Black Panther (vol. 3) #3
Original Sin
Everett Ross is a member of the US State Department who is tasked with escorting foreign diplomats who are visiting America. He has just recently been assigned as liaison to T’Challa, the king of Wakanda, aka the superhero known as the Black Panther. Presently he is giving a progress report to his superior — and girlfriend — Nikki Adams.
He has reached the part of the story where he has to talk about Achebe, a man who is currently a thorn in the side of the Black Panther. According to T’Challa, nobody knows Achebe’s real name. He was a mere farmer that lived in the African nation of Ghudaza. During a civil unrest the neighboring Ujanka choked off supply lines to starve leftist guerillas seeking to seize political power. Some of these resistance fighters ended up wandering onto Achebe’s land. He took them into his home, fed them, and raised them back to health. When the soldiers were back on their feet again, they reportedly stabbed their savior 32 times and burned his farm to the ground. Adding to it all, his wife fell in love with the rebel leader and left him. The legends say that this man refused to die out of hate and made a deal with the devil. Blaming his wife for what happened, this man hunted down and murdered her parents. He then went on and tracked down every person his wife had ever met and killed them as well. By the time he got to her, he wanted to be sure that there would be nobody to remember her.
However much truth there is to this story, what is known as that this man went on to be known as Reverend Doctor Michael Ibin Al-Hajj Achebe. He repatriated to Ghudaza until ethnic wars in the region drove Achebe and thousands of refugees to Wakanda for protection. From there, Achebe used his influence to stoke violence between the Ghudazan refugees and the Wakandans who weren’t happy to have them. This forced the Black Panther to intervene to a clash between his people and Achebe’s. In the aftermath of the violence, Achebe spoke with T’Challa, but rather than negotiate some kind of peace, used the opportunity to mock Wakanda’s privilage and T’Challa’s upbringing. Seeing that he was getting nowhere, the Panther tolled Achebe that if he wanted to call for him if he wanted to have a serious conversation.
In recounting all of this, Everett doesn’t think it is too outlandish that Achebe started the ethnic wars in Ghudaza to infiltrate Wakanda, nor is getting a meeting with the devil, which brings him back to his story where he left off….
The Black Panther was on a mission to learn who killed Jamie Robins, a young girl who was the poster child for his Tomorrow Foundation. While he was away, Mephisto himself came calling to the apartment in the Brooklyn projects that T’Challa was renting. Ross found himself entertaining the devil while they waited for T’Challa’s return. Noticing that Everett had no pants, the demon used his powers to give him a new pair. However, when Everett unzipped one pair and pulled them off he discovered another pair, and then another, basically Mephisto made him a Russian nesting doll of pants. Suddenly, Ross found himself time shifted back to when he was 13 years old and a female classmate punched him in the nose and then pantsed him in front of everybody. Mephisto wasn’t just making Everett remember old humiliations, he was actually re-experiencing in some kind of time shift.
While this was happening, T’Challa had learned that Achebe orchestrated the embezzelment scandal at the Tomorrow Fund as well as the murder of its poster child, a young girl named Jamie Robbins. He also learned who the actual killer was, a man by the name of Delroy Richmond. Waking Delroy up in his bed, T’Challa has left photos of Jamie Robbins scattered on his bed and lights it on fire. As Richmond runs out of the room on fire, T’Challa finds a number of photos of young children and discovers that Delroy is a pedophile. Delroy tries to run down the hall of his mansion but is quickly taken out by Okoye and Nakia, the Panther’s Dora Milaje. Delroy breaks free, prompting the Panther to kick him out a window. Leaping out after his target, T’Challa’s Vibranium soled boots allow him to fall unharmed and catch Delroy before he hits the ground. Throwing the killer in his limo, T’Challa drives Richmond to the home of Jamie Robbins where he forces him to face Jamie’s mother. She wants to kill the man, but her daughter taught her better than that. After Delroy is turned over to the police, T’Challa and the Dora Milaje finally head back to their rented apartment. Exhausted from his ordeals, T’Challa closes his eyes to rest.
He dreams of when he was a little boy, listening to one of Zuri’s old war stories. The lesson being victory is all a matter of discipline and focus. That’s when his father, T’Chaka, calls for him in the throne room. There, T’Chaka introduces his son to an white hunter named Ulysses Klaw. Before his father can explain why Klaw is there T’Challa, somehow remembering that this is the man who will kill his father, rushes Ulysses and puts a knife to his throat.[1] Suddenly the scene shifts: T’Challa is an adult and he now has an energy knife at the throat of Jamie Robbins. They are in T’Chaka’s tomb and, speaking in the voice of the devil, “Jamie” mocks him for his loss. When the scene shifts to T’Chaka’s funeral, he compares T’Chaka’s rule to T’Challa’s. Saying that his father would never waste his time avenging the murder of one girl, that T’Challa’s charity and compassion makes him a weak leader. The scene shifts again, and T’Challa is now in college, his tormentor speaking through the voice of his lover at the time. they continue to mock his way of ruling.[2] The scene shifts again, this time to the Black Panther’s first battle with the Fantastic Four, his tormentor speaking through all four heroes. When T’Challa asks if this voice is working for Achebe, they say that Achebe is merely a means to an end. Another shift, and T’Challa is going into action with the Avengers, the voice telling him that he is a collector of sorts. Another shift, and T’Challa finds himself in an intement moment with his former fiancée, Monica Lynn.[3] As the voice taunts him further he cannot stop himself from making love to Monica.
That’s when T’Challa wakes up from his dream and discovers that he has been kissing Nakia. This is bad as the Dora Milaje are traditionally wives-in-training for the king, given to him from other tribes. In modern times this has been mostly ceremonial but the old traditions still old that once the king makes romantic advances on one, they are supposed to be married.[4] Realizing what he has done, T’Challa orders his driver to stop the car. Changing into the Black Panther he scales the side of the building to get to the rooftops to clear his head. As he goes, he doesn’t notice two men in white versions of his Black Panther costume de-cloak and follow up the side of the building behind him.[5]
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Mephisto, Everett Ross, Okoye, Nakia, Nikki Adams
Continuity Notes
Ulysses Klaw wasn’t really a ivory hunter, this was merely a guise to allow him to try and get at Wakanda’s supply of Vibranium. His obsession with the rare metal led to the murder of T’Chaka. T’Challa avenged his father’s death by crippling Klaw’s right hand, and injury that would lead the maniac to transforming himself into a being of solid sound. See Fantastic Four #52-53.
For more on T’Challa’s overseas education see Avengers #87. The young woman here is not identified until Black Panther (vol. 3) #6 that he dated Nikki Adams.
Monica Lynn has been a long time ally of T’Challa dating back to when he saved her from the Sons of the Serpents in Avengers #73. T’Challa proposed to her in Black Panther: Panther’s Prey #3. However, by the time we see her again in Black Panther (vol. 3) #8, T’Challa had called off their engagement. It’s revealed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #48-49 that this was due to the fact that T’Challa met a future version of himself that was dying of a brain aneurysm that he himself was just in the early stages of. Seeing that he had no future to offer Monica was the reason why he broke off their engagement, although he kept the reason why a secret.
This will lead Nakia to believe that T’Challa loves her. This will make her obsessed with marrying him. Up to the point where she attempts to kill Monica Lynn in Black Panther (vol. 3) #11. This leads to the Panther expelling her from the kingdom, putting her into the hands of his greatest foe, Erik Killmonger in issue #13 who will transform her into the assassin known as Malice in Black Panther (vol. 3) #24.
Next issue we’ll learn that these mercenaries are members of the Hatut Zeraze. Traditionally, they were used to exterminate threats to the kingdom of Wakanda. When T’Challa took over the throne he thought that having a team of assassins to be distasteful and exiled them from the kingdom.
Topical References
When Achebe tries to negotiate with the Black Panther, he says all he wants is peace and a brand new mini-disc player. Minidiscs were a music and data storage format created by Sony in 1992. The format gained some traction by the end of the decade. Sony attempted to make it a replacement for cassette tapes and CDs as well as other computer storage devices as well. While they were popular in Japan they didn’t really catch on anywhere else. Sony stopped manufacturing players for the format in 2013. As such, this reference should be considered topical as Achebe is talking about an obsolete technology.
When trying to wrap her head around Achebe, Nikki Adams refers to him as a “nutty, evil Bishop Tutu.” This is in reference to Desmond Tutu, a South African Anglican bishop who is best known for his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement in that region. He just recently died in 2021. When this comic was published Tutu was involved in the post-apartheid truth and reconciliation hearings, hence the comparison here. This wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference as Tutu could now be considered a historical figure given the significance of his life’s work.
When talking about people meeting with the Devil, he refers to him as the Lord of the Flies. This is a reference to the Philistine god Beelzebub whose name means “Lord of the Flies” because he could fly. His name was co-opted Christian theologins who reinterpreted Beelzebub as another name for Satan. Part of their cherry picking other religious practices and assimilating what they liked while demonizing (sometimes literally) the rest.
Ross boasts that he watched the Exorcist 17 times. This was a 1973 horror film adapted from a 1971 novel of the same name written by William Peter Blatty, itself based on allegedly true story. It surrounds a young girl who is possessed by the devil and the priests who try to exorcise the demon, hence the name. The book has spawned 2 sequels and the film 4 and a scheduled remake slated for 2023 that is supposed to be part of an apparent trilogy, because there are no original ideas left in Hollywood. That said, this wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference because the Exorcist is now considered classic cinema.
When commenting on Mephisto torturing him, Everett quips “Do you think Nosferatu is going to follow the Prime Directive?” Which is a double whammy of pop-culture references:
Nosferatu: Was the title character from a 1922 silent film. The film was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, back when that still had a copyright. Nosferatu was the stand in for Stoker’s titular vampire. Incidentally both Stoker’s Dracula and the film Nosferatu are both in the public domain now. Since this is another reference to classic cinema it wouldn’t be topical.
The Prime Directive: This is a term associated with the Star Trek franchise, a serialized science fiction show about space exploration that began in the 1960s. In Star Trek the Prime Directive is one of the cardinal rules of Starfleet when it comes to space exploration. At its most simplest, its a rule that Starfleet representatives cannot interfere with the natural development of alien civilizations, especially ones that are less advanced. Since then the term has becomes part of the cultural lexicon as it is often used a short hand to describe a set of moral guidelines. It’s reference here wouldn’t necessarily be considered topical.
When talking about disparity in American justice, Everett states “This was the land of OJ and JonBenet.” He is referring to two high profile criminal cases in US history that happened around the time of publication. These should be considered topical references as well since you could slot in any number of other high profile cases that have come after. At any rate, the cases he mentions are:
The OJ Simpson murder trial: In 1994, former NFL football player OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nichole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. The trial was a media circus and a very complex case, particularly since the LAPD was (rightfully) accused of racism and incompetence when investigating the case. While most people believe OJ was guilty, the evidence was insufficient and he was acquitted of criminal charges. In 1997, he was found guilty in a civil suit for the wrongful deaths of his alleged victims. However, due to Simpson moving around his money, restitution has never fully been paid. At any rate, OJ Simpson has been a real scumbag about the whole thing afterwards, which a lot of people believe further point to his guilt.
JonBenét Ramsey: Was a child beauty queen who was brutally murdered in her family home at the age of 6 years old in 1996. The evidence suggests that it was a kidnapping gone wrong. As of this writing (December, 2022) the case remains unsolved. Suspects have included members of her family or an as yet unidentified alleged intruder. Marring the case was a false confession in 2006. Public opinions and independent investigations have pointed to various family members over the years which has resulted in defamation lawsuits.
The original twin towers of the World Trade Center are depicted as part of the New York City skyline in this story. This should be considered topical as these buildings were destroyed in a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 and subsequently replaced with the Freedom Tower.
In the vision of the past, T’Chaka states that Ulysses Klaw is an ivory hunter. This should be considered a topical reference as it has become illegal to hunt for ivory in Africa since 1989.
Errors
Last issue, the head of the Tomorrow Fund was identified as Marion Vicar. In this issue she is referred to as Sheila Vicar. I suppose that in this case (like in others where characters names are mixed up with something totally different) her full name is liekly Marion Sheila Vicar and goes by either name (lots of people like that in the Marvel Universe).
