Beloved

In the aftermath of his battle with Achebe, Erik Killmonger (now the Black Panther) follows the trail to his kidnapped leopard, Preyy. Unfortuantely, when he finds his beloved pet and only friend of the world, he discovers that Preyy is dead.[1]

Back in the city, Queen Divine Justice is undergoing her training as the next member of the Dora Milaje. Her first test is to knock the basket off the head of her trainer. Queen discovers that this is easier said then done. She is also chastised for not speaking in Hausa, the only language which the Milaje are permitted to speak. Annoyed by all of this, Queenie decides to call it quits for the day. Taking a bath, she vents her frustrations to D’Won, a Wakandan girl that she has befriended during her stay. When she starts eyeing one of the palace guards, D’Won warns Divine that the Dora Milaje are forbidden to any man except the king. Queen takes great issue with this given their differences in age. All D’Won can say about it is to explain that in Africa that women often are traded into slavery or chieftains the moment they reach childbearing age and becoming a Dora Milaje is a mercy as it prevents many young women from meeting this fate. The entire time, Queen Divine Justice is trying to pick and outfit for herself. Deciding the discussion is getting nowhere she suddenly has a stroke of insperiation for her outfit.

Meanwhile, Everett Ross has placed an angry call to the State Department after finding out that the State Department has revoked his US citizenship.[2] With him is his boss and co-worker Nikki Adams. When Everett’s breaks his phone in anger — the third time that day — Nikki reminds him that becoming the king of Wakanda is viewed as treason, hence why his citizenship has been taken away. She tells him that the only way they’re going to resolve this issue is by speaking with T’Challa.

At that time, T’Challa — still recovering from his injuries sustained fighting Erik Killmonger[3] — is down in the techno-jungle beneath the city. He is waiting for Malice to attack him. Despite her efforts to ambush him from behind, the former King of Wakanda is easily able to evade her attacks with his hover chair. T’Challa is surprised to discover that Malice is actually Nakia, a disgraced member of the Dora Milaje.[4] She explains that after the her King rejected her, she was saved by Killmonger. Now with no title, family, or home, she has decided that if T’Challa won’t lover her, she will end his life.

T’Challa flees up an elevator into the his office in the palace. There he finds his adopted brother, Hunter, waiting for him. Hunter is the leader of the Hatute Zeraze, Wakanda’s former private assassins, and he figures that Malice is going to be big trouble. T’Challa assures him that she won’t be now that he knows who to look for. More over, he tells Hunter that he does not need his help. Despite this rejection, Hunter reaffirms that he is a Wakandan loyalist and do whatever is needed for his adopted home.[5]

That’s when everyone walks in on T’Challa all at once! First, comes Killmonger who demands to know where he can find Achebe.[6] This is followed by Everett and Nikki who want T’Challa to help resolve Ross’ citizenship problems. On the same end, W’Kabi comes in demanding that he be made regent of Wakanda instead. This starts an argument between Hunter and Killmonger over the fact that Erik should rule since he defeated T’Challa in combat. Hunter, points out that the battle against his predecessor is only part of the rituals of leadership. Next enters Monica Lynne who wants to get back from Brookyln, and Queen Divine Justice who wants him to help get her trainer to cut her some slack. On the issue of Killmonger, T’Challa waives the right of ascension, warning Erik that Hunter is trying to goat him into a conflict he cannot win. This angers Killmonger who believes he would win and storms off to initiate the challenge. The others continue trying to get T’Challa’s attention, but he disappears while nobody is looking.

Meanwhile in Texas, a man glowing with energy appears in the mid-air. He falls and lands on a railroad track as an oncoming train is coming. When he is struck, rather than being killed, a powerful sonic boom erupts destroying everything and killing everyone in the vicinity. Once the rubble has settled, a young African man rises from the wreck and walks off.[7]

Back in Wakanda, T’Challa is undergoing his physio-therapy session to rebuild his strength so he can get back on his feet. He is visited by his step-mother Ramonda, who raises her concerns about Erik Killmonger undergoing the trail-by-combat to name him chieftain of Wakanda. T’Challa explains to her that he cannot and will not interfere with the ritual. Ramonda worries that while Killmonger once mourned the loss of his father, the loss of Preyy will further push him over the edge.[8]

At that same time, Zuri has gathered Wakanda’s best warriors to battle Killmonger to determine if he is worthy of being the chieftan of the Panther clan. As the battle begins, Everett Ross is confronted by Nikki who says its time that they reconcile her past relationship with T’Challa.[9] In another room, Monica Lynne is packing her things. She leaves a letter behind telling T’Challa that she is going back to America and that she wants to end their relationship. Before leaving, she takes a photo of them off a stable. As she walks out of the room, Monica has little idea how close she is to death as Malice was hiding behind the curtains.

Soon, Killmonger has defeated all of the warriors and demands that Zuri hand over the heart-shaped herb that is his prize for victory. When Zuri insists that Killmonger needs to travel to the valley where the herb grows, Hunter interrupts and tells him to skip the formalities and give Erik what he wants.[10]

This is when three tragedies occur in rapid succession: T’Challa tries to dive into the air and roll on the ground, but stumbles and goes crashing into some equipment. Meanwhile, Killmonger consumes the heart-shaped herb. However, instead of gaining the powers of the Black Panther he suddenly choaks and collapses to the ground.[11] Lastly, Malice tries to kill Monica with her knife shooting gun. Hearing the commotion outside, Nikki goes out of Everett’s room to find out what’s going on and is fatally struck down by the spray of deadly projectiles.[12] When it seems Monica will be next, that’s when Queen Divine Justice comes rushing into the hallway with guns blazing!

Recurring Characters

Black Panther (T’Challa), Black Panther (Killmonger), Malice, Queen Divine Justice, Everett Ross, Nikki Adams, Hunter, W’Kabi, Zuri, Monica Lynne, Ramonda, Vibraxis

Continuity Notes

1. At the time of this story, Erik Killmonger had recently claimed the mantle of the Black Panther after defeating T’Challa in combat in Black Panther (vol. 3) #20. Preyy was kidnapped by Achebe in Deadpool (vol. 3) #44 and last issue.

2. Everett discovered he lost his citizenship last issue. This stems from the fact that T’Challa had made him regent of Wakanda back in issue #13.

3. T’Challa was seriously injured by Killmonger in Black Panther (vol. 3) #18-20 and has been recovering from those injuries ever since.

4. There is a lot going on here between T’Challa and Nakia, the details:

   • Nakia had was exiled from Wakanda after attempting to kill the Panther’s lover, Monica Lynne in Black Panther (vol. 3) #11, as seen in issue #13.

   • T’Challa became aware of Malice’s existence (but not who she really was) after she slit the throat of Brother Voodoo as seen in Black Panther (vol. 3) #21-22.

   • In Deadpool (vol. 3) #44, T’Challa presumed that Malice was an earlier ally of Killmonger who appeared in Jungle Action (vol. 2) #7-8, 11, and 17. Her fate following those appearances has yet to be revealed, time of this writing (December, 2023).

5. At the time of this story, Hunter had recently been incarcerated after he used Monica Lynn to attract T’Challa’s attention, as seen in Black Panther (vol. 3) #9-12. He was recently freed by Everett Ross in issue #22.

6. Achebe fled last issue after kidnapping Preyy in Deadpool (vol. 3) #44. Time of this writing (December, 2023), he has not been seen since.

7. This unidentified male is Vibraxas, as will be revealed Black Panther (vol. 3) #26. He was last seen back in Fantastic Four #416.

8. Ramonda mentions that T’Challa and Killmonger have a one thing in common: Their fathers were killed on the same day. She is referring to when Ulysses Klaw attempted invade Wakanda to steal its Vibranium, as originally told in Fantastic Four #53. It was later revealed that Killmonger’s parents were also killed during that attack, as revealed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #16.

9. As revealed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #6, Nikki had a brief romance with T’Challa back when they both attended college. This was kept from Everett, but when he found out he took it very poorly, as seen in issues #17-18.

10. As details in Avengers #87, the ritual to become the Black Panther includes fighting the tribe’s greatest warriors then travelling to the valley where the heart-shaped herbs grow.

11. Killmonger doesn’t die here, as we’ll learn issue #60, he was actually put into a coma.

12. Unfortunately, Nikki is not so lucky, and she is still considered among the deceased as of this writing (December, 2023).

Topical References

• D’Won’s explanation of the age of consent in Africa was reflective of the state of the continent when this comic was published in the year 2000. Of the many countries within African, these laws are varied from region to region with 13 being the youngest (ick) and 18 being the oldest. That said, she is not wrong when she talks about human trafficking and underaged women being given to older men. Since the specific facts of the time are not mentioned here, this wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference given the generalities given. Maybe one day it will be considered a topical reference, but probably not in my lifetime, depressingly enough.

• Everett Ross is depicted as having a cell phone with a physican antenna poking out the top. There is also a fax machine in the office. Both of these depictions should be considered topical as they are now considered obsolete technologies, or devices that have fallen out of common use.

• When Everett is arguing with the State Department he demands not only to speak to the President but the “old one” since he was the one that assigned him to Wakanda. This is a reference to the fact that — at the time of publication — the United States had just elected George W. Bush as the next President, replacing Bill Clinton (who had just finished his second and final term). Any suggestion that this real world event happened in the story should be considered topical as its more than 20 years out of date time of this writing in December, 2023.

• Queen refers to her trainer as “Snoop Doggy Gramma”, this is reference to Snoop Dogg, a real world famous rap artist. Born Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., he began calling himself Snoop Doggy Dogg when he began his rap career in 1992. He has undergone a number of name variations and changes over the years. He has been more colloquy known as Snoop Dogg. At the time this story was published, Snoop was in the prime of his life and was known equally for his music and his criminal past, making him somewhat of a “gangster rap boogeyman” that pearl clutching white people were afraid of in the 90s and early 00s. This would be considered a topical reference as Snoop is now a much older man (52 time of this writing) and his reputation has softened in recent years to the point where he has appeared in Bic lighter commercials with fucking Martha Stewart. This should be considered a topical reference as a more contemporary reference could be made in its place.