Black Panther (vol. 3) #25
Passage
Maximum Security continues from Uncanny X-Men #387….
Now
Everett Ross is floating in the vacuum of space in some distant galaxy. Unless someone rescues him right away, he will die. However, as usual, he is getting ahead of himself….
Earlier
Erik Killmonger had won the trial by combat required to be named the new Chieftain of the Panther Clan. However, after eating the heart-shaped herb, Killmonger collapsed and is presumed dead.[1] When T’Challa arrives on the scene, he begins administering chest compressions and orders Hunter to get the chief surgeon right away.
Death has also come for Nikki Adams, who walked into the path of a stream of knives meant for Monica Lynne. These were fired by Malice who had come to finish the job that got her exiled from the Dora Milaje.[2] As Everett cradles Nikki’s lifeless body in his arms, Queen Divine Justice arrives with guns blazing. Queen is not only armed with guns, but with Vibranium soled shoes as well. She keeps Malice busy long enough to grab Ross and go for cover. Ross, who doesn’t want to leave Nikki’s side has to be yanked out of the line of fire.
Meanwhile, in the state of Texas, a young African man is on the run from law enforcement in a stolen truck. He frantically tries to make a call to Reed Richards — aka Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four — via the team’s private line. Unfortunately, Richards and his family are away on a mission and only Roberta — the team’s robotic secretary — is around to take his call. Before the young man can explain who he is, a bullet fired by the police smashes through the window and creases his brow.[3]
Back in Wakanda, Malice has managed to get away again, and Everett decides that he is going to take Nikki’s body to the Resurrection Mound and bring her back to life. However, before he can bring her inside he is confronted by T’Challa (now back in his Black Panther garb) and Queen Divine Justice. The Panther tries to explain to Everett that the mound was stripped of its power recently by Brother Voodoo after Killmonger used it to cheat death.[4] Ross refuses to listen to reason, so T’Challa orders Okoye — who is flying overhead in a Wakandan fighter plane — to blow up the temple instead.
However, before they can accomplish this, an army of reptilian aliens emerge from the snow surrounding the altar.[5] They blast Okoye’s plane out of the sky before attacking the Black Panther and Queen Divine Justice. With his only obstacles no preoccupied, Everett takes Nikki’s body and flees inside. While T’Challa deals with the invaders, he orders Queen to go and rescue Okoye from her downed plane. However, getting the cockpit windshield off the plane is difficult, so when she turns to ask the Panther for help, Queen is shocked to see that he managed to slip away.[6]
This is because the Black Panther has gone inside the temple in the hopes of stopping Everett from using the Resurrection Altar. Unfortunately, he is too late and the energies from the altar begin surging into Nikki’s lifeless body. When Nikki’s body sits up and begins repeating Everett’s name over and over, T’Challa can clearly tell that her body has been reanimated by something else — something evil! Everett is too grief-stricken to listen, let alone believe it. When the aliens enter the temple, “Nikki” orders them to follow her. That’s when another group of aliens come barging in and a firefight between the two factions break out. Amazingly, the reanimated corpse of Nikki Adams joins the fight and is able to fire beams of energy from her eyes.
As they flee the temple, Black Panther and Everett discover that they have been transported to an alien world. Later, Ross would explain in his report that the Resurrection Altar was actually an alien device that had existed since before humanity and served as a bridge between Earth and the world of its creators. The two are immediately attacked by an army of aliens waiting on the other side. When rocked by an explosion, Everett is launched into the air and, due to the low gravity, has enough momentum to reach escape velocity. This is how Ross found himself suffocating in the void of space.
Luckily, Everett is quickly rescued and brought back to the planet’s surface. By that time, it appears that T’Challa has straightened things out with the aliens on the planet surface. He tells Ross that they will be returned home within the hour. When he calls Everett a friend, Ross has had enough and begins berating T’Challa over all the times he was put in danger and asks when they have been friends.[7] For Everett, the last straw for him was the fact that Nikki is death. Pointing to her dead body (which is no longer reanimated by the alien force) he complains that she died trying to tell him how she and T’Challa slept together in the past.[8] He then angrilly punches T’Challa in the face.
The King of Wakanda knocks Everett back and gives him a harsh stripping down. He tells the American that his father taught him that everyone walks their own path and everything that has happened has been Everett’s to walk. He also points out all the sacrifices he made, making himself chieftain by default of a financially ruined nation.[9][10] This all because he has also been taught to remain two steps ahead of his enemies and three steps ahead of his friends. He also points out all the ways that he had honored and respected Everett, including temporarily making him leader of Wakanda. He concludes by saying that the moment he considered them friends was the first time they met back at the airport in New York.[11] Everett then winces, expecting another physical drubbing. But when nothing happens, he opens his eyes and discovers that T’Challa is gone and that he has taken Nikki’s body with him.
Meanwhile, Queen Divine Justice is still trying to get the injured Okoye out of the craft. She then remembers she is wearing Vibranium soled boots and uses them to get into the cockpit. She manages to get Okoye to a hospital back in Wakanda where she is expected to recover from her injuries. When Okoye wakes up, she thanks Queen for saving her life. Meanwhile, T’Challa has returned everything back to the natural order by restoring the Wakandan economy by changing the local currency to the US dollar, cancelling his edict that withdraw all business with the outside. Lastly, with a single phone call, he was able to get Everett Ross his US citizenship back.
Meanwhile, the Black Panther has arranged a funeral for Nikkia Adams. As he mourns her in silence, T’Challa is interrupted by his step-mother, Ramonda. She tells her step-son that someone is here to see him and that he won’t want to keep her waiting once he finds out who it is. The visitor turns out to be none other than Ororo Monroe, aka Storm of the X-Men![12]
… Maximum Security will continue in Captain Marvel (vol. 4) #12.
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Malice, Erik Killmonger, Everett Ross, Hunter, Ramonda, Queen Divine Justice, Okoye, Storm, Nikki Adams (corpse)
Continuity Notes
For more on the rituals one has to undergo to become the Black Panther, see Avengers #87. Killmonger won the right by defeating T’Challa in Black Panther (vol. 3) #20 and then defeating the country’s greatest warriors last issue. Although he is presumed dead here, Erik actually goes into a coma, as will be revealed in issue #60.
Nakia was exiled after attempting to eliminate Monica back in Black Panther (vol. 3) #11, as seen in issue #13. It is mentioned here that Nakia went batshit crazy after T’Challa was tricked into kissing her back in issue #3. That trick was thanks to Mephisto.
The young Black man here will go unidentified until next issue, however this scene offers a clue to his identity. He is the Wakandan hero known as Vibraxas. He has been an ally of the Fantastic Four since Fantastic Four #391. He’s on the run from the police because his powers went out of control last issue. Roberta states here that the FF are off on a mission. A footnote points readers to the events of Iron Man (vol. 3) #35.
Killmonger had famously died in battle with the Black Panther in Jungle Action (vol. 2) #17. After a few brief resurrections in Iron Man Annual #5 and Over the Edge #6, he was properly and fully revived using a Resurrection Mount, as told in Black Panther (vol. 3) #16, Voodoo attempted to shut it down in issue #18.
This story takes place during the Maximum Security event (see below), which saw the Galactic Council turn the planet Earth into a prison planet and exiled numerous alien criminals there. This was part of a conspiracy by the Kree to turn Earth into another living planet like Ego so they could use its cosmic power to fuel their efforts to rebuild their shattered empire. For the meat of this story, check out Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1 and Maximum Security #1-3.
Everett’s narration here recounts how T’Challa has ruled his kingdom since he was 13 years old. This happened following the murder of his father at the hands of Ulysses Klaw a tale that was originally told back in Fantastic Four #53.
Ross goes through the litany of dangerous situations and bad breaks he has experienced in his time working with T’Challa. They include:
Being left to entertain the devil and going to Hell, this happened in Black Panther (vol. 3) #1-5
When they were attacked by Kraven the Hunter, which led to Everett being captured by some thugs and needing to be rescued in Black Panther (vol. 3) #6-8.
Everett also complains about being chased around by the President and being exiled to Iceland. This was a temporary punishment for his job dealing with the above situations, as seen in Black Panther (vol. 3) #9-10.
Ross also complains being chased by an elephant. This happened when T’Challa made him temporary regent of Wakanda in issue #13. This led to him being taken out on a hunt as per Wakandan tradition in the following issue.
Another incident he mentions was how he was attacked by zombies. It was actually one, and that happened in Black Panther (vol. 3) #18-19.
He ends his list referring to how he lost his citizenship (in issue #23) and the death of Nikki Adams, which was last issue.
Nikki and T’Challa dated one another briefly when they were in university together. This was revealed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #6, however it was kept a secret from Ross until issue #17. He didn’t take it very well, naturally.
T’Challa is referring to his recent trials and tribulations with Erik Killmonger which began in issue #13. It culminated in a fight to the finish in Black Panther (vol. 3) #18-20. As this was a fight for the fate of Wakanda, and leadership of the Panther Clan. T’Challa intentionally crashed the local economy. The battle cost T’Challa the title of Black Panther and nearly his life. He was saved from death in issues #21-22. When Killmonger collapsed after eating the heart-shaped herb, T’Challa’s mantle of Black Panther reverted back to him.
He also mentions how he is being attacked by Malice, a woman he cared for as a daughter. She was a member of the Dora Milaje appearing issue #1 of this series. He was later tricked into kissing her in issue #3. This made her obsessed with him to the point where she tried to kill T’Challa’s lover (Monica Lynne) in Black Panther (vol. 3) #11. When T’Challa learned the truth he exiled her in issue #13. She was later taken under the wing of Killmonger and became Malice. She has been going after T’Challa and those closest to him since issue #21.
Everett and T’Challa’s first meeting was documented in Black Panther (vol. 3) #1 (obviously).
The reason why Storm stopping by is so significant is because Ororo and T’Challa once met and developed romantic feelings for one another in their youth. That they’ve known each other in the past was first told in Marvel Team-Up #100. This was later expanded upon in Storm (vol. 2) #1-6.
Topical References
At the start of this story, Everett states that he was assigned to be the attaché to Wakanda for a year. Black Panther (vol. 3) #1 was published in November 1998, while this story was put out in December, 2000. As such, this would not be an accurate measurement of time per the Sliding Timescale. Per this measurement, Everett would have met T’Challa closer to 8 months prior to the main story.
Everett when “Nikki” is brought to life suggests that they all go to Taco Bell and that the last one there has to buy. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world restaurant.
When describing the Maximum Security situation, Everett states that the aliens didn’t want to be on Earth, telling the reader to “think Dennis Miller on Monday Night Football”. Dennis Miller is a hac— I mean stand-up comedian. At the time of this story, he had recently been signed on to be commentator for Monday Night Football which played NFL games on (you guessed it) Mondays. He was signed for 3 years but was replaced by John Madden after he was released from his contract with Fox. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now a over 20 year reference and a more contemporary example could be used in its place.
Okoye’s hospital room is depicted as having a CRT television hanging from the wall. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology. Queen also asks how they get All My Children on it. All My Children has been a long running soap opera that has been on the air since 1970. It is still on the air, time of this writing (December, 2023), but shows eventually end, know what I’m saying? More over, a more contemporary example can be used in its place, so it’s a topical reference.
Maximum Security Reading Order
Maximum Security: Dangerous Planet #1, Amazing Spider-Man (vol. 2) #22, 23, 24, Iron Man (vol. 3) #33-34, Peter Parker: Spider-Man #23-24, Captain America (vol. 3) #36, Maximum Security #1, Thor (vol. 2) #30, Uncanny X-Men #387, Black Panther (vol. 3) #25, Captain Marvel (vol. 4) #12-13, Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #21, Iron Man (vol. 3) #35, Bishop the Last X-Man #15, Maximum Security #2, Thunderbolts #45, 46, 47, Marvel Knights #6, Gambit (vol. 3) #23, X-Men (vol. 2) #107, X-Men Unlimited #29, Avengers (vol. 3) #35, Maximum Security #3