Ultimate Black Panther #2 Review

We’re now 3 months into the Ultimate Universe with the first 3 ongoing series each firing on all cylinders with exceptionally unique hooks and creative teams attached, and something I’ve noticed is that it truly does feel like there’s something for everyone here. I have to say at first, while I thought all three series were spectacular, the hype was definitely surrounding Ultimate X-Men and Ultimate Spider-Man, which is fair! There is a lot behind those two series as to why they may be more exciting, Peach Momoko is doing her first ongoing series at Marvel, and her book feels the most unique with her art style and storytelling, meanwhile Hickman writing Spider-Man is something everyone has wanted for a very long time. However, I definitely have gravitated so much more towards Ultimate Black Panther as I am a huge fan of the character and creative team. I feel like the hook of Black Panther set against a narrative and world structured similar to Dune is very interesting and it’s highlighted even more in this issue, so let’s get into Ultimate Black Panther #2.

The war drums have sounded and Wakanda has officially been at war with Ra and Khonshu for a month. T’Challa is torn as he doesn’t quite know what the best course of action is. He tries to weed out the Wakandan traitor who got his father killed during a speech in issue #1. T’Challa seeks counsel with the Vodu Khan again and it is revealed there is a woman of light who will come to him and bear him an heir, but it’s not Queen Okoye. We then see Ra and Khonshu speaking to a hologram of the traitor who ensures them that they are both on the same team and want to make Wakanda fall, however Ra and Khonshu don’t trust them. Then the issue ends with T’Challa following up on a lead for where Ra and Khonshu may be, he’s ambushed by their forces until lightning strikes down and we finally see Storm as T’Challa says “…woman…woman made…of light…”

This issue and series is just chock full of exciting moments and turns, and it comes at the perfect time as it has a ton of inspiration from Dune. With Part Two of the movie being out, it feels like this series has just come at the perfect time. T’Challa is having dreams of the future, the Vodu Khan and Imala represent the Bene Gesserit and Reverend Mother, there’s a prophesied child of destiny, there’s a traitor who gets the protagonist’s father killed and it’s assumed the traitor is close to the family, and so much more. Bryan Edward Hill and Stefano Caselli are bringing such an interesting flavor to the Black Panther world, and it’s amazing because it doesn’t have to work to fit this stuff into continuity or rework things to make it work. These are all concepts that are fairly new to the character and world of Black Panther, and being that it’s in a new universe makes the series feel even more fresh. I said it in my last review, but I truly believe this is what the character has needed for some time now. The last two major runs on Black Panther introduced either a main character that was central to the narrative or a big concept. Both were great additions and I’d love to spend more time with them, but it continues this theme of Black Panther not necessarily having a series that anyone can just jump into and understand the core of the character and their world, especially one that is groundbreaking and exceptional; the last one was about 20+ years ago. The character and title of Black Panther has seen numerous innovations but very, VERY few expansions of the world we already know except for Eve Ewing’s Black Panther which finally showed the slums of Wakanda. However, unfortunately, that series ends after only 10 issues.

The main core cast in this series is relatively the same as the main Black Panther, but what’s done with them so far seems to be interesting. T’Challa is having dreams of the future and it’s making him restless about how he should approach being King. This is something very new and I’m shocked no one has really done this before, especially with the use of the Ancestral Plane in the main universe. I feel like that could’ve been a very nice addition to add even more tension and drama to the story like this one does. This series perfectly showcases how noble of a figure T’Challa is without making him feel too perfect. He’s incredibly fallible and after thrusting his nation into war, he is fearful and angry, his father just died and he’s almost spiraling to figure out how to protect his nation. 

Okoye is Queen after being the General of the Dora Milaje, and we see even more now how much the people don’t really accept her, yet she still tries her best to console T’Challa and keep him on the right path. There is some speculation that Okoye may be the spy, it’s very possible with how disconnected she is and feels from the nation and the people, but with the inspirations from Dune being so prevalent she feels so much like T’Challa’s Chani or maybe even his Irulan. I hope she’s not the traitor, but if she is it will definitely be a nice twist and make a good amount of sense. Even though we haven’t properly met her yet, my first pick for the traitor is Nakia as she’s pretty normally the spy of Wakanda, but we shall see as that plot line unfolds. 

Then we have Storm and Killmonger who have so far played very minimal roles within the narrative, but have a strong presence within the country as freedom fighters. The solicitation for issue #3 reveals they will be taking a much bigger role, so I am most excited for that. Killmonger and Storm being freedom fighters is a genius idea, I feel like that role within Wakanda is something that has strangely been missing historically and I cannot wait to see how that clashes with T’Challa in this universe, just a lot of rich potential within this world and so far it’s been living up to it for me.

Once again, I have to sing the praises of Stefano Caselli and David Curiel because damn is this book just gorgeous. This issue officially sold me on the Black Panther suit here, especially the mask. The open-mouth piece is genius now that I see the mask has more of a panther’s facial structure than previous Black Panther masks have, amazing design choice there. Okoye has the now infamous loc style that has seemingly plagued the media, especially in video games, with almost every black character having this style from Insomniac’s Miles Morales to even Eddy in Tekken 8, however, it works incredibly well for her and she looks beautiful with this style. I think the fact that it’s a lot longer and actually covers part of her face in certain panels helps, along with how I genuinely think this may just be a style better suited for women as I very rarely ever see a black man with locs in that style. It also helps even more that Okoye isn’t the only person with locs, Shuri has them too and in a very different style that looks equally as good and I love the clips added in as a nice accent that also matches her outfit. I hope we get to see more characters with locs, I know Storm has them I think, but it’s hard to tell because of how much of her we haven’t seen yet. Overall, this is a consistently beautiful book and I am praying Caselli and Curiel can stay on the title for a long time.

All in all, Hill, Caselli, and Curiel are bringing their A-game to this book and they’re producing a sci-fi Black Panther comic that I think perfectly fits in with the character while not taking the genre too far, making it still feel like a very accessible series that anyone can jump on and read if they want to know more about the character. It may not be set in the main universe, but so much of this series feels familiar enough that the new elements and concepts won’t deter anyone, at least I don’t think so. I truly believe by the end of this series, it will be THE beginner Black Panther series, next to Christopher Priest’s.