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER: YEAR TWO STARTS HERE! With MOON KNIGHT defeated and the Maker’s Council forced to regroup, T’Challa must learn the secrets of vibranium – because his very life and soul are at risk! The SORCERER SUPREME can help understand the truth of the terrifying element that built Wakanda, but her aid comes with a price…
On sale: Feb. 19
Ultimate Black Panther #14
WHO IS THE PROGENITOR? Black Panther’s dangerous reliance on vibranium becomes even more volatile when an ancient spirit attacks Wakanda! Only the Sorcerer Supreme can help T’Challa save Wakanda – and possibly his soul – from this fiend!
On sale: March 19
Ultimate Black Panther #15
THE NEW BLACK PANTHER! Battle-worn and beleaguered, a stripped-down T’Challa must go back to basics to prepare for battle against the new foes who have turned vibranium and its dark counterpart against him…
On sale: April 23
