Black Panther (vol. 3) #39
Return of the Dragon, Book 2: Silent Stone
At the Wakandan Embassy, Queen Divine Justice opens a locket around her neck that contains a photo of her parents. She thinks about how she recently learned that they were members of the Jabari Tribe and were living in exile and how they were killed due to a royal decree. This revelation came during the Black Panther (T’Challa)’s recent battle with the Man-Ape.[1] Unsure how to feel about all of this, QDJ leaves a note saying that she is going out to process her thoughts.
Meanwhile, aboard a Wakandan war ship off the coast of New York, Everett Ross — trapped in the body of Chaintang (aka the Black Dragon) — throws up in the toilet. He is concerned about a genetic bomb implanted in his borrowed body that is threatening his life. After he finishes he looks at him self in the mirror and decides to instinctively rearrange his face. This causes his appearance — that of the demon Mephisto — to change into the Black Dragon’s human form. He then sits down and reads through a book on dragons, writing down notes trying to figure out the details of his body swap. As he does this, he notices that his hand is now reverting back to its true form, that of a dragon![2]
While not far away, the Black Panther was heading back to the surface before his one-man sub is ambushed by Iron Fist (Danny Rand). Rand has has been enslaved and had his powers boosted by Chaintang to get revenge against T’Challa for destroying his eggs. Focusing his chi into both fists, Rand comes at the Panther with unmatched fury. Needing to get air, T’Challa manages to land a blow that disorients Iron Fist long enough for him to escape to shore.
Back aboard the ship, Everett’s borrowed body continues to become unstable. He goes to Nighshade (Tilda Johnson) — the woman responsible for reviving Chaintang — and asks her what will happen when the genetic bomb she encoded into this body reaches critical mass. Tilda explains to him that when it goes off, it will kill him.[3] His body then begins changing back to its dragon form, causing Ross to grow in size as well. Eventually he starts getting too big for the ship and the crew insists that he go outside before he damages the ship. Everett manages to do so just as he completely turns into a dragon. However, he doesn’t stay this way for long as the real Chaintang (still in Everett’s body) comes to reclaim his real form!
On land, the battle between the Black Panther and Iron Fist rages across the city. Eventually, Iron Fist starts landing blows, causing T’Challa serious injury. Knowing he won’t last long from such an onslaught, the Black Panther distracts his opponent by placing a oil drum over his head. As Iron Fist breaks free, T’Challa removes a small radio earpiece from under his ruined mask. He then allows Rand to start pummeling him so he can get close enough to slip the receiver onto his ear. He then bombards Danny with a powerful sonic blast that causes him to black out. This severs Chiantang’s control over Iron Fist and restoring him to normal. However, Danny doesn’t have much time to celebrate as Chaintang emerges from the nearby water to fiinish off both the Black Panther and Iron Fist once and for all!
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Iron Fist, Chaintang, Nightshade, Queen Divine Justice, Everett Ross
Continuity Notes
QDJ learned about the death of her parents and her association with the White Gorilla Tribe in Black Panther (vol. 3) #34-35.
Chaintang swapped bodies with Everett Ross as part of a protracted plan to get revenge against Iron Fist. This happened back in Black Panther (vol. 3) #30.
A few years earlier, Chaintang was seemingly killed during a fight with Colleen Wing as seen in Power Man and Iron Fist #122. His body was reduced to ashes and stored in an urn that she kept. That was until it was stolen by Nightshade who used the ashes and a pilfered corpse to revive Chaintang. She claimed that she also encoded a genetic bomb that would kill him over time if he didn’t do as she said. See last issue for all the details on that.
Topical References
Everett’s notes in the book on dragons contains his usual pop-culture references and such. These should all be considered topical references…
He complains (once more) about Chaintang racking up his Visa card (real world product).
Compares Black Dragon’s appearance to filmmaker and martial artist Jet Li (real world person).
When asking about the genetic bomb he questions if he will turn into Fred Flintstone (fictional character not owned by Marvel), reporter Barbara Walters (real world person and dead as of 2022), and former President Bill Clinton (real world person).
