Why I Hate World of Wakanda

Click to enlarge of course.

So much garbage in one picture you may vomit from having bullshit shoved down your throat.

T'challa in Civil War II #8

That is Carol talking.

Wonder if this T'challa/Carol thing is going to become... a thing.

Worlds Finest!

Panther Powers Part 4: The Rite of Ascension

[This is Part 4 of a multiple post series going over the details and intricacies of the multiple sources of superpowers in Wakanda and how they have changed over the years. 

In Part 4, we discuss what every perspective Black Panther must go through to get access the Black Panther powers: the Rite of Ascension.]


The first mention of any rituals or rites was in T'challa's second appearance in Fantastic 4 #53 in a one-off panel as T'challa spoke with The Thing.

Fantastic 4 #53

The first Rite of Ascension was put on panel in T'challa's first origin story in Avengers, vol 1 #87. When he finally returned to Wakanda after getting educated in the United States and Europe, the witch doctor N'baza put him through a variety of tasks to prove his worthiness. This included combat with six Wakandan warriors, a night of vigil in the temple of the Panther God, then traveling the Great Plateau to the HSH.

McGregor in his various stories made it so T'challa had to undergo a "mini" Rite of Ascension every time he needed the HSH. This task was simplified to "beat up some people." More interestingly, McGregor added in an actual religious ceremony to taking the HSH  instead of simply eating the HSH and moving on.

Jungle Action #8

Panthers Prey #2

Defeating six of Wakandan's greatest warriors was once again mentioned during Priest's run both in the Client arc and the Killmonger as Black Panther arc. The Kasper Cole arc added some more detail to T'challa's Ascension and journey to the HSH.

Priest #5

Priest #60

What is perhaps more interesting during Priest's run is the fact the king and the Tribal Council could modify the Rites as necessary. They are not static and stuck in stone. In Killmonger's case, it was more than six warriors as the Tribal Council decided that due to his enhancements, more was necessary to truly test him. T'challa also waved the Rites altogether and it was within his right as King.

Priest #24

Although Kasper Coles Rite of Ascension is likely not as accurate as a true Rite of Ascension, it still kept many of the same aspects of previous Rites as well as going into further detail into T'challa's Ascension. Kasper had to fight four Wakandan warriors (while being quizzed on Wakandan history), went on a journey of sorts (to replicate T'challa's six day journey for the HSH), and then Kasper had to fight the Chieftain which, as we said before, doesn't really fit with the rest of the mythology.

Priest #60

Priest #61

Kasper's Ascension once again shows just how malleable the process is by both the King and the Tribal Council.

Priest #60

Shuri's Rite of Ascension is the most recent in the comics, coming during the Deadliest of the Species arc when T'challa was almost dead. Surprisingly, it completely skipped the "defeat six Wakandan warriors" part that had been part of the mythos since, well, forever. It did have the meditation and mountain/plateau aspects along with some other more trivial tasks.

Deadliest of the Species #3

Putting it all together, the Rite of Ascension typically looks something like this:

1. Defeat Wakanda Warriors: This numbers seems to vary but six seems to be the most consistent.

2. Spiritual Task: This has varied from run-to-run but some sort of spiritual task takes place. That can be walking on coals, meditation, or dodging spears. This is sometimes combined with the last part of the Rites.

3. Journey to the Heart Shaped Herb: There is always a journey to the Great Plateau or mountain for the HSH. The spiritual task is sometimes combined with the journey, such as in T'challa Ascension when he was without food or water for six days until he found the HSH.


In Part 5, we start a three post series examining one of the most perplexing and iconic moment in Priest's Black Panther run... the Curious Case of Killmonger.

MCU T'challa

Black Panther #9 Spoilers and Thoughts...

Spoilers...

- The issue starts with a look at Changamire with T'challa narrating. Basically, his grand ideas have failed. He thought there could be revolution without blood shed and he was wrong. It hints at a discussion between the two soon.

- T'challa then looks towards himself and his own failings as a king basically. He is, "ill fitted for the crown" and it is one reason he brought Shuri back.

- We get the preview with Shuri and T'challa in the usual conference room.

- Then a meeting between Tetu and the Midnight Angels. There is apparently rapings and such going on with The Peoples men. "Mother" addresses this with Tetu and he simply blows it off. Once the meeting concludes, the MA question there alliance with Tetu. They bicker with themselves over what to do with Tetu and what to do with the captured HZ. Basically... they are in over their heads and have no where to turn.

- The People's forces are gathering in Niganda, preparing to attack the Golden City. Tetu and Zenzi are unsure of the MA's. Zenzi seemingly powers up the army.

- Aneka ends up freeing the HZ and delivering them back to the Golden City while announcing her breaking from the crown essentially. She then runs away, basically having been broken by renouncing her whole life. At the end, she is confronted by Shuri, asking her to tell her a story.

Thoughts...

- T'challa is once again a side character in his own book. It gets frustrating reading and even more frustrating talking about repeatedly. He was in about 3 pages and monologued a couple more. The monologue was on point until it turned into more "I hate being king and suck at it" stuff. Ayo's statement that "Tetu may be worse than T'challa" is just so baffling, even from the MA's point of view.

I am just out of things to say about it. "Black Panther" was on the title of two books this month yet was in about 5 pages. And none of them were heroic. That is just... a baffling fact.

Moving on though...

- The MA were exposed in this issue for being terribly short sighted. This all started because of love and rage and, while there motivation SEEMS pure, it is really "save our own asses" at this point. I mean shit, they are being schooled by some random elder villager they saved! They aligned with someone that was 100x worse than T'challa ever could be, realized it, and realized they were screwed.

- When you shrug off rape, you know you've gone full villain. Tetu continues to impress in that regard, even if he hasn't really don't anything physically exciting. And Zenzi is just a side piece at this point.

- T'challa finally brings Shuri back... and they don't even share a moment together.

- So, what happened to Stane? What happened to the recording? How does Tetu still have support?

- Coates might be the best "last page cliff hanger" at Marvel at this point. He routinely gets me frustrated and angry and ready to light a book on fire... and then turns around and drops a cliffhanger page that has me justifying another issue.

- This issue basically showed the flaws in everyone side of this conflict. Tetu is evil and wants power... he is easy. The MA's really have no idea what they want and are lost. Changamire was nothing but words and ideas and didn't really comprehend what would happen if the ideas were put into place. T'challa feels Wakanda needs a royal... but feels like he isn't the king it needs.

So... where is the hero lol?


JUDGEMENT: If you have stuck around this long.... might as well finish it out

Panther Powers Part 3: the Annual Tournament and Tribal Challenges

[This is Part 3 of a multiple post series going over the details and intricacies of the multiple sources of superpowers in Wakanda and how they have changed over the years. 

In Part 3, we take a comprehensive look into the Annual Tournament and Tribal Challenges]

The Tournament

Once a year, Wakanda holds a tournament so any Wakandan can challenge the current Black Panther in unarmed, hand-to-hand combat. The winner has the ability to conduct the Rite of Ascension and get access to the HSH, and presumably, become the Black Panther.

The tournament stems from the belief that every warrior in Wakanda has the strength and ability to protect Wakanda from outsiders. And only a fit king is capable of it.

We have seen only two tournaments: a glimpse at one of T'chaka's defenses and three isntances of seeing T'challa's initial victory int he tournament.

The tournament was basically a battle royale of sorts one participate jumped in after the one before was dealt with. A notable difference in regards to the Tournament and the Trial by Combats is that a knock out was sufficient in the tournament while it has been stated in previous Trial-by-Combats that someone must die or yield.

The first tournament in the comic timeline shown was one of T'chaka's defenses, before the birth of T'challa. We only got a one panel glimpse but this panel made it clear that this happened yearly and that some challengers would repeat the challenge despite defeat.

Rise of the Black Panther #1

The first tournament that apearred int he comics was shown in Kirby #8. It doesn't outright state it was an annual tournament but everything about it is consistent with future portrayals. The biggest difference between Kirby and Hudlin is that the Black Panther is unnamed in Kirby's run while it was S'yan in Hudlin's. But, due to the reagent not really having a name, we can safely assume it was S'yan under the habit in Kirby #8.

Kirby #8

Hudlin in his Who is the Black Panther arc basically told the same story but updated it and fleshed it out substantially. Plus the introduction of Shuri as well.

Hudlin #2

In the Rise of the Black Panther book, we got another look at T'challa's tournament win over his uncle. However, the edition changed the tournament once again. T'challa first had to win against some unnamed Wakandan warriors, then defeat a group of Doras, and then he was given a chance to fight the Black Panther. The use of weapons is also new. As is the information that the tournament location changes yearly to prevent people from prepping, although T'challa was still able to do it. 

Rise of the Black Panther #2

Tribal Challenges/Trial-by-Combat

Tribal Challenges are basically like free-style annual tournaments. They seemingly can be issued at anytime and anywhere and have their own specific rules to them. We have seen a handful of Tribal Challenges on panel that varied in their formalities.

T'challa vs M'baku in Avengers, vol 1 #62

- This was actually the first Trial Challenge in the history of the mythos. You can see the full fight between the two HERE. This wasn't much different than a normal fight, other than T'challa felt the need to fight M'baku alone.

T'challa vs Killmonger in Priest #19-21

- This is easily the most famous and most detailed Tribal Challenge in the history of they mythos. You can find the full fight HERE. This fight introduced many of the formalities of the Tribal Challenges, such as having to yield or die, the ruling king could declare the match over, the multiple breaks taken and the length of the fight, and that fact a location could be chosen.

T'challa vs M'baku in Priest #34-35

- This was another detailed Tribal Challenge in Priest run, this time issued by M'baku. It first started by a battle-by-proxy with T'challa using Gyrich has a pawn as he freed Vibraxas. As Queen Divine Justice forbid M'baku from killing T'challa, T'challa knew Gyrich would be safe.

Gyrich had another trick up his sleeve though. Due to his knowledge of Wakanda Tribal Law, he declared D'narga, making it that the challenge became skill based only and not to the death.

T'challa then proceeded to take back over the Challenge and preceded to defeat M'baku rather easily. You can find that full fight HERE. What is interesting is that he was not killed however, which contradicts the "yield or die" thing seen in the Killmonger fight.


Shuri vs G in Age of Heroes #4

- The last Tribal Challenge on panel was way back in 2010 in an obscure Age of Heroes mini series. Following Deadliest of the Species and Doom War, Wakanda quickly went through a huge transition period, ushering in a new ruler and losing their Vibranium. Under these circumstances, Shuri's rule was challenged by G'tuga. What is interesting about this Tribal Challenge is that it was in the format of the annual tournament. It was held in a ring in front of a great crowd of people.

One Tribal Challenge I have not mentioned is Kasper vs Killmonger during Priest's run during the Ascension arc. That is because it didn't follow any of the established rules and wasn't a "true" Tribal Challenge. The Tribal Challenge has historically come before the Rite of Ascension (as defeating the Black Panther gives you the ability to take the Rites) but in this case, Kasper completed the Rites first. The Rite of Ascension was modified from the very beginning by T'challa so nothing about the situation was "normal" and it was more of a one-time thing.

Peter Gillis introduced a different type of Tribal Challenge during his four issue mini series. When the Panther Spirit left T'challa and he was depowered, Mendinao and the Tribal Council put T'challa through various challenges to determine if was still a worthy champion of the Panther God.

T'challa first had to undergo the Ordeal of the White Ape, He had to climb a sacred mountain that was inhabited by the Great White Ape, take a leaf from a tree at the peak, and make it back down. In this particular challenge, T'challa failed as Bomvana cheated the process to help T'challa.

Gillis #1 of 4

T'challa was also challenged by T'swana the Powerful  to confirm it T'challa was still blessed by the Panther God or not. Mendinao stated this wasn't a true test to determine his ability to rule, it still serves as a Tribal Challenge of sorts, even though T'swana did not want the title or the throne. T'challa was losing this fight until the Supremacists interrupted.

Gillis #2 of 4

After T'challa defeated the Supremacists, the Council decided that was enough evidence for T'challa to remain ruler.

In our next installment of this series, we take a detailed look at what any Black Panther hopeful must complete before becoming the true protector of Wakanda: the Rite of Ascension.

[Edit 01-05-2017: Added in a few pages from Kirby #8, which seems to show T'challa's victory in the annual tournament, waaaaaaaaaaaaay before Hudlin thought it up.-- Shadow]

[Edit 02-12-2018: Added new information from Rise of the Black Panther #1 and #2.-- Shadow]