Nick Peron

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Black Panther (vol. 3) #36

Nick Peron

Once and Future King, Part 1

Credits

Everett K. Ross has just received a call from the Black Panther. This reminds him of the fact that his relationship with T’Challa was supposed to be a short four day stint as his attaché. However, it is now 25 years later and the former King of Wakanda always finds a way to make Ross’ life interesting.[1] When the royal limo shows up less than punctually, Ross chides the King for not being late. Everett quickly updates his friend about his recent divorce from Monica Lynne before hopping in. As the car takes off into the air, Everett is told that they are going to be going to Armageddon.

Meanwhile, in Wakanda, Queen Divine Justice is training Oni Faida, the latest recruit into the order of the Dora Milaje. Queen sees a lot of herself in the young woman and when she flubs a training session she tells Oni that she cannot rush into her training.

In the jungles, T’Challa —- now an old man — goes on a hunt for a rhino that has been acting aggressively. He manages to take down the deadly beast and kill it with his bare hands and a knife. With the creature now dead, Wakanda’s scientists can now examine the fever that has been plaguing all the animals in the land. Despite this, T’Challa feels ill at east. One of his soldiers tries to reassure T’Challa that things have been in peace and prosperity ever since he he reinstated his late father’s isolationist policies.[2] When he returns to the royal palace he gets a call from Monica Lynn. She has only called to tell him that her ex-husband, Everett Ross, is heading into trouble and it is all because of his association with the King. She reminds T’Challa that she wants no part in the usual bullshit and ends the call. He then contacts Taku in the techno-forest and asks him to find the Everett’s location.

T’Challa then tries to contact Henry Gyrich, who is less than happy to be dealing with T’Challa. He tells him if he’s looking for a visa that he’ll have to go through the White House to get it. He then makes a thinly veiled threat that he will intentionally tie up such a request with legal red tape. As he so often does, Gyrich reminds T’Challa that he is the government before terminating the call. T’Challa then tells one of his guards that this is about as far as he will go in helping Everett Ross, reminding them that the last time he abandoned his throne to go to America it came at the cost of half a million Wakandan lives, something he will never allow to happen again.

Meanwhile, Oni is also trying to determine what happened to Everett Ross. She pays a visit to her father’s old foe, Achebe to see what he knows. The madman is cooking in his kitchen and when question openly mocks Faida for being forced into exile while her father coddles her brother T’Charra. When she returns to her home, she is caught by Queen Divine Justice who notes that Faida is wearing her mother’s costume and using her stealth. She tells Oni that she needs to have faith in their king to work this out.

So where is Everett Ross? Well he’s been taken prisoner and suspended upside down in his kidnapper’s hideout. When he wakes up he discovers he is being held by a who’s who of the Black Panther’s rogues gallery including Venomm, Baron Macabre, Lord Karnaj, Madam Slay, Salamander K’Ruel, and Sombre. He tells them that T’Challa won’t come to rescue him after he made his vow to never return to America, reminding them that the King of Wakanda is always true to his word. That’s when their leader, Erik Killmonger enters the room and says that if T’Challa doesn’t come and face him in final battle, Ross will become a meal for his faithful jungle cat, Preyy.

Unaware of this, Faida continues her search for Everett Ross. Posing as a waiter, she goes to an event being held in Washington, DC. She is instantly recognized by the man she is seeking out, Hunter, formerly of the Hatut Zeraze. He assures her that he doesn’t have Ross, and that if he wanted to get T’Challa’s attention, he’d visit him in person. When he reaffirms his unwavering loyalty to Wakanda and its king, Faida asks Hunter if he would be interested in putting T’Challa in his debt. Hunter is intrigued with what Oni is offering and asks what she has in mind. Faida tells him that she intends on robbing the Tynsdale Tool Corproation.

This is a company that is owned by Erik Killmonger and its name is deceptive. It doesn’t make any tools, at least not in the traditional sense. It is a place where they manufacture a bacterial bio-weapon that attacks all money and all money crops. Its used whenever the United States needs to slow down the global economy. Gone are the days of burning crops or expensive propaganda campaigns. Now, whenever they need to bring a nation to its knees, they use their bug. Both Oni and Hunter attack this facility in order to find the location of Erik Killmonger and figure out where he is hiding Ross. They attack the facility and its guards, causing enough chaos to alert the police. This prompts Killmonger to start intiating the protocols needed to cover up what his company truly does. Using his Kimoyo Card to track Killmonger’s financial transactions, he determines that their old enemy is hiding out in an old church in Brooklyn.

When Oni and Hunter burst in to rescue Ross from Killmonger, their battle is interrupted by the sudden arrival of T’Charra, the king’s son and current Black Panther. As it turns out, T’Charra has been working with Killmonger to betray T’Challa. This comes as a shock to Faida and Hunter. More shocking is when T’Charra pulls out a gun and shoots Killmonger dead, then executes Everett’s wouldbe rescuers as well.

Back in Wakanda, Monica Lynne calls T’Challa again and admits that she wants to hear his voice again, to hear him talk about anything. This is because something feels very wrong and hearing his voice would bring her comfort. As she is telling him this, T’Challa gets up from the throne and enters a room where he stores his old suits of Black Panther garb.[3] After shaving his head and trimming his beard, T’Challa interrupts Monica and tells her that the tulips in the Baru garden have bloomed and that he needs to go.

Back in New York, Everett Ross has been taken to a new location. He can hardly believe the Prince of Wakanda is working to betray his father. As T’Charra plots against his father, Achebe — the last of T’Charra’s co-conspirators — arrives. He apologizes for being late, but says that now that he is here, the party can begin!

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, T’Challa, Oni Faida, Everett Ross, Monica Lynne, Queen Divine Justice, Henry Gyrich, Hunter, Taku, Achebe, Erik Killmonger, Venomm, Baron Macabre, Lord Karnaj, Madam Slay, Salamander K’Ruel, Sombre, T’Charra, Preyy

Continuity Notes

  1. Per Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #4 this story takes place in a possible future time line that has been designated Reality-11236. Due to the Sliding Timescale, this story should always be considered as taking place roughly some 25 years in the future from Modern Age stories.

  2. Presumably, history in this timeline mirrors that of the Prime Marvel Universe (Reality-616). In that timeline, Wakanda had been an isolationist nation for centuries. As will be explained in Black Panther (vol. 4) #1, this was to fend off would be colonizers seeking to exploit its people and resources. This is what led to T’Chaka’s murder (as originally depicted in Fantastic Four #53), when he was murdered by Ulysses Klaw, who came to Wakanda seeking its Vibranium. T’Challa later opened Wakanda to the world in Black Panther #14.

  3. Among the many variations of the Black Panther’s costume, there is striped yellow costume on display. This was the original design for the character created by Jack Kirby, back when he was originally going to call the character the Coal Tiger. This was first revealed to readers as a pin-up in Jungle Action (vol. 2) #10.

Topical References

  • The narrative sub-titles in this story make a passing reference to television personality Martha Stewart, stating “Martha Stewart’s in the Oven”. She was at the height of her popularity at the time this story was published. Since this isn’t an in-story reference, I guess it’s up to you if you want to consider it topical since it doesn’t have an effect on the story one way or the other.


    From the Journal of Everett K. Ross

    Everett Ross details his 25 year relationship with T’Challa, the King of Wakanda, and the Black Panther. He recalls how ignorant he was when they first met and how he learned that — since his father was murdered when T’Challa was only 13-years-old — that he has discovered that T’Challa is a complex being of multitudes. One minute he’s saving the world from the brink, the next he is confiding in you. Reflecting back on his long relationship with the Black Panther, Ross realizes how close he was to missing knowing such a great man.[1]

Continuity Notes

  1. Of course, Everett Ross details a number of incidents that happened in his prime, these correspond with events that took place in the Prime Marvel Universe as well. They are:

Topical References

  • With any kind of Everett Ross monologue, there are also a number of references that should be considered topical:

    • Miata, a brand of car manufactured by Mazda (real world company and brand).

    • Rappers Kool & the Gang and their 1973 hit “Jungle Boogie” (dated reference.

    • Having a CD changer in his car (obsolete technology).

    • Visiting Tower Records in New York City, which had a physical location there between 1960 until it was closed in 2006 (real world brand and dated reference).

Supplementary Material

This issue includes reprints of Fantastic Four #52-53, and Jungle Action (vol. 2) #8, as well as a reprint of a map of Wakanda that was first published in Jungle Action (vol. 2) #6. It also features pin-ups of Erik Killmonger and the Coal Tiger taken from Jungle Action (vol. 2) #10.