World Tour, Part 1: Holiday in Latveria

Following the wedding of the Black Panther (T’Challa) and Storm (Ororo Monroe), the happy couple have been enjoying their honeymoon on an uncharted island provided by the Sub-Mariner. Storm is happy that they have enjoyed two days without a fight breaking out because the island is a hideout for one of their foes.[1] Not only is the island uninhabited, it is also surrounded by the deadliest creatures found in the deep including swarms of sharks, giant quids and octopi, and giant sea monsters like Giganto. However, the vacation will have to come to an end as T’Challa will have to meet with the other superhuman world leaders. This is because, despite the well wishing, there is a fear that their marriage is too much power. The Panther now has to meet with them and assure them that this is not the case. When Storm asks what would happen if he cannot assuage their fears, T’Challa jokes that he will have to take over the world.

Meanwhile, Everett Ross — the resident expert on Wakanda in the United States — meets with a high ranking official at the State Department.[2] They are concerned about the Black Panther venturing into Latveria and what that could mean. However, Ross doesn’t think that this is going to lead to some team-up and attempt at world domination.[3] Everett quickly finds out that his superiors aren’t interested in facts, they want any excuse to mount an invasion of Wakanda and he is ordered to find it.

By this time, the Black Panther and Storm are piloting a ship to Latveria to meet with Doctor Doom. W’Kabi (who is monitoring the situation from home) is concerned about the risks involved. T’Challa insists that meeting Doom directly is the only response to the gauntlet that was thrown down after their wedding and it is the only means of averting war with Latveria.[4] When Storm asks if this is a conflict they could win, T’Challa grimly tells her that Wakanda would be the victor, but it would come at the cost of half of Europe being destroyed. They land their plane within a few hours. The locals watch them with awe and wonders as these are probably the first Black people these Latverian’s have ever seen. As a local mayor escorts T’Challa and Ororo to Doom’s castle, W’Kabi warns that once they enter jamming devices will cut him completely off.

Once inside, they find Doctor Doom sitting upon his throne. He thanks T’Challa for accepting his invitation as he wanted to give a wedding gift in person and asks him to open the gift box. T’Challa does as asked and finds a luxury glass globe inside. Doom uses its fragility as a metaphor to world peace, saying that the reason why the real Earth isn’t shattered like glass is due to trust among world leaders. He uses this to go off on a rant about not trusting the United States, SHIELD, or Tony Stark. T’Challa counters this by questioning if he can really trust Victor is untrustworthy either since he can’t tell if he is speaking to the real Doom or just one of his Doombots. When Victor insists that he is truly Doom, without offering evidence, T’Challa says goodbye and turns to walk away.

That’s when the supposedly real Victor Von Doom emerges, applauding T’Challa’s ability to differentiate himself from a Doombot. The Panther explains that this was a simple solution to figure out since the Doombot doesn’t sweat or have a scent. Doom commends Wakanda, by making a backhanded compliment about their superiority over other Africans. T’Challa takes offense to this, saying that his people have had the military might and technological prowess to maintain their cultural and sovereignty while most Europeans were still living in caves. Doom shoots back by insultingly calling T’Challa a sidekick to Captain America. The Panther sees this as an honor, and asks Doom if he has anyone that close to him. This leads to a baleful glare from the masked monarch.

Ignoring the question, Doom points to the state of the world at that moment pointing to the Panther’s allies: Captain America and Iron Man locked in a civil war over government registration, the Hulk missing in action and sure to be furious when he returns from wherever he has been banished, the Sub-Mariner taking a pro-active approach to the conflict in the States, while the Inhumans have retreated to their home on the moon announcing a Cold War with the Americans.[5] He then says that politics make for strange bedfellows and offers his hand. T’Challa refuses to take it, saying that if and when the war in America spills outside its boarders he will respond to it with the principals he shares with his comrades. Stooping below Wakandan values by allying himself with Doom — a man he doesn’t trust —would be a violation of those principals. Storm adds that they have so much to lose from this alliance whereas Doom has nothing to lose himself. When Victor insults Ororo, T’Challa finally decides that the meeting is over.

However, as the newly weds try to walk out of the Doom unleashes a swarm of Doombots against them. While Storm fends the robots off with her mutant powers, a suit of armor forms around T’Challa’s Panther garb so he can fight Doom directly. However, the Panther would rather they fight one-on-one without weapons or armor in order to determine who is superior. Refusing to take off his armor, Victor continues his attacks until an electro-magnetic pulse generator inside the Panther’s jet shuts down every bit of electronics in Latveria, leaving it defenseless. Despite this, Doom continues to fight and when it seems like he will win, Storm steps in and uses a powerful gust of wind to push him away from her husband. However, this makes T’Challa angry as this was a battle between him and Victor alone.

Seeing this as the first crack in the newly wed’s marriage, Doom decides that he has won this contest and allows them to leave. When they get to the door, the Panther quickly realizes that it won’t open since it was shut down by the EMP. Despite the fact that he is still cross with his wife, he swallows his pride and allows her to fly him most of the way back to the jet. They are able to leave in the plane because it was shielded against the EMP. Things are quiet until Storm kisses her husband. When he remarks that not everything will be solved with a kiss, Ororo jokes if he has ever tried that with Doctor Doom. This causes them both to laugh the whole way home.

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, Storm, Doctor Doom, W’Kabi, Everett Ross

Continuity Notes

1. Storm quips that she is happy that the island isn’t alive and trying to eat them. This is a reference to Krakoa, the living mutant island which Storm encountered on her first mission as a member of the X-Men. See Giant-Size X-Men #1.

2. Everett is an expert on Wakanda because he had a lengthy stint as an attaché to T’Challa from Black Panther (vol. 3) #1-49.

3. Everett states how the X-Men had a run in with Doom “some time back” and posits the idea that the Panther is going to Latveria to get revenge. The X-Men have encountered Doctor Doom many times over the years, but the instance Ross is probably referring to happened in Uncanny X-Men #145-147 where Storm in particular became a prisoner of Doom, or rather a Doombot posing as the genuine article as it was revealed in Fantastic Four #258. Ross is likely unaware of this particular fact.

4. T’Challa states that Doom is fresh out of Hell, this is actually literal as Doom was banished to Hell in Fantastic Four #500. Doom freed himself in Fantastic Four #536. He sent his veiled challenge to T’Challa at the end of last issue.

5. Doom is flitting around all of the major events that were concurrently going on in the Marvel Universe at the time of its publication. The details:

   • Captain America and Iron Man’s conflict with one another was going on in the pages of Civil War #1-7 and nearly every other Marvel publication at the time. We got a taste of that last issue but the Black Panther will be dragged into it as well in Black Panther (vol. 4) #22-25.

   • The Hulk was exiled into deep space in Incredible Hulk (vol. 2) #92, where he ends up conquering the planet Skaar until it is destroyed in issue #104-105 of that series. This will lead to the Hulk returning to Earth for revenge, a tale that will be told primarily in World War Hulk #1-5.

   • Namor’s paranoia is reference to an incident where Norman Osborn attempted to assassinate an Atlantean delegation as seen in Civil War: Front Line #1-9. This will lead to an invasion of the surface world by Namor and an army of Atlantean sleeper agents in Civil War #7.

   • Lastly, the Inhuman Cold War against the United States, this is after the US manage to get ahold of some Terrigen Crystals that were stolen by Quicksilver in Son of M #1-6. This will be resolved in Silent War #1-6.

Topical References

• When Storm asks T’Challa if he appreciates the Germanic esthetic of Latveria, he quips “I’m Wakandan, not a Keebler Elf”. The Keebler Elves are mascots of the Keebler cookie company that was founded in 1853. As this is a real world product this should be considered a topical reference.

• The glass globe gifted to T’Challa is said to have been made by Lalique, a French luxury glass maker. This is another real world brand that should be considered topical.

• Doom mocks the Black Panther by calling him the “Tonto” to Captain America. This is a reference to the Lone Ranger media franchise which began as a radio program in 1933 and has since expanded to most other mediums. It is set during the days of the American Frontier with the Lone Ranger being a masked hero. He had a Native American sidekick named Tonto that accompanied him on his adventures. Tonto is viewed by many to be a negative cultural stereotype, hence why Doom’s comparison is an insult. That said, one would be hard pressed to come up with a contemporary example since most media created now is a lot more culturally sensitive than it was in 1933.