Black Panther #6
A Cup of Youth
On a mission to an ancient samurai civilization to steal a mystical water skin that can prolong human life, the Black Panther finds himself in a life-or-death battle with a samurai warrior. As his friend Abner Little watches from the sidelines, T’Challa defeats the samurai — a man named Akiro — in battle. Shamed by this defeat, Akiro insists that T’Challa end his life, as is tradition. However, the Black Panther cannot bring himself to end a human life. Instead, he tells Akiro of his royal lineage and convinces the disgraced warrior to take them to his leader.
Along the way, the Black Panther and Abner are surprised to discover that despite being founded centuries ago, this secret society of samurai have access to modern technology from spying on the outside world. Once they arrive in Samurai City, Akiro takes them to a massive gong which is used to summon his leader, Shinzu.
Meanwhile, back in Wakanda, there is a coup being led by Jakarra, the Black Panther’s half-brother who seeks to claim the Wakandan throne for himself in T’Challa’s absence. Jakarra and his insurrections quickly take the palace where N’Gassi — the elder left in charge — is quickly taken prisoner.[1] Jakarra then details his plan for conquest, telling N’Gassi that he intends to use the power from Wakanda’s Vibranium mound to achieve his goals of world domination.
Back in Samurai City, the Black Panther meets with Shinzu who listens to T’Challa’s pleas and agrees to restore the honor lost by Akiro. That’s when Abner asks Shizu for access to the mystical water skin. This angers the ruler of the samurais and he orders his greatest marital artist to destroy the intruders. While T’Challa fights for his life, Abner sneaks away to the chamber where the life extending waters are contained. He discovers that there isn’t actually a water skin, but a massive pool that collects the water. He settles for filling a nearby jar with the water. Abner then doubles back to get T’Challa, telling him that he has gotten the water they needed.
Although the Panther has defeated the warrior, Shinzu refuses to allow them to leave his domain alive and orders his army to attack.
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Jakarra, Akiro, Abner Little, N’Gassi, Shinzu
Continuity Notes
The relationship between T’Challa and Jakarra is that they share a father. An explanation is not provided until Rise of the Black Panther #5 which reveals Jakarra was the love child of T’Chaka and Mateena, a member of the Wakanda spy agency known as the N’Charu Silema whose purpose was to ensure that Wakanda’s existence would remain secret to the outside world. Although Jakarra’s heritage was acknowledge in Rise of the Black Panther #6, he was given an inheritance upon T’Chaka’s death and told not to interfere with the country’s politics. Obviously that didn’t pan out.
