Black Panther

Black Panther is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). Born T'Challa, son of the previous Black Panther T'Chaka, he is the king and protector of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, a technologically advanced society sustained by deposits of the fictional metal vibranium. Along with enhanced abilities achieved through the Wakandan ritual of drinking the essence of the heart-shaped herb, T'Challa relies on his proficiency in science, expertise in his nation's traditions, rigorous physical training, hand-to-hand combat skills, and access to wealth and advanced Wakandan technology to combat his enemies. The character became a member of the Avengers in 1968, and has continued that affiliation off and on in subsequent decades.

The storylines of the 1970s written by Don McGregor were critically acclaimed and introduced T'Challa's nemesis Erik Killmonger. These stories also engage with significant social issues of the time, such as the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the U.S. state of Georgia. A subsequent story addressed the issue of apartheid in South Africa. In the late 1990s, Christopher Priest re-invented the character and emphasized the importance of Wakanda as an independent and technologically advanced African nation. Priest also introduced the Dora Milaje, Black Panther's female bodyguards. In subsequent series written by Reginald Hudlin, T'Challa married Storm of the X-Men. Hudlin's stories emphasize Black cultural pride and achieved greater commercial success. In Hudlin's era, the role of Black Panther and leadership of Wakanda was also temporarily given to T'Challa's sister Shuri while he was briefly in a coma. While T'Challa and Storm's marriage was annulled in a subsequent storyline, their relationship has continued in other narratives. The Black Panther comics became particularly commercially successful in 2016, partly as a result of the literary fame of their writer, the journalist and essayist Ta-Nehisi Coates. The first issue of his series was the best-selling comic book of that month. Coates's series call into question the legitimacy of monarchy in Wakanda and articulate a more democratic vision.