Black and White, Chapter 6

Kevin “Kasper” Cole has taken on the mantle of the Black Panther in a bid to take down Sal Anthony, a dirty cop within the NYPD that has been making his life a living hell.[1] As he approaches the end game, he has agreed to work for Anthony and follows the instructions to pick up a woman from Dyker Beach and take her to the Grand Army Plaza. Kevin does this because he has arranged to have Hunter — the White Wolf of the Hatut Zeraze — pose as the Panther to make it seem that Kasper and the masked hero are two different men. Hunter, who is a Wakandan loyalist trying to push King T’Challa into returning to the role of the Black Panther, agrees to help as he views it as a means to an end.[2]

As Kasper plays out the plan in his head, a woman approaches his squad car. When he shines a flashlight in her face and is shocked to discover that it is his mother, Ruth Cole. Ruth and his girlfriend Gwen (who is pregnant with Kasper’s son) both came down to check up on him after all the late nights on the job as they are worried. This leads to their usual bickering and emasculation about his responsibilities as a son and father. That’s when the cell phone in his glove compartment rings. It’s Captain Franklin de LaGuardia, aka Delay, who has called to tell Kasper that he knows what’s going on. Kevin has the choice of following through with Sal’s pick-up or reporting it to the Internal Affairs Branch. Either way, Kasper Cole will no longer be a police officer.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Kasper leaves his post and puts his mother and girlfriend into a cab and sends them home. Which requires him to pay double the fair just to get the driver to take them back to Harlem in the middle of the night. This is the last of Cole’s money and he wonders how long it will be before the city marshal posts and eviction notice on their apartment.[3] He returns to Dyker Beach in a stolen taxi cab and resumes waiting for his pick-up. Looking at the photos of the cab driver while he waits makes Kasper think about his own son and their future. When the woman that he was scheduled to meet finally shows up, he puts her cart in the trunk of the car. He then restrains her and rips off the hood and scarf covering up her identity. Kasper is surprised to see that this is just a young girl. This makes him remember the photos in Sal Anthony’s house, ones with his daughter in them and makes a sudden connection.[4]

Racing off in the stolen cab, Kasper contacts Hunter through the coms in his Black Panther costume. He tells the head of the Hatut Zeraze to pull up Sal Anthony’s file because he just realized something. As he speeds down the street, cop cars start chasing him and Kevin realize he has been set up. Surrounded, Kasper stops the car and tells the girl in the back to get down. Moments later, the officers open fire. When the shooting stops, Sal Anthony approaches the car and tells Kasper that it didn’t have to end up like this. That’s when Cole pulls his gun on him. Kevin agrees that this didn’t have to happen, if only Sal had left him and his family and friends alone. Sal tells Kasper that he has a choice as the dead prostitute in the back seat and the trunk full of cocaine, Kevin’s career all depends on how Sal writes this up.

Is Kasper going to go down a good cop or a bad one? Kevin surprises him by saying that none of that matters to him anymore. Especially since Sal sold out to the 66 Bridges gang and now he finally understands why, they have his son, Max. Sal’s sudden silence tells Kasper all he needs to know. That’s when they are interrupted by T’Challa who scolds Kevin for being reckless and immature in dealing with all of this. Introducing himself as the King of Wakanda, T’Challa then warns Sal Anthony how close to death he and his men are. At the mention, members of the Hatut Zeraze drop their cloaking devices revealing that they have all of the officers surrounded. To put this foolishness to an end, T’Challa reveals that the “dead prostitute” is actually alive thanks to armored plating put in the taxi cab. She is also an undercover US Marshall and they are going to drop Sal off at Grand Army Plaza to be arrested. He then pops open the trunk and reveals that they also have the CIA agent who was piloting Triage’s escape helicoper.[5]

With that, T’Challa leaves them to their business and somehow vanishes from sight as suddenly as he appeared on the scene. Kasper loads Sal Anthony in the car and drives off. In actuality, this is all a huge bluff. The girl in the back isn’t a US Marshall, nor is the man in the trunk CIA. He’s actually the owner of the taxi cab. As they are pursued by the police Kasper lays out that he figured out that the Bridges have his son from the family photos he was looking at in the Anthony home. Not only did they kidnap Max, but they shot his daughter, putting her in a wheelchair. They knew Sal wouldn’t use the NYPD’s insurance for her therapy because then Internal Affairs would be all over him for not reporting this and so the gang owned him lock, stock, and barrel. Now Kasper has him at a disadvantage, no matter what happens he’s already convinced that he’s going to lose his job as a police officer because he will never allow himself to become dirty. He then tells Sal that from now on he will fill the role of Francis Tork and in exchange, Kasper promises to take down Kibuka and the 66 Bridges and return Max to him.

When Sal tells him to get bent, Kasper decides to do something crazy and speeds off a pier while putting a gun to his head. Saying that unless Sal changes his mind, he’ll go down as the man who killed a heroic narcotics officer and go down that way.

Later

Kasper survived the gunshot to the head because his gun was loaded with non-lethal riot bullets. Sal Anthony’s crooked cops all took a fall except for Sal himself who managed to keep his career. He has been busted down to sargent of the narcotics division, and now expects Kasper to rescue his son. That’s when he is approached by T’Challa, now cleanly shaved and in a suit for the first time since Kasper met him. The King of Wakanda still thinks that Cole is being reckless. Kasper doesn’t care, because from now on he’s going to do things his way and he shows T’Challa why. Its a picture of an ultrasound showing his unborn son. Kasper says that he is going to be a great man for his body no matter what. He then asks T’Challa to honor their mutual friend, Francis Tork,[6] and help in his crusade or to get out of the way. The former Panther is speechless and suddenly disappears just as the person Kasper has been waiting to meet shows up.

It is Kasper’s father, “Black Jack” Cole, who has heard the news and isn’t happy with what he has heard. He asks his son if he crewed up with Sal or if he is now snitching for IAB or the Feds. Kasper says neither, he’s just trying to be a good cop. This angers Black Jack who punches his son in the face, telling him that if he becomes like Sal, he will be no son of his. His that then pushes his wheelchair back to the prison. Kasper couldn’t tell his father the whole truth because they already went after him once and he doesn’t want it to happen again.[7] He promises that in two months it’ll all be over as he will have taken down the 66 Bridges and exposed their leader.

What Kasper doesn’t know is that his father is Kibuka and upon returning to his cell he is given a mobile device that puts him in contact with Triage, who runs the 66 Bridges. He has heard the news about Sal Anthony. Black Jack responds by saying that they will just have to find new “friends” to learn more about this situation. As Triage ends the chat, he hopes that his father watches his back.

Speaking of father, Kasper Cole has gained a new appreciation for his unborn son and his girlfriend, Gwen. He spends the evening with his ear pressed up to Gwen’s pregnant belly so he can hear his son. Gwen is happy with the fact that Kasper has made detective and things seem to be getting better. When she asks him to promise everything will be all right, Kasper tells her that in a few months time world will be theirs.[8]

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, Hunter, 66 Bridges (Triage), Sal Anthony, T’Challa, Black Jack Cole, Ruth Cole, Gwen, Franklin de LaGuardia (voice only),

Continuity Notes

1. This has been going on over the last 6 issues, where you been?

2. Hunter is trying to get T’Challa to become the Black Panther again since Black Panther (vol. 3) #50. At the time of this story (circa issues #48-49), T’Challa has abandoned the Wakandan throne and the role of Black Panther after sustaining serious head injuries in issue #39. T’Challa will ultimately return to the role, but on his own in issue #62.

3. Kasper has been struggling with the bills ever since he was put on a five day suspension in Black Panther (vol. 3) #50. As we learned in issue #54, its so bad that he has gotten behind on his rent.

4. Cole broke into Sal Anthony’s house in Black Panther (vol. 3) #54.

5. Triage was rescued in a CIA helicopter while fleeing Kasper last issue.

6. Francis Tork was seemingly murdered in issue #54. However, we’ll learn in Black Panther (vol. 3) #62 that his death was faked.

7. Black Jack Cole was seemingly framed for drug dealing, as revealed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #53. However, last issue we learned that Black Jack might not be so innocent as he is they enigmatic Kibuka.

8. Sal Anthony’s son will be rescued in Black Panther (vol. 3) #59. However, we won’t hear any more about Black Jack Cole’s involvement with the 66 Bridges Gang. Triage will make some minor appearances in The Crew #3 and 7, but otherwise (at least as of this writing in January, 2024) these plotlines remain unresolved.

Topical References

• Kasper Cole’s cell phone is depicted as a flip phone with an visible receiver antenna on it. This should be considered topical as this is a nearly obsolete technology.

• The taxi driver that takes Ruth and Gwen home complains how awful his life is thanks to Osama Bin Laden. Bin Laden was the leader of the terrorist group al-Queda at the time of this story. He was the architect behind the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on New York City that saw the destruction of the original World Trade Center. In response to this attack, the United States went on a seemingly endless war in the Middle East. On the home front, Americans — doing what they do best — became highly Islamophobic to the point where they assumed that people (such as the Pakistani taxi driver in this story) were Arab and discriminated against them, because if America is good at something, it’s treating non-white people like shit, but I digress. The comment about needing a passport is in response to the United States passing a bill that went into law in 2004 that required any American travelling abroad to have a US passport. Anyway, this should be considered a topical reference as was finally killed in 2011. The racism on display here is factual and if you disagree, I recommend you open a newspaper and read.

• When Cole remembers trying to gather evidence on Sal Anthony, he refers to his detective skills as being “Dick Tracy”. This was once a popular detective comic that was syndicated in newspapers between 1931 and 1977. It was adapted into a film in 1990. While as enduring as Sherlock Holmes, Tracy’s name can be evoked when referring to someone’s detective skills. This could be considered a topical reference however since I’d have to explain to you who Dick Tracy is.

• It is stated here that the CIA agent was flying a Blackhawk helicopter. As this is a real world piece of military equipment and could be replaced, its specific reference should be considered topical.

• Kasper is depicted recording his thoughts on a pocket tape recorder. This is another obsolete technology that should be considered topical.

• Triage’s computer is depicted as having an Apple logo on it. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world computer company.

• Kasper’s apartment is depicted having a CRT television, this should be considered topical as this is an obsolete technology.

Translations

There are lines of dialogue in this story that are written in Luganda that are not translated. They are:

• “Wasuze otya nno?” = “How are you doing?”