Ultimate Black Panther Preview Reveals T'Challa's Wife

War on Wakanda! Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Caselli's Ultimate Universe #1 set the stage for Bryan Hill and Caselli's Ultimate Black Panther, revealing an outbreak of global infighting and insurgences in dynastic strongholds of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms — including the isolated nation of Wakanda, the dominion of the Black Panther. The African kingdom is under siege from Lords Khonshu and Ra, known together as Moon Knight, part of The Maker's cabal of world leaders ruling Earth-6160 from the shadows. But two forces are standing in their way: King T'Challaand his wife, Queen Okoye. 

A new look at this week's Ultimate Black Panther #1 (below) introduces Ultimate T'Challa and Ultimate Okoye, once the general of the Dora Milaje turned queen and high mentor of Wakanda. Together, the royal couple rules over a kingdom that is caught in a conflict that will soon involve two more re-imagined characters: Ultimate Storm and Ultimate Killmonger.

"You have a person that's in charge of what is largely an isolationist kingdom. And the questions that all isolationist kingdoms have had is: 'When do we join the conflict that's happening outside of our walls? When is it our problem? And in joining that conflict, what cost do the citizens of our kingdom have to pay for it?'" Hill told ComicBook when previewing the new series set in the rebooted Ultimate Universe. "And so that's a big question, I think, within the first issues of the story, considering what Jonathan Hickman's doing writ large with Moon Knight and Ra and all of that stuff, I really wanted to explore just the vagaries and the dramatics of deciding when you're going to enter the fray, when are you going to make the problems of the world my problem? And it felt like an interesting place to start when you're thinking about leadership and legacy and royalty and all that stuff."

ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER #1 (2024)
Written by: Bryan Hill
Art by: Stefano Caselli, David Curiel
Cover by: Stefano Caselli, David Curiel
On sale: February 7, 2024

THE NEW ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER! In the wake of ULTIMATE INVASION, Khonshu and Ra – the force known together as Moon Knight – are seeking to expand their brutal control of the continent of Africa. In response, the lone bulwark against them, the isolated nation of Wakanda, will send forth its champion…its king…the Black Panther! From the creative minds of Bryan Hill (BLADE, KILLMONGER) and Stefano Caselli (X-MEN RED, AVENGERS) comes a bold new take on the world of Black Panther and Wakanda!