This is a moment to celebrate. It’s finally time to read and rejoice.
Wednesday, the Black Panther, the most important black superhero ever, returned in his own solo comic-book series. Also, author Ta-Nehisi Coates, one of America’s great young, black minds, wrote his debut issue for the Marvel character, as illustrated by veteran black artist Brian Stelfreeze.
Coates’s 11-part storyline, titled A Nation Under Our Feet, kicks off to coincide with the Black Panther’s forthcoming big-screen appearance. As portrayed by Chadwick Boseman, the Wakandan superhero will be slashing Vibranium metal claws at Cap’s shield next month in Marvel Studios’s Captain America: Civil War.
And the launch of the comic is especially important because some of those moviegoers will surely feel compelled to turn to their first Black Panther book.
And Coates, the recent MacArthur “genius” grant recipient and National Book Award winner (Between the World and Me), proves to be an inspired pick for this authorial mission. The Atlantic correspondent could have used his first Black Panther issue primarily to spotlight the king of Wakanda’s seeming invincibility and superior intellect. Coates could have decided to channel only the black pride embodied by this character, who is particularly important to so many comic-book fans of color.
Instead, Coates — aided by Stelfreeze’s artistry — gives us a hero in deep conflict. Wakanda — the fictional technological haven that the Black Panther calls home — is in turmoil. And not everyone there believes that the Black Panther is worthy of his throne.
Atypically, the people of Wakanda are defying their king. Amid an uprising, citizens see an opportunity to take down the Black Panther and claim the kingdom as their prize.
Wakanda has so often been presented as an African paradise. But now Coates raises the question: Do the Wakandan people want a monarchy? And if so, is T’Challa (Black Panther’s open identity as a civilian) their ruler of choice?
Coates’s Black Panther just might have a civil war on his motherland.
This is a Black Panther who is frustrated and sometimes confused. He is quick to promise lethal retribution against those who seek Wakanda’s downfall.
And in these dire narrative moments, Coates leans on the Black Panther’s supporting cast. In this first issue, T’Challa’s step mother, Ramonda, reminds him that a king cannot always be a soldier, and that a sword’s strike is nothing without strategy.
The Black Panther’s path promises to be a shadowy one if he is to win the war headed his way.
Yet in at least one way, the Black Panther has already won. This beloved hero is back in his own series, and in the most promising of creative hands.