Black Panther (vol. 4) #39

November 30, 2023 Nick Peron

See Wakanda and Die, Part 1

Secret Invasion continues from Ms. Marvel (vol. 2) #29…

The planet Earth is under invasion from the Skrulls, who seek to make the planet their new home.[1] With the invasion under way, Commander K’vvvr leads ships into Africa to take down the nation of Wakanda. They have spent months infiltrating every aspect of Wakanda’s power structure so that they can conquer them easily and steal their supply of Vibranium.[2] K’vvvr is exhausted after a long career of conquering worlds and he is looking forward to the end of this mission as it will lead to a well earned retirement.

His crew cannot understand why they are sending so much force for one tiny nation. K’vvvr tells them that Wakanda is not to be underestimated as it has repelled every invader who has come to its borders for centuries.[3] As if to punctuate this, when the Skrulls arrive outside the capital city of Wakanda they are greeted by the severed heads of their spies, which have been put on pikes as a warning. They are shocked and horrified to see that the Wakandans somehow discovered their spies and killed them all.

Inside the Wakandan war room, the Black Panther (T’Challa) and his staff monitor the Skrull ships as they approach. Once they are a kilometer away, T’Challa gives the order to open fire. Suddenly, two panther statues begin emitting a disruptor that causes all of the Skrull’s cannons to explode when they try to fire. Commander K’vvvr orders his troops to reverse this, and they successfully manage to use the Wakandan’s own technology against them. From there, it is a race between the Skrulls and W’Kabi to find out who can hack into whose computers faster. Luckily, W’Kabi succeeds in getting in and shutting down the Skrull ships just seconds before the power grid is taken out.

Both sides are now without technology or guns of any kind, the only advantage the Skrulls have is in superior numbers. When T’Challa is told this, he smiles through his Panther mask because they now have the invaders right where they want them. T’Challa sends message to his wife, Storm (Ororo Monroe), who uses her mutant powers to create a heavy storm.

Meanwhile, Commander K’vvvr has gathered his troops who are armed with any bludgeon they can get their hands on. When they reach the gates of Wakanda, they see the Black Panther standing outside by himself. K’vvvr then gives an impassioned speech to his soldiers, telling them that the prophecies have foretold this day and that their victory is written. As they make their charge, the gates open and the warriors of Wakanda come filing out to meet the invaders. Many of them also dressed like the Black Panther, to confuse their foes. The Black Panther leads them into the charge. Storm fights by his side in hand-to-hand combat, even though it goes against her natural instincts to use her powers. However, T’Challa insists that they need to stick to the plan. As casualties begin stacking up on both sides, he then tells Storm to leave and follow the next phase of the plan.

That’s when the real Panther is attacked by a Super-Skrull with the powers of Wolverine, Luke Cage, Bullseye, and Iron Fist. He was specially trained to fight the true Black Panther. Hearing this, T’Challa says that he has already lost the fight because he has been training to fight the unknown his entire life.

As the battle rages on, Commander K’vvvr watches from the sidelines. One of his minions informs him that they have managed to get a communicator back online and suggests that they call for reinforcements. K’vvvr scoffs at the idea, pointing out how poorly it would reflect on them if they fail to capture Wakanda. Besides, even though the Wakandans were able to expose some of their spies, they didn’t catch them all.

… Secret Invasion continues in Secret Invasion: Front Line #2.

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, Storm, W’Kabi, S’Yan, Skrulls (K’vvvr)

Continuity Notes

The Skrulls have infiltrated Earth for months, seeking to conquer the planet and just sprung their invasion. This is primarily told in the pages of Secret Invasion #1-8 and various crossover issues and limited series. See below for a full listing and read order.
We discovered one of these Skrull spies last issue last issue. He was posing as Brother Voodoo.
We have seen Wakanda has fended off invaders for centuries back in Black Panther (vol. 4) #1.

Secret Invasion Reading Order