Black Panther (vol. 4) #12
Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos
In the Louisiana bayou, two African-American men are trying to make it home in the dead of night. They are in a hurry because they don’t want to stay out long. Unfortunately, their worst fears come true when a pick-up truck pulls up nearby. The two men hide behind some trees. However, the drivers can smell that the two men are there because they are vampires. When the blood suckers attack, they are ambushed by Blade the Vampire Hunter. As he literally cuts through the vampires with his sword, a tree suddenly comes to life and consumes one of the parasites, causing it to burst in flames. This is the work of Blade’s partner, the sorcerer known as Brother Voodoo. With the vampires all dead, they begin adding their bodies to the impromptu fire in order to destroy their bodies.
Meanwhile, the Black Panther (T’Challa) and Luke Cage are flying back from an impromptu trip to China. They had been taken there by the terrorist known as Han who was looking to marry off his daughter. This was due to the fact that T’Challa was now actively seeking a bride. However, in the end, the Panther decided not to pursue any kind of relationship, even one with no strings, because he is serious about his quest for a wife.[1] Cage can’t believe it and when asked why he didn’t ask her out, Luke says that his bachelor days are over.[2] T’Challa then tells Luke about the next order of business on their itinerary. He wants Cage to accompany him to the gulf region of the United States, as that area has recently been hit by a powerful hurricane. The Panther wants to pledge his support, but say that this won’t be any ordinary press conference and he expects there to be conflict. This is because predatory elements have moved into the region and they will likely have to deal with them while restoring order to the area.
In New Orleans, former Avenger Monica Rambeau and her father are using their boat to look for people trapped in their homes from the flooding. They stop at the home of a neighbor, Chamaine Romeau. Checking that the coast is clear, Monica transforms into her light form to pass through the walls of the house and check inside for people. She finds Mrs. Romeau and her husband cowering in the attic of their home brandishing crucifixes, At first, the frightened couple think that Monica is a vampire, but they quickly realize that she isn’t since the cross isn’t causing her any kind of pain. Getting the couple out to their rescue boat, they quickly tell the story to Monica and her father. Frank Rambeau doesn’t buy the tale until he hears how the vampires come out on night on boats to feast on those still trapped in their homes from the flood. The story is chilling enough that Frank can’t help but believe the tale.
Elsewhere at a huge plantation style mansion, two of the most wealthy men in the area — Hiram and a man known as the Colonel — discuss how inconvenienced they have been following the flood. While it is mildly annoying to them, the Colonel believes that they can use this opportunity to push out the undesirables from their city for good and restore it back to the way it used to be before the Civil War. They are interrupted by an intruder in their home, a man who claims to be who claims to be related to the Colonel. He is quickly attacked by security, but they soon figure out that this man is a vampire. He easily shrugs off bullets and exsanguinates the blood from one of the guards. Fearing that they’ll all be next, the vampire assures them that won’t happen, saying that he will need human operatives for the next phase of his plan. He figures that the best person to help him out on his mission is someone who is family.[3]
The following day, a famous basketball star is arguing with FEMA workers about restoring flood ravaged New Orleans. The Feds insist that they are the only ones that are going to be doing the work. That’s when the basketball player spots the Black Panther’s jet flying across the sky and decides he’s not going to listen to FEMA anymore. He then hops into a bulldozer and drives through the FEMA blockade. Soon, the Black Panther and Luke Cage are helping extract locals from their homes and get them to dry land.
Soon, they break into the wall of a building to see if there is anyone trapped in the dark basement. There, Luke is attacked by a vampire. Quickly figuring out the threat they are facing, T’Challa orders Cage to position the bloodsucker into the sunlight coming in through the hole in the wall. As the vampire burns in the light, the Panther stakes him with a broken mop handle, killing the creature. That’s when they are joined by Blade and Brother Voodoo. The legendary vampire hunter commends them for working quickly for amateurs. He then tells the Panther and Cage that the city is overrun with vampires. Seconds later, more of the bloodsuckers come swarming out of the darkness to attack their prey.
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Luke Cage, Brother Voodoo, Blade, Pulsar, Victor Montague, Frank Rambeau
Continuity Notes
The Black Panther and Cage were kidnapped by Han, the criminal formerly known as Fu Manchu after he heard that T’Challa was seeking a wife, as seen in Black Panther (vol. 4) #10-11. Eventually, he’ll end up marrying Storm of the X-Men in issue #18.
At the time of this story, Luke Cage had just recently gotten into a relationship with Jessica Jones after she revealed to him that she was pregnant with his child. See Alias #28.
The leader of the Vampires in this story is later identified as Victor Montegue next issue. He willingly allowed himself to be turned into a Vampire sometime before the “Reconstruction” period following the American Civil War.
Topical References
This story is framed around the relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina which was a category 5 storm that hit the south eastern coast of the United States in August, 2005. This caused the levies in New Orleans to fail and the city ended up flooding much of the area. The relief and restoration efforts by the United States government in the wake of the disaster was heavily criticized at the time for being inefficient. The disaster also became a pet cause to many celebrities who became arm chair philanthropists over night, but many failed to deliver on their promises or hired grifters. At any rate, any references to the 2005 hurricane in this story should be considered topical. Modern readers should instead interpret this disaster to be a unique one as opposed to a specific real world hurricane event.
