Black Panther in New Promo for "Secret Empire"

Secret Empire is the newest Marvel event post Monster Unleashed and IvX and whatever other events are going on right now (lol).

Black Panther joins the other Marvel Comics titans (plus Carol... lol) on this cover.

Let's hope T'challa stays far, far, far away from Hydra Cap though. Dude doesn't play.

Newest Tech Feat: Energy Daggers with a Punch

T'challa was able to set the frequency of his energy daggers to resonate with Captain Marvel. Thus, able to hurt the ghost of the Shaper of Worlds.

or... as a contigency plan for Carol (as she noted on the next page)

BP Sighting: Civil War II: The Oath

RUN T'CHALLA. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

ITS A TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!

Black Panther #10 Spoilers and Thoughts

Spoilers...

- Shuri meets with the MA and lays a verbal (and literal) smack down. Instead of hugs and kisses, she essentially threatens them. She admits Wakanda cannot defend themselves from both The People adn the MA... so if they march with Tetu, the armies of Wakanda will forsake the Golden City and burn the Jabari lands to the ground and kill every Dora that turned on them.

If the MA refrain from joining Tetu and stay in the Jabari lands... they will be spared. And they will be court marshaled after the People were defeated and possibly shown mercy.

The MA basically agree to stay out of it. They later tell Tetu and he isn't happy about it and leaves an dark warning about their future.

- The "royal council + Eden" meet and discuss what needs to be done. They state their forces are ragged and they will make the stand at the Golden City. The Revealer/Zenzi is the problem as she is making it so the regular grunts are basically super powered. T'challa has a plan to deal with it by bringing out Wakanda's good.

- T'challa goes to Changamire. They have an awkward at times but deep talk about lots of things. T'challa continues to confess that he doesn't not like being king but uses that to his advantage to get Changamire to help him. After taking Changamire to see Ramonda (she might be paralyzed), he finally gets Changamire to agree to help him... by inspiring Wakanda  to counteract Zenzi's hate.

This section is almost impossible to summarize and spoil and it really needs to be read in its entirety to get the subtle nuances and art changes that really define the conversation.

- The Wakandan armies are raised, preparing to defend the Golden City from the People.

Thoughts...

- This was the best issue yet. This aired out many of the grievances I have had earlier in the run.

- Seeing someone finally defend T'challa was a breath of fresh air. Even T'challa defended himself, FINALLY. It felt like I was finally reading a book called Black Panther where Black Panther was driving the book, not some other side piece.

- It was also relieving to see Shuri act in character. It was always a fear that she would simply be turned into Bird Ramonda but she still had her attitude. Her talk with the MA was entirely in character and reminiscent of Doom War and the Desturi. The threat was refreshing as hell to see and really set the tone for this issue.

- T'challa's talk with Changamire was equally as entertaining. Despite many of the "I do not want to be king" comments... it felt different and more fleshed out. It also felt like T'challa was leading Changamire to conclusions he wanted him to reach in order to use him to help defeat Zenzi. It was a touch too apologetic IMO but solid none the less. Much better than I feared.

- So the MA have been put in their place. I have a feeling this isn't the end of this story however. I think they still have a part to play in this final battle.

- This is Coates at his finest. Lots of dialogue, no action, plot points coming together and advancing, along with throwing in (unneeded) literature references. The dialogue felt human yet sharp. Words were not wasted.

- So this run really comes down to issue #11. It needs to be action pact and it needs to deliver T'challa as the mother fucking Black Panther. Mopey pants needs to die, T'challa needs ot rise up and lead a smack down on The People.

If... IF IF IF IF Coates can do that... than #9-11 could save this run. Could. If. No pressure.


JUDGEMENT: Best issue yet of this run and carries momentum into #11. Won't change the mind of Coates (justified) haters but people more in the middle should enjoy it.

Black Panther: World of Wakanda #3 Thoughts and Spoilers

Quick Spoilers... 

- The Doras agree to break away from T'challa and be more open minded. Folami doesn't agree and runs away bitter.

- Ayo and Aneka ask for a vacation. It is granted and they go to New York.

- Shuri and Ramonda talk about T'challa. It is the first rational conversation about what he did during the Incursions we have seen. Only good part of the book honestly.

- Folami shows and and tattle tells about the Dora's breaking away. Shuri and Ramonda basically shame her and shoo her away. She ends up being stopped by some guy who gives her an address. Folami ends up there and seemingly gets super powers? I don't know where the hell this is going.

- Ayo/Aneka romance stuff. They are eventually told to get back to Wakanda because the Black Order is back and it seems too late.


Thoughts...

- This book is a god damn waste of a good opportunity to explore so much about Wakanda in general or explore what happened to Wakanda in the various time jumps in Hickman's run.

- Instead, it moves at a break neck speed with the continued poor writing, painfully amatuerish dialogue, and meh story line. I don't see how this book propels the MA into popularity or does anything positive for the Black Panther mythos.

- The only decent panel Gay has done in three issues is the scene between Shuri and Ramonda. It was nuanced and adult like. A strict counter to the young adult romance crud we have been served throughout the rest of the book.

SHOULD YOU READ IT? No. Unless you are starving for LGBT representation in comics and will take whatever you can get.

The Ultimates² #3 Spoilers and Thoughts

Quick Spoilers with some Thoughts...

- We will start with the cosmic story line I suppose since that is the real story line of this book. Order and Chaos kill the Living Tribunal. They try and kill Galactus but can't because of some cosmic hierarchy stuff. Galactus sends out Anti Man to find the Ultimates. Chaos and Order run off to find some other cosmic abstract dude (Inbetweener maybe? Honestly I stopped caring at that point) and they swallow him and form a new cosmic thing.

This book should really just be called, "Cosmic Marvel." The Ultimates haven't done anything worth a shit in the cosmic realm since they changed Galactus in issue #2.

This is kinda creepy

- And, for some dumb reason, Ewing decided we need to know more about this weird secret government group. So, we get some of that. I am not going into detail about it because I don't care. They decide they need to find out where the Ultimates are at because they are not supposed to be messing with the cosmic stuff anymore. They end up in Adam's lab and then end up on Galactus ship and confront the Ultimates.

Why we get more lines from this new government team is so beyond me that I just want to poke my eyes out after reading. We barely get any of the Ultimates in this cosmic crap anyway... so he further complicates that by adding in a government group that means nothing.

The "I Don't Cares" everybody!

- During all this... we get some boring talk on whether MAC or Galactus is leading the team. Oh and Anti-Man arrives after MAC makes a portal telling them Galactus needs help. It means nothing to the book and feels like "oh shit, I need to add in the actual title team." I think T'challa says a sentence, if that. It doesn't mean anything.

Maybe next issue the Ultimates will actually do something. Probably not though. I'm over this book.

This is T'challa's only sentence

SHOULD YOU READ IT? Only if you like what Ewing has done with the cosmic stuff so far. If you care about the actual members of the Ultimates, then no.

MCU Black Panther