But Now the Spears are Broken

When a young boy named Kantu finds himself in the path of a rhino’s charge, the Black Panther leaps in to rescue the boy. Using his phenomenal strength to wrestle the rhino to the ground. In the aftermath of the struggle Kantu’s parents — M’Jumbak and Karota — rush to the boy to make sure he’s safe. While M’Jumbak is star-struck over the Panther remembering his name, Karota does not approve of T’Challa bringing the American Monica Lynne to their kingdom as she is suspicious of outsiders.

When they return to the royal palace, T’Challa assures Monica that she isn’t just a meager commoner to him, that the Wakandan’s view of regality often creates a delusion of superiority. They are soon served dinner — roast Kraal venison on skewers — by Tanzika, yet another person who does not approve of Monica Lynne’s presence. After serving her king, Tanzika speaks with Zatama to find out what he is so angry about. Zatama is annoyed that everyone is focused on trivialities like the Lynne woman and how everyone is more interested in dealing with Killmonger’s insurrection with more violence and bloodshed. Seeing how disapproving both Tanzika and Zatama are, Monica hopes that feels dehumanized everyday as the people of Wakanda use her as a scapegoat for all of their anger and frustration. She hopes that this won’t lead to T’Challa’s destruction.

Later that evening, M’Jumbak goes to a local graveyard for prayers. There he witnesses as a body rises from one of the graves. Frozen in fear, M’Jumbak is easily killed by the zombie.

Back at the palace, T’Challa assures Monica that their romance has same risks as all others: either they heal or destroy and they just need to figure out what that is. As Tanzika clears away the meat skewers, Zatama comes to talk to his king about the weapons they confiscated from Killmonger’s warriors. These weapons are the exact same model used by Wakanda’s own royal guard.[1] He is also concerned about W’Kabi who wants to get rough with Venomm, their prisoner, despite Zatama’s objections.[2] He warns T’Challa that perhaps his rule is starting to fray. That’s when Kartoa comes seeking an audience with T’Challa. She is in tears because she is afraid something happened to her husband, M’Jumbak, as he has not returned home from his evening walk like he usually does.

T’Challa agrees to go looking for her husband and changes into the Black Panther. Arriving at the graveyard, he finds M’Jumbak’s body and is ambushed by the zombified Baron Macabre, another minion of Erik Killmonger. Not only is Macabre backed by an army of zombie warriors, but he can also fire deadly blasts of energy from his finger tips. The Panther puts up a good fight, but is knocked out by one of Baron Macabre’s blasts and is taken prisoner.

Back in the royal palace, Zatama is trying to figure out what to do about W’Kabi’s desire to kill Venomm when he hears a knock at the door. When he goes to answer it, the person on the other side stabs Zatama in the heart with what appears to be a spear. The killer then leaves Zatama’s body where it falls.[3]

Back in the cemetery, the Black Panther revives and tries to fight his way to freedom. Unfortunately, Baron Macabre proves to be a powerful foe and manages to grab T’Challa by the throat in an attempt to choke the life out of him. Arriving on the scene are Killmonger’s minions Tayete and Kazibe who are frightened of both Baron Macabre and the Black Panther. They watch in surprise as the Black Panther breaks free from Macabre’s grasp and flees the scene, vowing to return.

When the Black Panther arrives at the royal palace he learns that Monica Lynne has been arrested for murdering Zatama. W’Kabi believes that it is an open and shut case as the spear that was used to murder Zatama was covered with Monica’s finger prints.

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, Baron Macabre, Monica Lynn, W’Kabi, Taku, Kantu, M’Jumbak, Zatama, Tanzika, Tayete, Kazibe, Karota

Continuity Notes

1. Next issue it is revealed that Killmonger has been raiding Wakanda’s armories through a secret underground tunnel.

2. Venomm was one of Killmonger’s minions who was defeated by the Black Panther in Jungle Action (vol. 2) #7 and has been a prisoner ever since.

3. Although Monica Lynne is accused of murdering Zatama in this story, T’Challa finds evidence clearing her of any wrong doing. Jungle Action (vol. 2) #11 reveals that Zatama was actually murdered by Tanzika, who was trying to frame Monica.

Topical References

• Here, the Black Panther likens his wrangling of the rhino to the antics of Hopalong Cassidy. Howard Cassady was a football player in the NFL from 1956 to 1963. His nickname was derived when a sportswriter likened Cassady’s moves on the field to that of a performing cowboy, the name stuck because they gave people stupid nicknames in the 50s. Anyway, this should be considered a topical reference, particularly since Cassady died in 2019.