Warning: SPOILERS for Black Panther #14
Marvel's actor Chadwick Boseman has brought even more fans to the franchise. Unfortunately, Black Panther #14 proves that Marvel may retire T'Challa from comics, thanks to tragic real-world events.
While the character has appeared in comics ever since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's initial Fantastic Four run, the character truly became popular when he achieved his own book, ed the Avengers, and began to take a more active role in world affairs. As the King of Wakanda, T'Challa was not only the first African superhero in comics, but broke stereotypes of the era by being a highly intelligent ruler of a technologically-advanced nation. He was a scholar, a scientist and a superhero, and all these elements coalesced into one of Marvel's most popular heroes of the Silver Age and beyond - and Chadwick Boseman's portrayal of the character in the MCU brought the character to live action for the first time.
Unfortunately, Black Panther #14, written by John Ridley with art by German Peralta proves what many Marvel fans have feared: the character may be leaving comics for good. Recent events have taken a tremendous toll on T'Challa: he has lost his place as King, his seat on the Avengers, and has even been exiled from his home country. His allies have turned on him thanks to a Wakandan sleeper agent program that has inadvertently caused a Wakanda civil war and threatens to destroy communications worldwide - and even though T'Challa is only tangentially at fault at best, the Avengers treat him as a pariah.
Black Panther May Leave Marvel Comics For Good After Wakanda Forever
When Chadwick Boseman ed away in 2020, Marvel decided against recasting the actor and instead incorporated his death in 2022's Wakanda Forever; Princess Shuri became the new Black Panther in T'Challa's place. The move garnered some controversy but was ultimately well-received by filmgoers. Marvel often attempts to synergize their films with the comics (changing the color of the Infinity Stones and granting Agatha Harkness a younger body are only two of many examples), and these attempts to remove Black Panther from his team and his home may suggest a massive change in the Black Panther franchise: Shuri may very well become Black Panther in the comics to match her journey in the films.
At this point, only one question remains: will Marvel kill T'Challa in the comics to match his fate in Wakanda Forever? While other characters who perished in the MCU still remain in comics - Iron Man and Black Widow, for example - Black Panther is a special case. If Black Panther does indeed die in comics, fans will no doubt be shocked at Marvel's decision - but it is one the company has unfortunately been hinting for some time.
