I love the classic Marvel comics. Even some of the more semi-modern ones are pretty sweet (though increasingly less so over time). And, while Black Panther (breifly also known as Black Leopard because of feared association with the "Black Panther Party"... though the Leopard name didn't stick) is not my favorite character from the comics... he is occasionally in some pretty fun story-lines.
Much more fun in the comics than in the recent MCU movies.
The first person to be the Black Panther (there have been a few... unfortunately...) appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July of 1966).
The character was created by the legendary Jack Kirby (with some input from Stan Lee). When Kriby was asked about the genesis of the character, he had this to say:
"I came up with the Black Panther because I realized I had no blacks in my strip. I'd never drawn a black. I needed a black."
Seriously. Direct quote.
That was the entire purpose for the character. To create some sort of powerful black man to include in story lines with the Fantastic Four. They "needed a black".
That same issue (Fantastic Four #52) was also the first time we get introduced to the kingdom of Wakanda. This is the very first image ever depicting it... and there, seated in the middle, is The Black Panther himself:
Wakanda was a pretty rad place. The surface was depticted as a sterotypical African image of an African village. One that would be immediately recognizable to Fantstic Four readers.
But, underneath "the dense foliage" there existed a weird -- and tube-heavy -- high tech city.
Large portions of the city were controlled by computer -- a pretty cool idea back in 1966 -- which was built into the base of a giant statue of a black cat.
Also note that the official name for the Black Panther outfit is the "Stalking Costume". Which he would put on whenever he would stalk his prey. Which, when he was introduced, was The Fantastic Four.
Yeah. The Black Panther was an absolute jerk. He, literally, enjoys hunting humans for sport.
The Black Panther was... more than a little sadistic. He derived joy from the fear of those he hunted... and he enjoyed a challenging hunt. This is a theme that appears, again and again, throughout the comics. Especially the earlier ones.
He wasn't all bad. The Black Panther, more often than not, had good intentions. He just had his own moral code and his own way of going about things. Which usually meant sadistic hunting of human prey.
Eventually The Black Panther became, more or less, an ally of both the Fantastic Four... and then a member of the Avengers. But he remained a bit twisted, in my view.
The Marvel MCU representation of The Black Panther retained some of this... but really cleaned it up in order to make him a character more designed to be praised and revered. Which, in my opinion, was a great loss. In large part as it made many of the best Black Panther stories no longer make any sense.
If you are looking to get a good primer on the origins of The Black Panther -- I recommend issues 52 through 54 of Fantastic Four. That's where it all really starts.
And -- despite the weak points of that story line -- it's definitely a lot more fun than the recent "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" film. 😎
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