Seduction of the Innocent, Book 2: Innocent Blood

With Malice (Nakia) targeting those closest to him, the Black Panther (T’Challa) has hired private detective Dakota North to keep an eye on his former lover, Monica Lynne.[1] He told her to do this as obviously as possible and, sure enough, Monica becomes aware that she is being watched and comes up to the rooftop across the way to bring Dakota some coffee. She knows that this has to do with the Black Panther, and is unsurprised when she learns that Malice is after her this time.[2] She also knows that T’Challa paired them up so they could bond and distract them both while he deals with Malice and suggest they go and see a movie together.

Meanwhile, Malice has returned to her hideout and sends out a priest she has enthralled. She has captured the Black Panther and has T’Challa tied up in the closet. She has also infected him with the Jufeiro spore she uses to make men her slaves. Under the effects of the spore, T’Challa has become obsessed with Nakia and is furious that she let another man touch her like he was forced to witness. This pleases Nakia to no end, but she wonders if T’Challa would say such things if she hadn’t infected him. However, part of him still resists her attempts to make him claim her as his queen, something that she has wanted. Unfortunately, the King of Wakanda refuses to yeild. She then scratches the shape of a heart on his belly (her mark) infecting him with even more Jufeiro. She tells T’Challa that she will not take no for an answer and will kill everyone he cares about until he submits to her.[3]

Back in Wakanda, Vibraxas (N’Kano) has found him in hot water after hanging out with Queen Divine Justice, one of the Dora Milaje. After getting a dressing down from his godfather, he tries to seek her out only to be stopped by both Zuri and W’Kabi. They have been informed about N’Kano’s transgressions and that he is to be punished for them. They also inform him that Queen and the rest of the Dora Milaje have been dispatched along with Ramonda to America to help out the Black Panther there.[4]

Aboard the planes heading for the US, Queen Divine Justice asks Ramonda how bad things are if T’Challa is calling for his mother. She skirts around answering the question and instead asks Queen about her relationship with Vibraxas. The teenager is almost dismissive about the seriousness of the situation. Ramonda explains that if news about her dalliance with N’Kano got out, it could cause civil unrest within Wakanda. Hearing that she’s not allowed to date as a member of the Dora Milaje is deeply upsetting to Queen and she storms out of the plane’s cockpit after hearing something fall down in the cargo hold.

In America, Dakota North and Monica Lynne have left the movies and are now shopping under the watch of a obvious Wakandan security detail. Monica uses this time to vent her frustrations about T’Challa. Although they were once in love and engaged to be married, she was nothing more than someone for his foes to kidnapp. It was even more galling when he saw him kissing another woman and opening up to her about things he’d never share with her.[5] That’s when Monica notes the really obvious Wakandan security detail following them and figures they are safe. Little do they know that a police officer under Malice’s spell is stalking them.

Back at Malice’s hideout, the Black Panther continues to fight off the Jufeiro spores in his system. He manages to shake off their hallucinations and pulls one of his arms free from its bonds. He then starts pulling out lock picks hidden under the skin of his bicep. As he tries to get himself free, Everett Ross appears before him and admits that he is not what he seems to be before disapearing into the shadows.[6] That’s when Omoro and a Wakandan security detail come crashing into the room to rescue their king. They have figured out how Malice has been enthralling people and inject T’Challa with a dose of naloxone to reverse its effects. Omoro also shows T’Challa what he found on the body of M’Koni’s husband in Washington. A necklace of with the totem of the White Gorilla Clan, an ill omen indeed. Dressing as the Black Panther, T’Challa exits the hotel and is updated on the situation by Okoye. She tells him that M’Koni has been hospitalized and the where abouts of Monica Lynne.[7]

At that same moment, Queen Divine Justice opens the door to the cargo hold and she is knocked out by a massive hand draped in white fur. This attacker also knocks out Ramonda. Turning off the autopilot, the stowaway then shoots down the other two Wakandan fighter planes before changing course.

In America, the Black Panther asks Okoye for advice on the role the Dora Milaje play, her feelings toward him, and how they should deal with Malice. Okoye professes her love for T’Challa as is her station in the Dora Milaje, but while she hopes for him to choose her as his bride she knows this will never come to be. In fact, she has made peace with that. However, the situation is such that the tribal population of Wakanda necessitate the Dora Milaje’s continued existence. Since Malice’s transgressions could cause strife and war similar to other regions in Africa, she must be put to death to appease the elders. Okoye then asks T’Challa for the honor of doing this dirty work for him.

Back at the shopping mall, Monica and Dakota North are attacked by the police officer and the priest who are under Malice’s thrall. Although Monica tries to stop her, North shoots back. The two women then duck causing the cop and the priest to hit each other in the crossfire.

While at the hospital, a doctor under the control of Malice enters M’Koni’s hospital room and uses knock out gas to take out Omoro, who is standing guard. However, it’s not M’Koni in the bed, but Okoye in disguise. She incapacitates both the doctor and Malice, but before she can kill Nakia the Black Panther attacks her instead as he is apparently still under Malice’s thrall. With Okoye down, T’Challa takes off his mask and kisses Nakia.

Lastly, in Wakanda, Queen Divine Justice has survived her plane going down and wakes up in a frozen jungle. As she tries to make sense of what’s going on and keep warm she is confronted by the man who captured, the Man-Ape![8]

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, Malice, “Everett Ross”, Dakota North, Monica Lynne, Queen Divine Justice, Vibraxas, Ramonda, Zuri, W’Kabi, Okoye, Omoro, Man-Ape

Continuity Notes

1. Malice has been seeking to get revenge against the Black Panther for rejecting her love and exiling her in Black Panther (vol. 3) #12 (long story). She began targeting people close to him since issue #21, but her recent efforts stepped up last issue.

2. Monica mentions how Malice pushed her out of a plane once, that was in Black Panther (vol. 3) #11, this was what got Nakia exiled.

3. We go through Malice’s obsession with T’Challa here. This obsession began when the Panther was tricked into making out with Nakia in Black Panther (vol. 3) #3. As a member of the Dora Milaje this meant that he had chosen her to be his queen, something that T’Challa refused to honor, leading to the events I described in points 1 and 2.

4. Vibraxas came back to Wakanda because his powers have been on the fritz since Black Panther (vol. 3) #24. He met and began fooling around with Queen Divine Justice starting in issue #26. At the time, he thought she was merely a royal cook and not a member of the Dora Milaje.

5. Indeed, Monica and T’Challa have been in an on-again-off-again relationship since they first met in Avengers #73. He once proposed to her in Black Panther: Panther’s Prey #3, but broke it off around Black Panther (vol. 3) #1. This “other woman” she is referring to is Storm of the X-Men, and the incident she describes happened in Black Panther (vol. 3) #26. T’Challa and Storm have been romantically interested in one another since they were youths, as first told in Marvel Team-Up #100.

6. This is because this is not Everett Ross, but the dragon known as Chiantang posing as him, as we’ll learn in Black Panther (vol. 3) #38.

7. Omore found this necklace around M’Koni’s husband was used and then murdered by Malice, who left his corpse stuffed in a hot water tank in Washington, DC. M’Koni hired Dakota North to investigate if her husband was cheating on him. When she learned he was, she tried to commit suicide by taking a near lethal dose of sleeping pills. This all happened last issue.

8. The reason why Man-Ape has kidnapped Queen Divine Justice is because her family lineage is with the White Gorilla Tribe, as we’ll learn next issue. Here, M’Baku states that Malice freed him from prison. This was the case after he and the rest of the Masters of Evil were busted in Thunderbolts #25.

Topical References

• Of the possible villains targeting her, Monica jokingly ads Mr. Potato Head to the list. Mr. Potato Head is a children’s toy owned by Hasbro. It’s a plastic potato that children can dress up with various interchangeable parts to make him look however they wish. Back in the day, kids used to use an actual potato because everything mid-20th century was awful. These days, it is a plastic potato. Anyway, this should be considered a topical reference as this could be replaced with a more contemporary example.

• When discovered, Dakota North sarcastically suggests she can’t claim to be the Cable Guy. It is in italics meaning she is referring to the 1996 comedy film of the same name starring Jim Carrey, who plays an obsessive cable TV repairman. This should be considered a topical reference as this can be replaced with a more contemporary example. There are no shortage of movies with obsessed stalkers.

• When talking about how T’Challa had orchestrated this meeting between Monica and Dakota, Lynn refers to it him as being “Geppetto with his strings” This is in reference to The Adventures of Pinocchio, a serialized Italian children’s tale that was published from 1881 to 1883. You probably know the story best from the 1940 Disney adaptation. Pinocchio was a marionette created by a toy maker named Geppetto and was brought to life by a fairy godmother and followed his quest to become a real live boy. Since this is a classic tale (and now that Marvel is owned by Disney) this wouldn’t be considered a topical reference.

• When injecting T’Challa to cure him of the jufeiro, Omoro refers to the drug as Narcan. This is actually the brand name of the actual drug, which is called naloxone. At the time this story was published this would be considered a topical reference. However, with the increasing opoid crisis of the late 2010s and early 2020s, Narcan has become a proprietary eponym in modern times. It remains to be seen if this eponym will stick in the long run, get back to me in another 40 years.

• This story is where Queen Divine Justice starts jokingly calling Vibraxas “NFL”, because his costume resembles the type of padding that is commonly worn by athletes in the National Football League. Typically, a real world commercial organization like this would be considered topical. However, making it so in this instance could make the joke no longer work. Also, I don’t think the NFL is going to disappear in my lifetime so you do the mental gymnastics to sort that out if you’re reading this in some future where the NFL no longer exists.

• One of the things Queen Divine Justice says she has going for her is watching MTV. This was a television station that was best known for playing music videos but later morphed into playing nothing but reality TV shows. That said, as this is a real world network, its reference here should be considered topical.

• T’Challa compares the potential tribal warfare in Wakanda to that of Rwanda, Sudan, and Ghudaza. These three regions have historically experienced tribal warfare and other conflicts that claimed many lives. This wouldn’t necessarily be considered a topical reference as he is not referencing these conflicts in the present tense.