Ascension, Part 1

Kevin “Kasper” Cole has managed to blackmail his commanding officer into helping him take down the 66 Bridges Gang. However, he has only done this in exchange for Kasper finding Sal’s missing son, Max.[1] He decides to call in a favor with Hunter, aka the White Wolf of the Hatut Zeraze for help. Hunter, however, has little information to provide. He is also very disinterested now that his adopted brother, King T’Challa, has agreed to return to ruling Wakanda.[2] As Kasper gets off the phone, another officer tells him its time.

What they are talking about is the funeral for Francis Tork, Kevin’s only friend on the NYPD. He was recently killed by the 66 Bridges.[2] Attending the funeral are Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon, and Captain America. Since Sam is the closest person that Tork had to family, he is the one to lay the American flag on Francis’ grave.[3] As he pays his final respects, Sam watches as Kevin Cole leaves the burial.

Kevin is meeting up with his old crew — Daz, Eddie X, and the Jinx — who have just been released from the hospital. Eddie is convinced that Sal Anthony was responsible for Tork’s death. Eddie, on the other hand, is out. After his recent brush with death he is retiring from the police because Anthony is tied to 66 Bridges and he has a wife to think about. Daz, on the other hand, is eager to catch Sal Anthony in his sleep so he can kill him himself. That’s when Sam Wilson interrupts their conversation. When Kasper gives his condolences, Sam asks Cole what he knows about his loss. When Kevin remains silent, Wilson turns away in disgust. Looking back at the crowd, Kevin recognizes Okoye — T’Challa’s bodyguard - among the mourners. When she turns to see him, she gives Kasper an ugly look.[5]

Later, Kasper pays a visit to Francis Tork’s old apartment. As he walks up the steps, his mind thinks back to how he is responsible for getting his friend killed. This is because he inadvertedly laid evidence that led Sal Anthony and 66 Bridges into thinking that Francis was the new Black Panther. It started when Kasper brought the gel tipped bullets that Hunter had given him. At the time, Tork told him to dump them and not get in the middle of things with Anthony. This is followed by the time he had Tork stash the car he used as the Black Panther in Brooklyn Hills. His finger prints were later found on the car by Sal Anthony. His final memory is dealing with Captain LeGuardia, who told him that Tork was killed by the 66 Bridges, likely protecting Kasper.[6]

When Kasper enters the apartment, he is attacked by Redwing, the faithful pet falcon of Sam Wilson. Wilson is going through Francis’ things and knows why Kasper is there. He tells Cole where he can find the bullets and the documents he has been hiding from the police. He has put two-and-two together and has figured out that Kevin is this new Black Panther running around. When Sam asks if Kasper knows who he is, Cole is very familiar with his activities as the Falcon as he grew up in Harlem. When Kasper calls him a hero, Sam corrects him, saying he was a criminal until someone held a mirror up to his face that made him change his path in life.[7] He then tells Cole that this moment is his mirror. He also takes issue with Kasper dressing up like the Black Panther, because he is reckless and it cost them their friend.[8] Cole once again tries to empathize with Sam’s feelings and assures him he’s going to keep working to shut down the 66 Bridges for good. Sam doesn’t buy it, saying that he doesn’t measure up to T’Challa and is nothing more than a kid in a cat suit.

Kasper, on the other hand — thinking of how Tork told him that those who fight crime in costumes are driven into it — tells Sam that he’s more than just a cop, and worthy of fighting crime like Wilson does. He then shows Sam the picture of Max, and says that this child will lead to the end of the 66 Bridges, then invites Sam to help him.

Kasper then suits up as the Black Panther and Sam as the Falcon. They pay a visit to T’Challa at his American base of operations in Brooklyn. T’Challa is annoyed to see that Cole is still wearing the Black Panther habit. Falcon asks for help finding a missing child, which Kasper figures they can do with access to the Avengers’ files. They are looking for a pediatrician who may have been brought through med school by the 66 Bridges. Kasper figures this person would be needed to make sure Max stays healthy as keeping the boy alive is the gang’s key to keep Sal Anthony under their thumb. After a short search through the databases, they discover just such a physician: One Alfred R. Neilson. With the information in hand, the two masked men take off, but not before Kasper bitches about heroes leaping out of windows instead of taking the stairs.

They break into Neilson’s home and get the location where Max is allegedly being held. This leads them to a suburban house on Long Island. When Sam asks if this is the right place, Kasper goes out and checks with Neilson, who they have tied in his trunk. The doctor confirms this is the place after Cole threatens him with a gun. This is something that Wilson does not approve of. He doesn’t think any of Kasper’s actions are befitting a hero, let alone someone trying to be the Black Panther. Kevin doesn’t care, and says that the 66 Bridges are a different breed of criminal that need to be hit hard. Sam questions if Cole’s methods are any better than the Bridges. Kevin quips back that he never said he was trying to be better.

That’s when Redwing slams into the driver side window, a warning that a military helicopter has arrived. However, when it begins opening fire, the bullets bounce harmlessly off Kasper’s car because it is lined with Vibranium. Wilson then darts out of the vehicle between shots and quickly changes into the Falcon. While Kasper and Redwing deal with the chopper pilot, Falcon flies into the house to rescue Max from his captors. When the chopper pilot tries to flee the scene, Kasper grabs onto the chopper but realizes he can’t hold on for very long. Luckily, the Falcon is able to catch up and save his ass before he falls to his death.

When the pair return to the Panther’s base, Falcon tells Kasper that the house was empty. Likely because 66 Bridges had enough time to chase after him. Sam then warns Cole that if he tries to find the boy again, he’s going to have to work smarter otherwise he’s going to get the boy killed. He also says that Tork would be ashamed of the way he is operating. Before he leaves, Falcon says that his motives for being a hero are to make up for his checkered past and doesn’t feel he has the choice in doing this that Kasper has.

Surprisingly, Kevin agrees with Sam, but thinks it is because he is lacking the true powers of the Black Panther. T’Challa agrees that his enhanced senses have been a huge benefit to his time as the Black Panther.[9] This makes Kasper’s mind up and he demands to undergo the Ritual of Ascension.

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, T’Challa, Falcon, 66 Bridges Gang, Captain America, Daz, Eddie X, The Jinx, Redwing

Continuity Notes

1. Sal Anthony was a crooked cop in the back pocket of 66 Bridges. Kasper’s dealings with Anthony and how he was blackmailed into helping Cole take down 66 Bridges was documented in Black Panther (vol. 3) #50-56. Does Kasper ever find Max Anthony? If he has, that story has yet to be told, time of this writing (Jan, 2024).

2. The Black Panther sustained serious head injuries in Black Panther (vol. 3) #39. As his health deteriorated he feared that he was going to die and so he abandoned the Wakandan throne in issue #49. He decided to return to his role following the events of Black Panther (vol. 3) #56.

3. Tork was seemingly killed in Black Panther (vol. 3) #54. However, this was a ruse, as we’ll learn in issue #62.

4. Sam Wilson and Francis Tork go way back, as seen in Falcon #1-4.

5. Okoye has a hate on for Kasper because she sees his use of the Black Panther identity as sacrilege, as we saw in Black Panther (vol. 3) #52.

6. This is a “greatest hits” of the ways that Kasper has screwed up as the Black Panther:

   • He brought the riot bullets to Tork’s apartment in Black Panther (vol. 3) #51. They were later found in Tork’s apartment by Detective Scruggs, another dirty cop in issue #53.

   • The car in question was parked in the alley next to Kasper’s apartment by Hunter in Black Panther (vol. 3) #52. Sal later had it dusted for prints in issue #54.

   • Captain LeGuardia told Kasper of Torks’ alleged demise in Black Panther (vol. 3) #55.

7. As per Captain America #186, Sam Wilson believes he was once a small time hood nicknamed “Snap” Wilson and that he only became a hero because the Red Skull had used the Cosmic Cube to alter his personality. The reasoning was that the Skull wanted a sleeper agent to later use against Captain America. This, however, turns out to be a complete fabrication as will be revealed in All-New Captain America #3, the Red Skull only led him to believe that to fuck with him, because racists going to racist.

8. Sam has had great respect for T’Challa ever since the Black Panther designed his first set of wings in Captain America #170.

9. T’Challa makes the obligatory reference to his father being killed when he was a boy, that was first told in Fantastic Four #53. The ritual where T’Challa gained his powers was originally told in Avengers #87.

Topical References

• Characters use slang in this story that was commonly used when it was first published in 2003. However, some of these words are now considered dated and their use should be considered topical.

• Tork had a poster for the movie Easy Rider (1969) a film that is considered a cult classic. As such, it might no necessarily be considered a topical reference. People buy posters of old movies all the time.

• Kasper’s car is identified as a Lexus GS 300. This should be considered a topical reference as this is a real world brand of vehicles. More over, the GS line was retired in 2020.

• Kasper threatens to “feed [Redwing] to the Colonel”, this is a reference to Colonel Sanders, the creator and mascot of Kentucky Fried Chicken. This should be considered topical as this is a real world brand.