Black Panther: Read This Comic Before Seeing the Movie

There are plenty of terrific T’Challa tales to read after seeing director Ryan Coogler’s comic book movie. From Black Panther’s first appearance in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s Fantastic Four #52 to his critically-acclaimed stories by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze, there are dozens and dozens of comics that are worthy of your attention. There are lots of options to choose from, but one story always sticks out to me: See Wakanda and Die (Black Panther #39-41), by writer Jason Aaron, artist Jefte Palo, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer VC’s Cory Petit.

Taking place during Marvel’s Secret Invasion event, the Skrulls (alien shape-shifters) have infiltrated the Earth and taken positions of power. Now, the extraterrestrial conquerors have their sights set on Wakanda because they want to take the nation’s vibranium (a rare metal that can absorb vibrations and energy). Wakanda has never been taken over by an outside force, though, and the Skrulls will not be the ones to change that. In just three issues, this new reader-friendly story tells you everything you need to know about T’Challa. It proves that he’s a noble leader, a brilliant tactician, and a superb combatant. 

T’Challa and his allies are facing an alien race that has superior technology and outnumbers them three to one. Yet as a brave leader, T’Challa inspires the people of Wakanda to fight by his side. He knows there will be casualties in the battle and this is something he accepts; however, it is not something he takes lightly, and he feels the loss of every person who dies for Wakanda, fully aware of who they are and what that loss means for the people connected to them. He mourns while fighting to make sure they are not lost in vain – it’s a superb display of why he’s such a respected leader and why people will follow his orders, even when they are not sure things will pan out.

Aaron paints T’Challa as a brilliant strategist. T’Challa and his nation were able to identify several Skrulls that were lurking within their ranks and successfully extracted valuable information from them. By the time the Skrull army arrives, T’Challa has the perfect plan. The Skrulls have superior technology and the numbers advantage, yet T’Challa confidently stands by a plan that constantly surprises the alien invaders and eventually leads to their vicious downfall. I won’t spoil the details, but you’ll definitely walk away having some respect for T’Challa’s abilities as a strategist and his determination.

As a fighter, Aaron gives T’Challa an unforgettable brawl. Black Panther is a highly skilled fighter who can hold his own – and even defeat – talented heroes like Captain America, but in this story, T’Challa faces a threat that possesses the talents and abilities of several formidable characters, like Luke Cage, Bullseye, Elektra, Moon Knight, and more. This Super Skrull has trained its entire life to fight Black Panther, yet a lifetime of training simply wasn’t good enough. On paper, you’d think someone with those abilities should beat Black Panther, yet the imposing alien doesn’t have Black Panther’s sharp mind. During the battle, T’Challa’s able to study his foe, find a weakness, and flawlessly take advantage of it. It’s downright brutal and without question one of his most impressive showings. T’Challa’s one of the top hand-to-hand combatants in the Marvel Universe and this undoubtedly proves it.

It would’ve been easy to have the enemy commander be some formulaic, bloodthirsty conqueror who looks down on humans. Instead, Commander K’uuur is fleshed out. He’s obviously not a good man – he’s helped take over so many planets that he’s lost track – but he takes no joy in it and he desperately wants to stop. He’s so certain that the takeover of Wakanda will be his last mission and then he can spend the rest of his days being with his wife. He doesn’t want violence, but he’ll do what’s necessary to complete his mission. Revealing his perspective gives the story a very interesting contrast. On one side of the battlefield, we have T’Challa, a man who’s proud of his nation and will do anything and everything in his power to protect it. On the other side of the battlefield, there’s Commander K’uuur, a character who does not have pride in his Empire’s mission and he’s fighting solely for himself – his heart (Skrulls have hearts, right?) just isn’t in it. One side is fighting because they want to. The other side is fighting for everything that matters to them. It adds an extra layer to the invasion but also further proves that Black Panther’s abilities as a leader are phenomenal and few can compare.  

The visuals are every bit as good as the writing. The use of perspective and motion gives this story all the intensity and emotion that it deserves. The buildup to the battle is cinematic (see above) and the more dramatic moments (like the one below) will linger in your head. It all comes together to build the perfect atmosphere for this epic story.

Read See Wakanda and Die, people. It feels like a love letter to Black Panther and Wakanda while unleashing an action-packed and character-driven story. If you’re not a big Black Panther fan going into this story, I’m confident that it’ll turn you into one.

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