Black Panther (vol. 4) #3
Who is the Black Panther? Part 3
Somewhere in Africa, Klaw is forming an army to invade Wakanda. One such operative is the criminal known as the Rhino (Aleksei Sytsevich) who tests out his abilities against a black rhino, something he always wanted to dry. He is chided by (Georges) Batroc the Leaper, who points out that he killed an endangered species.[1] The Rhino mocks Batroc for being French before heading to the cooler to grab a drink. Klaw thanks Batroc for his restraint, noting that the Rhino went up against the Hulk and lived.[2][3] He then checks on their ally, a man named Igor, who is being kept in a isolation chamber because his radiation levels are too high. Igore is upset because his toilet is backing up again and needs someone to deal with the problem right away.[4]
Batroc has studied up on the Black Panther and, while everyone Klaw has gathered is formidable, he asks why he thinks they will succeed in killing him. Klaw retorts by saying that they will win because he has already killed a Black Panther. Klaw explains that he took on a mission to assassinate T’Chaka, the father of T’Challa, many years ago. This was both for business and pleasure as his ancestor was killed trying to invade Wakanda in the 19th century.[5] T’Chaka was attending a Bildiberg Group meeting due to Wakanda’s growing influence thanks to its monopoly of the world’s supply of Vibranium. T’Chaka showed up at the meeting and chastised all those gathered for profiting off the misery of others to enrich themselves. When the chairman of the group used T’Chaka’s name without permission, the King of Wakanda grew insulted and decided that his participation in the meeting was over.
T’Chaka then returned to his hotel room where his pregnant wife Ramonda and his son T’Challa and a second child was waiting.[6] He tells his family that they will be leaving immediately, upsetting the children as they were promised a ski trip while they were at the meeting. That’s when a sniper’s bullet passes through the window. T’Chaka manages to push his family to the ground. Klaw then blasted his way up through the floor, exchanging gunfire with T’Chaka’s security detail. That’s when T’Chaka attacked Klaw directly, clawing his face with a set of Vibranium claws. Klaw managed to fatally shoot the Wakandan King and then turned his attention to Queen Ramonda. However, before he could pull the trigger, he was shot twice through the right arm by young T’Challa. Seriously wounded, Klaw then made his escape. Although he failed to wipe out the Wakandan royal family, his employers were ingratiated to him enough to hide him from Wakandan authorities for over a decade. During that time, he underwent painful surgeries which led to the amputation of his right hand and eye, and getting them replaced with cybernetic implants. Klaw states to the others that he used these new tools to become a deadly assassin and strike back at T’Challa for crippling him.[7]
Meanwhile, in Wakanda, King T’Challa has called a meeting with his closest advisors which include his Uncle S’Yan and W’Kabi, his trusted aid. He has had them searching for Klaw but so far Wakandan intelligence has been unable to find him.[8] W’Kabi is unconvinced that applying pressure to other nations would accomplish much as it might reveal their duplicity in the assassination of T’Chaka. The other members of the council also think that their time and energy could be better spent on matters other than revenge. S’Yan in particularly wants them to decide on who will be the next ambassador to the United Nations. T’Challa figured that S’Yan would want that role. However, S’Yan wishes to retire and does not desire to leave his homeland. T’Challa then decides that he will send S’Yan’s son, T’Shan instead. After a moments consideration, S’Yan — who knows his son is envious of T’Challa — agrees that this is a wise choice.[9] The meeting is adjourned so T’Challa can take a call from the President of South Africa, one of many world leaders waiting to discuss matters with the King.
In Rome, Klaw has sent his operative — the body stealing Cannibal — to the Vatican in Rome to recruit the final member of their team. The Cannibal can hardly believe that the Church is going to support their mission. However, Klaw points out that even they are concerned about wealth and power. Knocking at a side door, the Cannibal is invited in by a priest. As she is ushered through the Vatican, she is informed that while the Church hasn’t been involved in any military operations for centuries, they are interested in this mission. When asked if the Pope will give them his blessing, they are told that His Holiness is in frail health and doesn’t need to worry about such matters. The Cannibal is then taken into a heavily guarded room where they are shown the Ebony Blade, a weapon that the Church had reclaimed recently.[10] She is then introduced to the Vatican’s new Black Knight. It is only when his flying horse shits on the Cannibal’s hat that they are able to convince the Knight into joining their team.[11]
At that same time, Klaw meets with M’Butu, the leader of Niganda to discuss providing armed forces for their invasion of Wakanda. M’Butu is grateful for the money that Klaw has given his country and the two discuss matters between M’Butu’s scheduled beatings of dissidents. Once these matters are dealt with, Klaw has M’Butu arrange for a plumber to fix Igor’s toilet.
Recurring Characters
Black Panther, Klaw, Rhino, Batroc the Leaper, the Cannibal, Radioactive Man, Black Knight, S’Yan, W’Kabi, M’Butu, (in flashback) T’Chaka, Ramonda, Jakkara
Continuity Notes
Here, Batroc refers to the Rhino as an American. In reality, the Rhino has been identified as being a Russian immigrant as of Spider-Man’s Tangled Web #5. The mistake is understandable since Rhino being Russian was a recent revelation, in fact older editions of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (the original run, deluxe, and master editions) all list him as being an American citizen and make no mention of Russia. His Russian background was not officially mentioned in handbooks until Marvel Encyclopedia: Spider-Man and all profiles since then have reflected this more recent revelation. Which makes him openly mocking Igor for being Russian kind of odd. One could assume that the Rhino is pretending to be American for reasons? The guy is an idiot on his best days, so who can say why he would do this?
The Rhino has fought the Hulk many times prior to this story, the first time was documented in Incredible Hulk #104.
Black Panther (vol. 4) #1-6 features Ulysses Klaw without as flesh and blood rather than the solid sound form that he has had since Fantastic Four #56. As of this writing (Jan, 2024), there has been no explanation as to why he’s like this in these issues.
As we’ll discover next issue, Igor Stancheck is the Radioactive Man. He should not be confused with Chen Lu, the original Radioactive Man, who first appeared back in Journey into Mystery #93.
We saw Klaw’s ancestor get ganked by the Black Panther back in Black Panther (vol. 4) #1. He’s not the only person related to Klaw who clashed with a Panther. Colonel Fritz Klau, a Nazi soldier, was killed by T’Chanda (aka Azzuri the Wise) in Fantastic Four Unlimited #1.
The children present are not specifically identified except for T’Challa. Ramonda here is pregnant with Shuri as it was established last issue that Shuri is Ramonda’s biological daughter. The other child here could be Jakarra, T’Challa’s half-brother first seen in Black Panther #8. Jakarra is the son of T’Chaka and Mateena, a Wakandan spy, as will be revealed in Rise of the Black Panther #5.
Klaw’s accounting of events contradict past tellings of his assassination of T’Chaka told in Fantastic Four #53, Avengers #87, Jungle Action (vol. 2) #7, Black Panther #18, and Black Panther (vol. 3) #5, as well as later tellings in Black Panther #188, Rise of the Black Panther #1, and Black Panther: Legends #1. As of this writing (January, 2024), an explanation for this discrepancy has yet to be explained. I provide a possible explanation below.
When discussing Klaw, T’Challa and his council talk about him as though he has been evading them since the murder of T’Chaka. This is clearly false as T’Challa has clashed with Klaw multiple times since, starting in Fantastic Four #53. In fact, the last time they clashed was in Black Panther (vol. 3) #26-29 when Klaw almost forced Wakanda into a world war. That’s not something you’re bound to forget. This is another anomaly that has yet to be explained, time of this writing. My theory is presented below.
We met T’Shan last issue in a flashback where he tried and failed to challenge his father (then the sitting Black Panther) for the royal title.
How the Ebony Blade ended up in the hands of the Catholic Church is complicated and messy. So let me clear up the details for you:
The root of the problem is that while the Ebony Blade appears in the pages of this volume of Black Panther, it will also simultaneously appear in the pages of New Excalibur series that will start up a few months later. In New Excalibur #14-15 would identify the Ebony Blade used by Dane Whitman during this period is a fake.
However, it’s not until Captain Britain and MI-6 #7-10 that it is explained that the Blade was swapped out with the fake by Dracula as part of some convoluted plot.
For clarity, the swap out happened sometime between Dane Whitman’s appearances in Avengers (vol. 3) #37 and New Excalibur #1.
This Black Knight is obviously not Dane Whitman, who was operating as the Black Knight at the time of this story. His real name is revealed to be Augustine du Lac in the Black Knight appendix added to the softcover edition of Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #1.
Topical References
In the flashback, it is stated that T’Chaka was attending a Bilderberg Group meeting, an annual off-the-books meeting between global powers the negotiate trade between Europe and North America. Its original intent was to prevent global conflicts but soon evolved into a meeting where the wealthy come up with new and horrific ways to make the world a yawning hellscape. Since real world meeting has been going on since 1954 and has continued for the past 70 years, one can assume this is a factual reference.
Klaw’s 19th century ancestor is referred to as Ulysses great-great-great grandfather. This should be considered a topical reference as the Modern Age of the Marvel Universe operates on a Sliding Timescale which gradually pushes it forward in time. As thew 19th century is a locked-in date, the length of time between that era and the Modern Age will continue to grow over time. As such, rather than referring to his ancestor as being of a specific generation (his 3 times great grandfather) he should instead be simply referred to as a direct ancestor.
Klaw says his recovery after assassinating T’Chaka wasn’t “Club Med”, this is a real world tourist company and its reference here should be considered topical.
A number of real world political leaders are seen or name dropped in this story. They are:
Nelson Mandela, who was then President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, prior to that role, he was one of the driving forces that ended the apartheid in the region. at the time this story was published, Mandela was a philanthropist representing African interests. His appearance here should be considered topical as Mandela died in 2013.
On that same subject, Nelson Mandela states here that T’Chaka assisted in bankrolling the African National Congress, aiding in their efforts to abolish apartheid. References to T’Chaka specifically should be considered topical. Modern readers should instead interpret this as the Wakandan royal family and not a specific member due to the Sliding Timescale.
Name dropped here is President George W. Bush, who was the President of the United States from 2001 to 2008. This is topical as he is no longer the President after completing his two terms in office.
Lastly, there is mention of Fidel Castro, the former leader of Cuba. Castro ruled Cuba from 1959 to 2008. This should be considered topical as Fidel died in 2016.
The Cannibal is depicted using a cell phone with physical buttons. This should be considered topical as this technology has fallen out of common use as cell phones have developed touch screens, making physical buttons a soon-to-be-obsolete technology.
Klaw’s Origin Story
This issue presents a different origin story for Ulysses Klaw that contradicts stories told previously and since the publication of Black Panther (vol. 4) #3. Particularly, Fantastic Four #53, Black Panther #14, and Black Panther (vol. 3) #5, as well as later re-tellings in Black Panther #166, Rise of the Black Panther #1 and Black Panther - Legends #1. As of this writing (Jan, 2024), Marvel has yet to provide an explanation for these discrepancies. With the exception of this issue and Black Panther - Legends #1, other retellings have remained more or less the same with minor variations that can be waved off as topical references.
Klaw attacking T’Chaka at the Bilderberg Conference and then being experimented upon for over a decade doesn’t match any previous and more recent tales of Klaw’s origins. People on the internet (particularly a certain crowdsourced website) would simply write this off as a retcon and be done with it. Not only is that lazy, it lacks any imagination or any real critical analysis.
The point is, that this version of events couldn’t have possibly happened, at least the way it was told. This is because subsequent stories (starting with Jungle Action (vol. 2) #7) include Erik Killmonger as being involved in Klaw’s assassination of T’Chaka. To relocate the assassination attempt to whatever European country and having Klaw strike alone removes that part of the story. It also ignores the fact that Klaw managed to charm his way into visiting Wakanda before invading it.
The only logical explanation, then, would be that Klaw is making shit up to make himself sound more bad ass. Why would he do this? Well, my theory is that he is in human form here, he somehow lost his powers temporarily (which is not impossible when you consider how many characters under go a sudden change that doesn’t stick) then perhaps he is making himself sound more bad ass to convince his allies to work with him. Puffing himself up to be a a mercenary-for-hire instead of a lowly Vibranium poacher would likely be a better sell. Still, there is probably some kind of truth to the story, such as the grafting of the cybernetic hand and eye. However, I think that perhaps Klaw got these enhancements more recently than he suggests here and is just rope it into his made up back story.
Another possibility (which seems less likely to me) is that Klaw’s hit on T’Chaka at the Bilderberg Conference did happen and it was a failed assassination attempt and the attempt in Fantastic Four #53 was a second encounter and successful. However, this would require T’Chaka and his family not recognizing Klaw when he later showed up in Wakanda. However, the way Klaw is depicted in this story compared to his human form in other tales could point to the idea that Klaw underwent some kind of plastic surgery or something to disguise himself. Which is plausible given that Klaw doesn’t exactly advertise who he is when he attacks at the conference.
The last element to explain here would be the scene immediately following Klaw’s flashback. In that scene T’Challa has Wakandan intelligence trying to locate Klaw and they have been unable to do so. W’Kabi makes it sound like they have been searching for Klaw since the death of T’Challa’s father, implying that they’ve never encountered each other by this point. This obviously is untrue sine there are countless documented encounters. This implication is clearly inaccurate. In fact, Wakanda has been able to track Klaw plenty of times when he was a being of solid sound. One could assume that they are unaware that he somehow reverted back to human form and they have been unsuccessful in finding him using the usual methods.
As for how Klaw appears here in human form? I’ll go into my theories on that at the end of the entry for issue #6.