REVIEW: New Beginnings for T’Challa in Black Panther #1

by Rebecca Kaplan · Published December 8, 2021 · Updated December 8, 2021

In Black Panther #1 by John Ridley, Juann Cabal, Federico Blee, and Joe Sabino, with a main cover by Alex Ross, a logo by Jay Bowen, and the Wakandan flag by Brian Stelfreeze (see the 2016 series by Stelfreeze and Ta-Nehisi Coates for more on this, Marvel Blog True Believers), T’Challa gets a new beginning… but can he move on from how things used to be?

“The Long Shadow”: Book One

Main cover. Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.

This issue opens on an extreme close-up of T’Challa, revealing the details in the fabric of his Vibranium suit before pulling back to show our hero in a classic pose. This is an awesome way to show that we’re going to get up-close and personal with the King of Wakanda in this story, and a great way to visually start the issue!

Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.

From there, we head into a battle between the Avengers and some kind of monstrous creatures that are attacking a location in Iceland. This whole fight looks incredible!

Photo Credit: Marvel Comics.

This run also builds on the previous run of Black Panther by continuing to acknowledge T’Challa as not just the King of Wakanda (a role he acknowledges is “shifting”), but also as the Emperor of an Intergalactic Empire. This is an interesting development for the character, and I’m curious how it will integrate into this story…

Especially since Wakanda now has a new leader, Prime Minister Folasade, who doesn’t hesitate to remind T’Challa that although he retains his position as monarch nominally, he is only present at the New Parliament Building of Wakanda to offer his perspective, not his directive. Considering how much of the 2016 Black Panther run focused on leadership and government authority, this is a promising indicator that this title will consider that thematic exploration.