Ultimate Black Panther vol. 1
To say that Black Panther’s stock has risen immensely since the time of the original Ultimate Universe is a gigantic understatement. You see, we never got an Ultimate Black Panther during the Universe’s first run. Now he’s part of the titles that are launching its second incarnation. While it’s great to see that injustice redressed, it’s not going to count for much if the comic isn’t any good.
So it’s disappointing to say that this first “Ultimate Black Panther” series is just… okay. In its favor, unlike “Ultimate X-Men,” this is clearly recognizable as a take on the “Black Panther” concept. However, it offers precious little reinvention of the character and his world compared to “Ultimate Spider-Man.” It also feels pretty similar to other stories I’ve seen featuring T’Challa both in comics, specifically Ta-Nehisi Coates’ run on the title, and in film, the first “Black Panther” movie in particular.
This is evident from the start as we’re introduced to a Wakanda that’s quite familiar. It’s still a technologically advanced kingdom thanks to its use and understanding of vibranium, and hidden entirely from the world as well. That’s going to change as Khonshu and Ra, rulers of the Upper and Lower Kingdoms of Africa under the Maker have finally decided the time has come to bring Wakanda to heel. But how are they going to do that to a place that is the most advanced on Earth? By getting their hands on a newly discovered mineral that is said to be vibranium’s opposite with the help of their own agent in the kingdom.
While this is going on, T’Challa is dealing with the expected troubles of running a kingdom. There are calls for him to do more for the people outside of it. He has to deal with the superstitious mystics who advised his father. People around him are questioning his ability to rule. Oh, and terrorists have infiltrated Wakanda and are spreading chaos in the name of Khonshu and Ra. However, potential new allies have emerged outside of the kingdom: Erik Killmonger and his beloved companion, the Windrider.
The presence of this Windrider and relationship to Killmonger represent the one significant change to the established Black Panther mythos here. Everything else is just more of the same. That includes T’Challa struggling with the burdens of leadership for most of this volume and writer Bryan Hill doesn’t put any distinct spin on things here. In fact, I found myself longing for the days of Christopher Priest’s run where the character was always one step ahead of those who sought to bring the kingdom down. Here, it just feels like T’Challa is reacting to outside threats, letting them dictate his actions.
This might have been forgivable if those outside threats were all that interesting. Sadly, Ra and Khonshu come off as little more than superpowered businessmen whose success feels due more towards the dictates of the plot than their own abilities. I’ll admit that it was interesting to see these “Moon Knight” characters reimagined as actual people in “Ultimate Invasion,” but that appears to be the only interesting thing about them here.
As with the other “Ultimate” titles, this one also features strong art. Which isn’t surprising at all as most of it comes from Stefano Caselli. He’s bounced around the Marvel Universe for a while now, illustrating everything from “West Coast Avengers,” to “Marauders,” to “Inferno” and never staying on one title for long. Here, he gives us a majestic Wakanda worthy of its technological superiority, lots of solid action scenes throughout, and his level best to sell the mediocre dramatics presented by the main plot. He’s replaced by Carlos Nieto on the final two issues, and credit where credit is due, this other artist does a solid job maintaining stylistic consistency here.
Future solicitations show that Caselli will be sticking around into “Ultimate Black Panther’s” second year, which I think will be the longest he’s been on any one title in recent memory. That’s good news for this title, even if the writing isn’t on the same level as the art here. This first volume delivers a very tame reinvention of “Black Panther” for the Ultimate Universe, with a story that doesn’t do much with the character and his kingdom. It’s all executed decently enough to keep this from being a bad comic, yet it nonetheless winds up being one that left me wanting a lot more from it after I was done..