Black Panther #12
The Kiber Clue
After his cousin Khanata was kidnapped by Kiber the Cruel, the Black Panther employs his newly gained ESP powers to establish contact with him.[1] While he successfully makes contact, Khanata isn’t able to tell T’Challa where he’s being held prisoner but pleads for rescue. After ending contact, Joshua Itobo suggests that T’Challa rest after such a taxing display of his new powers. The Black Panther refuses as he needs to rescue his cousin before it is too late.
T’Challa’s concern warranted because the prisoners of Kiber are being forced into a device that converts them into pure energy. When Kiber’s minions come to take another prisoner, Khanata tries to stop them but the others keep him back, afraid for their own survival. After the next victim is turned into energy, Kiber cradles the globe that contains the energies and tells Khanata that soon he will have enough power to rule the world. Khanata warns him that the Black Panther is coming to rescue him, which amuses the killer who is interested in meeting such a threat.
Meanwhile, the Black Panther returns to the spot where Khanata was kidnapped. There he is ambushed by Kiber’s minions who walk through the mountain wall that separates Wakanda from the rest of the world. Out numbered, T’Challa allows himself to be kidnapped in order to be brought to Kiber’s hideout. While back at the palace, N’Gassi has gathered intelligence on Kiber the Cruel. He and Joshua learn that Frederick Kiber was a brilliant scientist who invented a machine that can convert matter to energy. His insane ideas had led to him being shunned by the scientific community. With this information, Joshua hopes to pass this along to T’Challa telepathically so he knows what’s going on.
By this point, the Black Panther is brought before Kiber, who evades T’Challa’s attacks with his ability to teleport and make parts of his body invisible. Surrendering, the Black Panther is then brought to the matter converter. When he spots Khanata in his cell, he telepathically contacts his cousin and tells him to convince the other prisoners to fight back. Despite their reservations, the others rally behind Khanata and break free. While the guards are busy trying to contain the prisoners, the Black Panther manages to flee and begins searching the facility to find Kiber.
When Kiber appears before him again, T’Challa has deduced that this isn’t really his foe but some kind of energy projection. As Kiber’s proxy tries to blast him with bolts of energy, T’Challa rips piping off the side of a machine and tosses it at the simulacrum. The metal from the pipe shorts out Kiber’s projection allowing the Black Panther to reach Kiber’s hidden chamber. When he opens the door and looks inside, what he finds inside comes as a huge shock.
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Kiber the Cruel, Joshua Itobo, N’Gassi, Khanata
