Bride of the Panther, Part 2

Somewhere in the Middle East, two leaders observe the final test of their new agent, the Arabian Knight. The one leader questions why they are doing this when there already exists an Arabian Knight. The other points out that the Vatican did the same thing when they made their own Black Knight. Much like the Catholic Church, China, and the United States, they too have a vested interest in gaining control over Africa and need an agent of their own to get the job done.[1] When their champion passes his final test, he is given a magic sword, blessed armor, and a flying carpet and is deployed immediately.

Meanwhile, in the Sudan, the Black Panther (T’Challa) has tracked down Storm (Ororo Monroe) of the X-Men and asked her to marry him.[2] Storm is so surprised that she needs him to repeat his proposal. However, before she can answer, both can sense a disturbance in the air as fighter jets are approaching on their situation. As the two scramble to deal with this coming threat, T’Challa tries to pressure Storm into giving him an answer. However, Ororo will only say that they will have to talk about this later. Storm quickly dispatches the fighters by summoning two powerful tornados that cause the planes to crash.

The two then go back to their discussion, only to be interrupted again by the new Arabian Knight. Storm decides to leave T’Challa to deal with this new threat on his own. The Panther shows off by easily dancing around this new foe. Throughout the one-sided fight, he continues making his case for why Storm should marry him. Storm isn’t really convinced that he has been pining after her all these years, pointing to all the women he has been with during that time. T’Challa doesn’t deny this, but says that those were the mistakes of a young man and now he is a full adult who wants to devote his whole time to her. When he asks her to give him a chance, Storm gets fed up with the Arabian Knight and strikes him down with a bolt of lightning. T’Challa then asks her to give him another chance.

She decides to do accompany T’Challa back home, but insists that she has only agreed to spend time with him. T’Challa is happy enough with just this for the time being and sets the autopilot to take them back to Wakanda. Their trip back is being observed on radar by W’Kabi and S’Yan who note that a storm has formed around the King’s ship. When they realize what this means (they’re fucking) both men can’t help but smile to themselves. News of the Black Panther and Storm’s romance quickly reaches a military official in Kenya. Given the news of Storm’s recent activities in Africa, he fears that a union between T’Challa and a mutant could spell the end of humanity.[3]

Meanwhile, the Black Panther’s ship returns to Wakanda to much fanfare from the locals. T’Challa assures Storm that he won’t make a big deal out of her presence. When Ororo learns that she will be meeting his mother, she races to a mirror to fix up her hair in a panic. She then realizes that she is being ridiculous. T’Challa reminds her that she is a princess, a goddess and one of the X-Men. Storm reminds him that she is a woman as well, and the two fondly embrace. As the plane lands, the people cheer. When the Black Panther emerges from the craft holding hands with Storm, his people are stunned into total silence.

The first thing T’Challa does is introduce Storm to his mother, Queen Ramonda, who is pleased to finally meet Storm after hearing about her for so many years.[4] After the pleasantries are out of the way, the two women go for a walk so they can speak in private. Ramonda is pleased that T’Challa was able to convince her to return to Wakanda. This is because Wakanda is a warrior nation and they demand such from their queen.[5] Having followed Storm’s career closely over the years she knows that Ororo more than fits that requirement. The only question that remains is if Monroe is willing to become T’Challa’s bride and remain with him forever.

This gives Storm something to considered. When she meets with T’Challa later, he is pleased to hear that Ororo and his mother get along. He then tells her that he never answered his proposal earlier. When she is asked to get married once again, Storm has only one answer: Yes.[6]

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, Storm, Ramonda, S’Yan, W’Kabi, Arabian Knight

Continuity Notes

1. The whole deal with there being two Arabian Knights is used to clear up the continuity issues of a Vatican backed Black Knight. Here’s the details:

   • The Vatican made Black Knight appeared in Black Panther (vol. 4) #1-6. He is separate from Dane Whitman who had been the present day Black Knight since Avengers #48.

   • The other Arabian Knight active at this time is Navid Hashim who took over the mantle in Union Jack (vol. 2) #1, replacing Abdul Qamar who died in Thunderbolts #55.

2. T’Challa and Storm have had a will-they-or-won’t-they tension since they first met as adolescents in Marvel Team-Up #100. However, as we saw in Storm (vol. 2) #1-6, T’Challa’s need to avenge his father’s death kept them apart. More recently, the Panther satisfied his need for revenge in Black Panther (vol. 4) #6 and has been considering taking a bride since issue #8, incidentally this was also when he reconnected with Storm. He proposed to her last issue.

3. The Kenyan military leader mentions how Storm had recently come to Africa with her fellow X-Men but remained behind. This was in X-Men (vol. 2) #175-176 and Black Panther (vol. 4) #8-9.

4. Ramonda is referred to as T’Challa’s mother here. However, as per Black Panther (vol. 3) #1, she is actually T’Challa’s step-mother as his biological mother died in childbirth. That said, she is the only mother T’Challa has ever known.

5. We get a one panel montage of some of Storm’s various looks over the years. Including:

   • Her time in Kenya when she was believed to be a goddess and a depiction of her first Storm costume, circa Giant-Size X-Men #1.

   • We also see a version of Storm with a mohawk and wearing a leather costume. This was a look she sported from Uncanny X-Men #173-230.

6. The Black Panther and Storm will get married in Black Panther (vol. 4) #18. Wedded bliss won’t last very long as a war between the Avengers and the X-Men will lead to Wakanda getting devastated in the crossfire. Angered at his wife’s loyalties to the X-Men, he will annul their marriage in Avengers vs X-Men #8.

Topical References

• The Middle Eastern leaders that are responsible for the new Arabian Night are depicted to resemble Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and Palistinian leader Yasser Arafat. This should be considered both topical and dated references. Hussain, at the time this story was originally published, had already been deposed when the United States invaded Iraq. He was captured and executed a few months after this comic was published. Arafat, on the other hand, had already been dead for two years when this was first published.

• During the scene with a Kenyan military official, there is a portrait hanging on the wall of Mwai Kibaki, who was the leader of Kenya around the time this comic was published in 2006. This should be considered topical as his leadership of the nation came to an end in 2013 and he subsequently died in 2022. Not sure if this official is a real person or not, but assuming he is, his depiction would also be considered topical.

• This story (like last issue) states that T’Challa and Storms’ first meeting happened 10 years prior to the main story. This does not gel with the Sliding Timescale or the Pre-Modern Age histories of both Storm and T’Challa. See my index entry for last issue for the details.