A Black Panther Villain is Resurrected and Gets a New Look

Black Panther was nothing short of a phenomenon when it debuted in 2018. Some fans were absolutely crushed when Killmonger perished in that final confrontation, but they might be able to take some solace in the pages of Black Panther #19 this week. T'challa has been traveling the cosmos as he chases down one of his newest enemies. Basically, the King sent a band of Wakandans through a time wormhole and they founded a satellite nation. That group started to expand the Wakandan empire throughout the stars, but forgot the teachings of their old culture. They held and maintained slaves and even captured T'Challa as one. He was liberated by his fellow slaves, called the Maroons. Now, he's weighing going back to the far reaches to stop this enemy by freeing all those who are still held captive. *Spoilers for Black Panter #19 to follow*

Most of the issue is split between a battle and a much more intimate conversation between T'Challa and Shuri about the best course forward. The Wakandan King wants retaliation and the princess would like a more measured approach. As they battle back against their enemies, the unthinkable happens. The sumbiote that has been at the core of this conflict finds the body of Killmonger and takes him as a host. A radical vision of the Killmonger armor from the latest movie steps forth as the latest obstacle for the King. But, he's gone back to the astral plane for some reinforcements against this new foe and will have to prove himself before he can count on their help.

While some fans are probably ecstatic to see Killmonger again, the question of a return for the villain on the big screen undoubtedly follows. Earlier this year, Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige told BET that the murmurs about a return were "pure rumor." He added that Ryan Coogler hasn't even gotten that far into the script for Black Panther 2 yet, so it was impossible to tell.

"The honest answer to that is that is pure rumor and speculation, because Mr. Coogler is just only in recent weeks sitting down at his keyboard and beginning to outline the movie," Feige elaborated. "It's early, so nothing is set yet in any way that far, because Mr. Coogler is sitting down and will share it with [producer] Nate Moore and myself in coming weeks."

That being said, it wasn't easy bringing the villain to life on the big screen. Jordan talked to Bill Simmons about it on his podcast and revealed that he had to seek some professional support in order to decompress after shooting the movie.

"It was one of those things that I didn't know what was going on," Jordan told the host. "I never was in a character for that long of a period of time and was, I guess, that dark, that lonely, that painful. So coming out of it, I thought, 'Oh yeah, business as usual. I can just go back home, I'll cut my hair off, and everything will be back to normal.'"

"I found myself kind of in the routine of being isolated and went out of my way to make sure I was by myself and didn't say too much more than the usual," Jordan continued. "Once I got finished wrapping the movie, it took me some time to talk through how I was feeling and why I was feeling so sad and like a little bit depressed."