SARA'S DESIGN DOMAIN

​

 

What is a superhero? A superhero, in the traditional sense, is someone who protects innocent people and helps fight crimes by using their superpowers to serve a greater purpose in life. Before the creation of this specific character, superheroes in the DC Comics and Marvel have always been stereotypically depicted as a white male. Introducing the Black Panther, an African superhero who is assured, regal, and radiating a near subzero-temperature sense of cool. This is the first non-white character that changed the course of comic book superheroes to a more inclusive one.

 

When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created Black Panther in 1966, it was during their epic run on the Fantastic Four #52 (1966). Black Panther, also known as T’challa, is the current king of a technologically-advanced fictional East African country, Wakanda. In the Marvel lore, Wakanda is described as an isolationist African nation that is home to the world’s rarest and most valuable metal, vibranium. According to the comic, 10,000 years ago a great meteorite landed in the territory which contained the durable metal thus making Wakanda the most sought-after land. Other than that, Black Panther is the honorary title passed down from the original King of Wakanda, to his successors, if they can pass the trials and manage to prove that they are worthy of the responsibility. In regards to the comic Black Panther: Who Is the Black Panther? (2005) , The previous King of Wakanda, T’Chaka, who is also T’Challa’s father, was murdered by a man called Ulysses Klaw as part of a plot to seize Wakanda’s vibranium. After the death of his father, T’Challa resumed the role of Black Panther that was given to him by birth right after many years of training.

 

Black Panther, as the name suggests, represents the black nationalist dream and African decolonisation from the perspective of US liberalism. It is important to note that he is the only nationalist hero tied to a fictional nation compared to other nationalist heroes such as Captain America, Captain Britain, Captain Cannock, or even Sabra (an Israelis nationalist hero). T’Challa is also the only figure that doubles as the head of state. While there was a time where Captain America and him debated running for president (Captain America #250), in which he decided not to as he feels that by being president it would make it harder for him to fight for the ideals of the American state. T’Challa isn’t just a superhero in the physical sense, he is also one of the smartest people in the world, ruling the most advanced civilization in the planet. In addition to this, T’Challa also possesses Olympic-level strength, speed, agility, stamina and reflexes, and superhuman senses — much like the black panther itself. Everything about the black panther has been geared toward a heightened awareness of their surroundings, with the capability of apprehending the smallest of movement and sharp eyes that penetrates through the dark blanket of the night, it is no wonder that the creators of this character chose the specific animal for the character’s name.

 

Though many may assume otherwise, the Black Panther is an important cultural artefact as he represents a strong, intelligent, and infinitely resourceful superhero that was equal of other previous superheroes before him to the young, college-age black comic book readers. The Afro-punk visual, the unapologetic black swagger, the miniscule appearances from non-black characters – it's an important retuning of a standard of what's achievable around creating a mythology for a black superhero. Furthermore, the fictional existence of such a technologically-advanced African nation which is also very preserving of its culture has given a deeper insight to what Africa is all about. From the moment that Marvel announced that they are going to be adapting Black Panther, the trailers that they have released shows how rich the African culture in Wakanda is. This is made obvious by the African language that they use on-screen to communicate with each other which is isiXhosa, a melodic South African language known for its distinctive clicks. Other than that, the incorporation of traditional lip plates in some of the characters relates back to some of the African tribes namely the Mursi and Surma (Suri) women of Ethopia. These lip plates are usually made from clay or wood and come in a circular shape.

 

Before Black Panther #3 (2016), his suit was purely based off regular spandex symbolising the Black Panther tribe of Wakanda. In Captain America: Civil War, The upcoming standalone movie adaptation of the comics has given the iconic black leotard donned by T’Challa a huge upgrade. As if the king’s suit wasn’t powerful enough, Shuri, his sister and the leader of the Wakandan Design Group, gave the suit an upgrade by incorporating technology into it and changing the overall look of the suit. The suit, named the Panther Habits in the comics, is lighter, able to reflect bullets and absorbs energy for redistribution. Though depicted to be very powerful and ‘indestructible’, a slash along the grain of the suit can still tear it. In the Marvel cinematic universe, the Panther suit was equipped with razor-sharp claws that were strong and sharp enough to leave a slash on Captain America’s shield. Meanwhile in the Marvel comic universe, the Panther Habit’s claws were reportedly main out of vibranium. The Black Panther also has energy fuelled daggers with hilts made from ivory or stone. The blades may appear as a knife, scythe, spear or other weapons. Not only are they used for stabbing motions, they can also be launched from a far range as dart-like projectiles.

 

Regarding the art style surrounding the Black Panther comic books, it leans more towards the surrealism style as it depicts a completely made up iron ore which is called vibranium that supposedly is indestructible and malleable. The said metal is capable of storing energy in its bonds and releasing it as needed. In reality, the vibranium metal is said to be a combination of titanium and NiTi (nickel-titanium) shape memory alloys. Titanium is lightweight, durable and strong drawing a close knit relation to the vibranium metal. While the chemical element is not rare, it is difficult to extract and process thus, making it expensive and only suited for high end applications, such as aircraft components and armour panels. Meanwhile, NiTi shape memory alloys are able to store mechanical energy that works through a phase transformation and released with thermal input. On top of that, the adaptation of Black Panther is also considered a science-fiction movie because of the existence of the technology and vibranium weaved suit which gives it a multitude of abilities. There is also a high possibility that the vibranium metal mutated with an herb that is only native to Wakanda, the Heart-Shaped herb. According to Coogler, the Heart-Shaped herb is what the Black Panthers over the generations consume, giving them their physical edge. ­

 

The name Black Panther has not always been a constant variable. When the Black Panther Party or the BPP was founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in October 1966, people started confusing the two and counting them as one and the same. Marvel decided to change the comic character’s name to Black Leopard for a brief period of time to rectify the political notion. In Fantastic Four #199, Black Panther was reintroduced to the public as ‘Black Leopard’. Since it was such a stark change, even the characters in the particular comic questioned him about it. In response, Black Panther had given a statement saying that while he didn’t hate the political group and what it was doing, he could not afford to be conflated with them, since the Black Panther “is a law onto himself.” Before the founding of the Black Panther Party, the superhero character had an entirely different identity. Jack Kirby, who co-created the character with Stan Lee, had originally named the character ‘The Coal Tiger’. When writer Don McGregor wrote the Black Panther’s first solo run called Jungle Action, the storyline had the hero fighting against the Ku Klux Klan which met with disinterest and the rise of certain parties against it. Then, it was abandoned halfway through with no resolution before handed back to Kirby for a new series simply called Black Panther, but lacked the political nuance it had before.

 

To summarise, the creation of Black Panther has truly made history by challenging the stereotype and opening doors for new changes. As Johnson (2017) points out, the time is pivotal for these characters and stories to come out not by permission or obligation, but necessity. This suggests that feelings of empowerment will soon be present in the hearts and minds of children and adults alike.