Black Panther (vol. 3) #14
Turbulance
Now
Everett K. Ross, the United States attaché to Wakanda, is awoken to the sound of beating drums at 4 am. Annoyed he gets out of bed and tells them to knock it off. The drums stop immediately. Everett then returns to his bed, in the kings room, where members of the Dora Milaje are wading on him hand and foot. For you see, Ross has been appointed vice regent of Wakanda, but as usual Everett has gotten ahead of himself.[1]
Earlier
Earlier, the Black Panther was returning from his battle against Ultron alongside the Avengers. Piloting a Quinjet with Justice (Vance Astrovik) they are diverted when a commercial airliner is hijacked as a message to T’Challa. He has Vance magnetically clamp the Quinjet to the bottom of the plane so the Panther can sneak on board alone. He accomplishes this by magnetizing the soles of his boots and cutting into the hull with his Vibranium tipped claws.
Now
When Everett finally gets out of bed that morning, he heads into T’Challa’s office. Deciding to watch some TV he begins looking around for the remote. In one of the drawers he finds a booklet that outlines contingency plans in case Galactus returns to try and consume the Earth again.[2] This comes as a shock to him he almost misses it when W’Kabi enters the room and says that Everett needs to prepare for a hunt.
Earlier
Once breaching the cargo hold of the planet, the Black Panther discovers that it has been filled with water. However, this isn’t ordinary water, it is being controlled by Hydro-Man (Morrie Bench), who has been hired to eliminate a Russian mobster named Dzhokhar Gapon, who is en route to stand trial for funding a failed coup on Wakanda.[3] Hydro-Man tries to drown T’Challa, but switches to a more direct form of attack when the Panther manages to rip open a hatch to another part of the planet. Throwing one of his kinetic swords, T’Challa forces Hydro-Man to retreat. Using his Kimoyo Card to switch from his Black Panther costume to a suit and tie, T’Challa takes the elevator up to the passenger section of the ship. He quickly flashes his credential to a stewardess and has her take him to Gapon’s security detail. He tries to warn them about Hydro-Man, but the villain re-appears and takes control of the agents by taking control of the water in their bodies.[4]
The guards then begin shooting at T’Challa, who switches back to his Black Panther garb to deflect the bullets. One of the ricochetting bullets hits the hull of the plane causing explosive decompression. To make matters worse, the plane is about to crash on the White House thanks to Hydro-Man hiding in the fuel tanks to stow away on the plane. When Justice radios T’Challa to ask what to do, he tells his fellow Avenger to stand by. As battles Hydro-Man, he orders Justice to use his telekinetic powers to divert the plane while he takes control of it with his Kemoyo Card. The two work together to divert the plane so it splashes down in the Potomac River. With his plot foiled, Hydro Man decides to choose death over capture and pulls some wires from overhead. T’Challa tries to bargain with Morrie, telling him that if he names his employer he can get protection. Hydro-Man tells him that the man’s named is N’Jaka before igniting the fuel that is still in his watery form, seemingly immolating himself.[5]
After helping the passengers get to shore, the Black Panther meets up with Justice on the ground. Vance is impressed by T’Challa’s work and wonders if he might be considering a return to full-time Avengers duty. The Panther tells him that he will consider it once matters of the state have been dealt with. That’s when T’Challa is greeted his old friend and former lover, Nikki Adams.
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Hydro-Man, Everett Ross, Justice, Nikki Adams, W’Kabi
Continuity Notes
Here it is mentioned that T’Challa went to assist the Avengers against Ultron. This happened in Avengers (vol. 3) #19-23.
Everett states that “if Galactus ever comes back” he doesn’t think Wakanda could handle the threat. At the time of this story, Galactus had come to Earth a number of times. The details:
Per S.H.I.E.L.D. #1, the earliest recorded instance of Galactus attempting to consume the Earth happened during the Renascence only to be driven away by inventor Leonardo Da Vinici.
In modern times, he has been repelled by the Fantastic Four on five occasions in Fantastic Four #48-50, 74-76, 120-123, 242-244 and Galactus the Devourer #1-6.
In the latter instance and why Everett says “if Galactus comes back” is because, at the time of this story, Galactus had been turned into a star, seemingly ending his threat for good. However, this will be reversed by the multiversal entity known as Abraxas in Fantastic Four (vol. 3) #46-29 and Annual 2001.
Gapon was one of the co-conspirators funding a coup of Wakanda, as revealed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #9-10. This was an attempt to install the madman known as Achebe as T’Challa’s successor. This invasion was initiated and failed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #1-12.
Controlling people through the water in their body was a nifty trick that Hydro-Man started using last issue.
This isn’t the end of Hydro-Man, since he’s made of water he merely evaporated himself here. He’ll turn up alive and well in Thunderbolts #35. Hydro-Man’s employer is Erik Killmonger, as we learned last issue. N’Jadaka was Erik’s birth name, which he abandoned just as he was abandoned by the people of Wakanda when he was younger, as explained in Jungle Action (vol. 2) #7.
Topical References
Ross compares his current position as being like the Black Panther’s Al Gore. At the time this was published story, Gore was the Vice President of the United States. He would leave office the following year, making this a topical reference as you could replace Gore’s name with a more contemporary example.
When T’Challa boards the hijacked airliner, Everett’s narration suggests that T’Challa must have been singing “Don’t Worry be Happy” while doing it. This is a song written by Bobby McFerrin released in 1988. This could be considered a topical reference as you could replace it with a more contemporary song.
The subtitle used during the scene where Everett is going through T’Challa’s desk reads “Bet he Knows Where Elvis is, Too”, this is in reference to a conspiracy theory that musician Elvis Presley (who died in 1977) actually faked his death. This is fanciful thinking that usually happens when a musician dies "before their time” similar conspiracies exist with other musicians from Jim Morrison to Tupac. Even if you were gullible enough to believe such tripe, Elvis would be 88 years old at the time of this writing (November, 2023) and would be edging up to death already. That said, a more contemporary example could be used in his place.
In his running monologue, Everett laments that Prince Charles made his job look easy. He is referring to Charles III, the current King of England (time of this writing) who, back when this comic was published was the heir apparent of the British Crown back in the year 2000. He became the King when his mother Elizabeth II finally kicked the bucket in 2022. Needless to say, this is another topical reference as other more contemporary examples can be used in its place.
Another subtitle for this issue reads “Paging James Cameron”, at the time this comic was published Cameron was best known for his big budget Hollywood blockbusters. In particular, the 1997 film Titanic, a period drama about the ill fated voyage. The reference to Cameron here is topical for the same reason as all of Everett’s name drops in this story.
He also refers to W’Kabi’s attitude when discussing Galactus as though he was talking about preparing to fight the Water Boy. The Waterboy is a 1998 Adam Sandler sports comedy. In the film Sandler plays the stuttering Bobby Boucher, the waterboy for the University of Louisiana football team. Yet another topical reference.