Ultimate Black Panther vol. 3: Darkness and Light
T’Challa delivered a pretty decisive victory over Khonshu and Ra at the end of the previous volume. Almost decisive enough to take them off the board for good, had it not been for the last-minute intervention of Inan, the Sorcerer Supreme. As thanks to Killmonger for saving her life, she tells T’Challa about the nature of the threat plaguing Wakanda and it’s worse than he feared: The source is in the Vibranium, the miracle metal that the kingdom is founded on. Not only does it have a will of its own, but it has been playing the long game in order to manifest its will upon the world. Now it’s up to the Black Panther and his allies to thwart this plan, even though its reach is much closer than they know.
Three volumes in and the upward trend in quality with this series continues. This is down to the fact that it’s clear writer Bryan Hill has a plan and direction for the story he’s telling and is methodical about carrying it out. We get some key developments regarding Vibranium’s plan for Wakanda as well as a glimpse at its endgame, even as alliances start to shift between the humans on the board. Hill also throws in some solid action scenes that are well executed by returning artists Stefano Caselli and Carlos Nieto and the result is that “Ultimate Black Panther” is easily the second-best “Ultimate” title going right now.
Yet it’s still easy to see the ways in which it could be better. Even though Hill clearly has a plan, there hasn’t been a lot of satisfying payoff yet or big surprises – no “Mysterio” level surprises here. The heel turn that comes in this volume would’ve been more shocking if they hadn’t been portrayed as hugely suspicious from the start. Also, those shifting alliances? Probably would’ve been more engaging if Hill wrote them with more passion, or even personality than he does here. I still want to see how everything’s going to come together in the end, even if I get the feeling that it’s not going to be as satisfying as it could be.