Nightmare

Things have gone from bad to worse for Everett Ross and as usualy he’s recounting events out of order. He starts by thinking about the last time everything went right. This was when — in his capacity as a lawyer — he successfully represented Ka-Zar (Kevin Plunder) in court, winning the freedom of Zabu, Ka-Zar’s beloved sabretooth tiger.[1] As he remembers it, he became a media sensation after the trial. So much so, that he, Ka-Zar and Zabu had to leave the courthouse from the rooftops.

This is in stark contrast to his current situation. Made temporary regent of Wakanda, Everett has been trying to run things since the Black Panther (T’Challa) was put into a coma by his foe Erik Killmonger.[2] His healing process has been guided over the past few weeks by Brother Voodoo (Jericho Drumm). When Ross went to check on the mystic, he was shocked to discover someone had slit Drumm’s throat. When Drumm collapses, Everett weakly calls out for help.

Meanwhile, in the veil between life and death, the Black Panther realizes that he has been lured into a trap by the entity known as Nightmare. The emotional parasite was drawn here by using T’Challa’s comatose state to piggy back from the realm of dreams to the Panther Pavilion, where all the souls of former past Black Panthers slumber. Nightmare intends to stay and feed off the exquisite dreams of T’Challa’s slumbering predecessors.

The current Black Panther will not allow this and fights back, but Nightmare alters reality around him. Suddenly, T’Challa is a boy again and is reliving the day that Ulysses Klaw came to Wakanda and murdered his father over the country’s Vibranium supply.[3] T’Challa refuses to play Nightmare’s games, but the Fear Lord — speaking through “T’Chaka” and “Klaw” — promises T’Challa that he will be his plaything forever more as the hero will never wake from his coma. T’Challa tries to fight back by attacking “Klaw”. However, the illusion drops and he realizes that he has been attacking his ally Moon Knight (Marc Spector) who was incapacitated in the earlier attack until that moment.

The Black Panther gets Spector up to speed on what’s going on. He then picks up a book (purporting to be a contingency plan for stopping Galactus) that was discarded by Nightmare when he launched his attack. As they press onwards, reality changes again and Black Panther, now joined by Everett Ross find themselves transformed into a parody of the old 1960’s Batman TV series with T’Challa playing the role of “Batman” and Ross as “Robin”. Immediately falling in line with this fantasy, the duo spot parodied versions of T’Challa’s foes Achebe, the White Wolf, and Nakia who then flee the scene in Achebe’s “Dakimobile”. The Panther and Moon Knight give chase in the “Panthermobile”.

Meanwhile, in the world of the living, Everett Ross is woken up when Queen Divine Justice tosses a bucket of water on him to wake him up. Also present are Nikki Adams and Monica Lynne who are carrying Brother Voodoo to the infirmary. Everett tells them that he was in contact with T’Challa and he passed along some kind of coded message in the dream. He then rushes off to do what the Panther asked him to do. This leaves Queen Divine Justice with Monica and Nikki, who are giving each other the silent treatment because of their past romantic relationships with T’Challa.[5]

Back beyond the veil, the Black Panther and Moon Knight continue their search for Khonshu. They know they are on the right track when they are once more attacked by the Ennead. It’s during this fight that T’Challa explains that the book he has is the fabled Book of the Dead in disguise. By opening the book and pointing its pages at the Ennead, its invisible passages reveal to the guardians why they have come. With that, the sarcophagus of Khonshu appears and opens before them.

Crossing through the portal within, the two heroes find themselves transported to what appears to be Egypt. There they are greeted by Khonshu as he originally appeared. While Spector thinks that this is another one of Nightmare’s tricks, T’Challa is certain that this is the real Khonshu and bows with the proper respect. When T’Challa hands over the Book of the Dead, Khonshu tells them that he cannot read it as the book was written for mortals eyes only. He advises them that it will guide them to where they need to go. Both the Panther and Moon Knight know where they need to go take the battle to Ngihtmare and force him out of this realm for good.

By this time, Everett Ross has gone to T’Challa’s comatose body and realizes that his friend needs Everett to lead Wakanda — really lead it — in his place. That’s when W’Kabi enters the room and tells Ross that the information he requested is deeply classified. He demands that Ross relinquish control of the country over to him, believing Ross’ position to be a mistake. Everett — finally taking responsibility for the job he has been given — turns to W’Kabi and reminds him that T’Challa does not make mistakes and as the king’s chosen regent, W’Kabi is to do as he orders without question. Surprisingly, W’Kabi silences immediately and leaves the room to do what he was told.

In the realm of the living, Moon Knight has conjured up a “Moon-Plane” for them to ride to Nightmare’s castle. That’s when they are attacked from behind by “Khonshu” and the Ennead. As it turns out this was Nightmare in disguise once again, something that T’Challa was actually fully aware of. He had figured out that the Fear Lord’s greatest fear was to be trapped in this domain and needed the two heroes to use the Book of the Dead to guide him out. Rather than fight, T’Challa allows their plane to be shot down. As it begins to crash, T’Challa begins ripping the pages out of the book. “Spector” protests this and T’Challa claws at his face, revealing him to be Nightmare in disguise. He summons a horde of demons to try and stop the Black Panther, but T’Challa continues to tear the pages out from the book. In the end, Nightmare fails and they are all swallowed up in a massive vortex.[6]

Suddenly, T’Challa wakes up in his hospital bed and realizes that he is back in the world of the living with Queen Divine Justice by his bedside. Soon, he meets with Moon Knight and Brother Voodoo who have also survived this experience. Unable to talk due to his injuries, Jericho explains his attack by writing a single word on a piece of paper “Malice”.[7] T’Challa knows that this is the name of somebody and that they are a huge threat. He orders Everett Ross to be brought to him at once.

At that very moment, Everett Ross has met with Hunter — aka the White Wolf, and T’Challa’s step brother — who has been incarcerated by the Black Panther.[8] While T’Challa did this for a reason, Ross has come because he needs the Wolf and knows that he will unerringly do whatever it takes to defend Wakanda. Handing Hunter a cigarette, Everett asks one important question: Can he trust the White Wolf?

Meanwhile, there are events occurring in the United States that will impact the Black Panther’s life. At Avengers Mansion, She-Hulk answers the door to find Erik Killmonger (dressed as the Panther) with his leopard, Preyy. When she asks him what he wants, he tells her to summon the Avengers as the new Black Panther is here to join their ranks.[9] Elsewhere in the city, the mercenary known as Deadpool (Wade Wilson) returns home to his roommates Titania and Constrictor and is telling them about his recent exploits when they are visited by Achebe. The madman has come to hire Deadpool for an important job.[10]

… This story is continues in Deadpool (vol. 3) #44.

Recurring Characters

Black Panther (T’Challa), Moon Knight, Nightmare, Brother Voodoo, Everett Ross, Queen Divine Justice, Monica Lynn, Nikki Adams, W’Kabi, She-Hulk, Black Panther (Killmonger), Preyy, Ka-Zar, Zabu, “Titania”, Constrictor, Deadpool, Achebe, Dreamstalker

Continuity Notes

1. Ka-Zar got in some legal trouble when Zabu came to his rescue when he was attacked by some thugs in the New York City subway. See Ka-Zar (vol. 3) #14-17.

2. The Black Panther made Ross the temporary regent of Wakanda back in Black Panther (vol. 3) #13 while he attended to business in the United States. Unfortunately, things have been busy and he hasn’t lifted this position. Then get got himself nearly killed by Erik Killmonger, putting T’Challa in a coma in Black Panther (vol. 3) #20.

3. The Black Panther’s father was tragically murdered defending Wakanda from Klaw, as originally told in Fantastic Four #53.

4. Nightmare mentions his recent defeat at the hands of Captain America, that happened in Captain America (vol. 3) #10-12.

5. The Black Panther was romantically involved with Nikki Adams back when they attended university together as revealed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #6. Monica has been in an on-again-off-again relationship with the Panther in more recent times, starting back in Avengers #73.

6. Although it appears as though Nightmare gets trapped in the Realm of the Dead, he eventually makes it back to his proper domain when he appears in Magik #1.

7. Indeed, Malice is a person. As we’ll learn in Black Panther (vol. 3) #24, she is Nakia, a former member of the Dora Milaje. She was exiled after making a failed attempt on Monica Lynn’s life. See issues #11 and 13 for the dope on that.

8. If you’re late to the party, Hunter was the lone survivor of a plane crash in Wakanda decades earlier. He was taken in by T’Chaka and raised alongside T’Challa. As an adult he became the captain of the Wakandan secret militia known as the Hatut Zeraze. He was incarcerated for trying to use Monica Lynn as a hostage to force T’Challa into action. See Black Panther (vol. 3) #9-13. His origins were first told in issue #10 and 12.

9. When Killmonger defeated T’Challa in battle in Black Panther (vol. 3) #20 it made him the next Black Panther. Killmonger will eventually prove unworthy of the role in Black Panther (vol. 3) #24. A caption here states that this is a plug for that month’s Avengers, referring to Avengers (vol. 3) #32, however that story does not feature Killmonger as the Black Panther. In fact, Killmonger never appears in the title.

10. The panels on this page are taken straight from Deadpool (vol. 3) #43, however the dialogue between Deadpool and his roommates has been changed. In the Deadpool version, Wade is wrapping up a story about his recent mission in space. Here, “Titania” (who is actually Copycat in disguise, as revealed in Deadpool (vol. 3) #45.

Topical References

• When looking at the presumably deceased Brother Voodoo, Everett notes that it is hard to look away from “kind of like that Regis quiz show..” He was referring to Who Wants to be a Millionaire? A UK gameshow that originated in 1998. The franchise was then licensed out to other regions. Everett is referring to the US version of the show, which was hosted by morning talk show host Regis Philbin (1931-2020). This should be considered a topical reference for four reasons (1) Philbin ceased being host of the show in 2002. (2) Philbin (as you’ve noticed) has been dead since 2020, (3) the series ended its run in 2021 and, (4) A more contemporary example could be used in its place.

• During the scene where Black Panther and Moon Knight are forced to imitate DC Comics heroews Batman and Robin, the subtitle for this segment reads “Cue Nelson Ridde” Riddle was a Hollywood filmmaker who produced the 1966 live-action Batman film starring Adam West. It was produced during the first season of the campy TV series that ran from 1966 to 1968. This wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference as it is is so specific, but you could argue that you could replace Riddle’s name with a more contemporary filmmaker that has made a Batman film.