T’Challa may be on his way to officially becoming Wakanda’s Batman as a new Black Panther series looms near. Earlier this year, John Ridley and German Peralta’s 2021 Black Panther series came to a close. The series ended with T’Challa being forced into exile from Wakanda to avoid a potential civil war when his secrets are revealed to the nation.
A new Black Panther series from Eve L. Ewing and Chris Allen will focus on where T’Challa’s new journey takes him as he fights crime in the city of Birnin T’Chaka, hailing from rooftop to rooftop. With every new journey comes a new costume for the Black Panther, as Wakanda’s former leader debuts an edgier appearance. In a new announcement and preview from Marvel, featuring cover art from Taurin Clarke, Black Panther can be seen sporting new markings on his mask, shoulder pads, what appears to be some sort of cloak, and Wolverine-esque claws on the knuckles of his gloves. The look seems to be setting the stage for the character’s most Batman-esque run yet. The preview for Black Panther #1 can be seen below.
Black Panther Enters His Batman Arc
Black Panther and Batman have as many similarities as they have differences. Granted, a lot of those similarities are surface level (dark clothing, pointed cowl, billionaires using technology instead of powers, etc.) while the differences are a little more relevant. One of the major distinctions is that for the most part (save for some police cooperation), Batman is a vigilante who lurks through the shadows. Meanwhile, Black Panther is very much a public figure. Everyone knows T’Challa is Black Panther and rather than remain a secret in the darkness, he’s spent years embraced by the masses, especially the citizens of Wakanda until recently.
The dawn of this new Black Panther series could create a more linear similarity between Batman and Black Panther as the latter will be forced into the shadows without Wakanda backing him up anymore. Black Panther will actually become the key definition of vigilante, much like Batman.
Furthermore, it doesn’t seem as though T’Challa will have the support of Wakandan tech either. While Black Panther has been known to sport advanced technology anchored by Wakanda’s best scientists, the weapons on his person on his new outfit seem to be more rudimentary and hand-crafted. Much like Batman, it would appear that T’Challa is left to his own devices to carve out his own path as the Black Panther, and how he adjusts to these changes could be the deciding factor in carving his path back to Wakanda one day.
