BLACK PANTHER: Page 23 of 26

Publication Date: 29th Aug 2020
Written By: Monolith.
Image Work: Douglas Mangum.
Biography

BIOGRAPHY - page 23

All was not well back home in Wakanda, either. After Morlun, Doom, Namor and the Black Order, Wakanda had reached a breaking point in their faith in the monarchy. In the absence of Queen Shuri, T'Challa was technically king by default, and his actions during the Incursion crisis still weighed on many minds. T'Challa still considered himself a fraud ever since his father and other spiritual ancestors turned from him when he refused to destroy the world of the Great Society. Even worse, a sorrow hidden from the rest of Wakanda was that Shuri was not dead. Instead, the Black Order learned how to recreate the stasis of "living death" they were trapped in by Thane, applying the process to Shuri. Encased as a fly in amber, her face permanently twisted in anguish, Queen Shuri rested eternally in the Wakandan Necropolis as T'Challa tried in vain to free her.

T'Challa and Wakanda's many losses meant he was surrounded by unfamiliar faces as his council, such as Akili of the Hatut Zeraze and Hodari of the Wakandan intelligence network. As he tried to make a goodwill appearance at the Great Vibranium Mound, the Black Panther was attacked by his own people, a riot breaking out among the workers targeting the king and his guards. Although T'Challa detected an empath named Zenzi influencing the crowd, he was unable to catch her and the riot became a sign of the times. Zenzi was from neighboring Niganda, a super-being initiated from a program by Killmonger before he died. She worked with Tetu, a nature shaman who believed in revolutionary dialogues about taking Wakanda back from the monarchy and giving it to the people. The country's recent losses and T'Challa's perceived weakness led him to believe this was the time to strike, rallying Wakandans and Nigandans at the Alkama Fields that bordered the region, creating a dissident group called The People.

When Aneka of the Dora Milaje discovered a chieftain abusing woman and young girls under his authority, she murdered him in cold blood rather than bring him to justice. As Aneka was sentenced to die for breaking the law, her lover Ayo stole the Dora Milaje armor of the Midnight Angels and freed her, the two sworn blades becoming rebels to the crown. The Midnight Angels were well regarded among the Dora Milaje, and soon most of the women warriors left service to join them. M'Baku's cruel brother Mandla had assumed control of the Jabari lands after Man-Ape's death, caging and torturing women. The Midnight Angels liberated the Jabari lands and assumed the governing of them, effectively becoming an occupying military force. The Midnight Angels formed tribunals for the Jabari not killed in open battle, began raising elections and writing new laws. And so, Black Panther and Central Wakanda now faced revolution from both the north and the south.

T'Challa tried to empathize with his people, but if there was open rebellion because the throne seemed weak, refusing to address it would only make the throne look even weaker. He confronted Tetu, Zenzi and their followers on more than one occasion, yet failed each time to capture them or disperse their uprising. Queen Mother Ramonda had a hard talk with T'Challa, openly confronting him with the fact that he had always seen the throne as a burden. Although he loved Wakanda, T'Challa had always been a scientist at heart, even a hero, but not the sort of man who wanted to be shackled to a kingdom. Ramonda noted that the rallying cry being used by The People and the Midnight Angels, "No One Man," dated back to the teachings of a philosopher named Changamire from T'Chaka's time. The learned man had once been the royal tutor to the Golden City and the throne, but was ultimately exiled for speaking out against the monarchy. Ramonda considered Changamire a friend and offered to speak to him about this new revolution. T'Challa relied upon his mother's guidance and tried to make himself more visible to his people, attending to their needs personally instead of remotely from the throne room of the Golden City. While T'Challa and Ramonda met with the people of Birnin Zana at the marketplace, however, Tetu sent out a suicide bomber to bring terrorism to the shores of Wakanda. Many innocents were killed in the blast, and Ramonda was gravely wounded despite the efforts of T'Challa to shield her. [Black Panther (6th series) #1-4]

A grieving Black Panther hardened his heart against the revolutionaries after this, and turned towards more drastic methods. He recruited Eden Fesi, Manifold of the Avengers, and linked his soul-stalking power to the teleporter, allowing them to hunt down the suicide bombers' lair. He entertained a meeting with representatives of some of the more severe, totalitarian regimes in the world, who gave him advice on instilling fear in the population to maintain control. T'Challa was disgusted with himself for even taking the meeting afterwards, but the damage was done. Tetu had an edited recording of the meeting leaked to the public, showing Wakandans exactly what their king was willing to do to hold on to his power. [Black Panther (6th series) #5]

T'Challa's opponents began to consolidate around each other. Tetu and Zenzi helped the Midnight Angels repel an attack by the Hatut Zeraze to reclaim the Jabari lands. Meanwhile, T'Challa confirmed the energetic bombing implants used in the marketplace were the work of Tony Stark's old foe Ezekiel Stane, also allied with Tetu. Black Panther convinced Kwabena Ware, one of the recruited bombers, to disavow his actions and help stop the attacks. The Black Panther's soul-stalker power helped him track Ware to the lair of The People. T'Challa was brought before Stane, along with his allies Vanisher and the Fenris Twins, who explained that Teto had put out a contract on the king -- any foreigner who helped eliminate him would get a share of the Wakanda of the future. The Black Panther was one step ahead, however -- he had injected himself with the nano-cameras once used by Doctor Doom to spy on Wakanda. Through this uplink to the Kimoyo net, Black Panther showed his people that Tetu was also dealing with foreigners to the detriment of the Wakandan people. [Black Panther (6th series) #6]

Once the public relations portion of the program was over, Black Panther moved on to disabling the threat. Manifold had summoned Storm, Misty Knight and Luke Cage as a new incarnation of the Crew to support T'Challa in throwing out the foreign invaders. They proved more than capable. As Eden prepared to send the Crew home afterwards, T'Challa spoke to each of them about their value to him. When he stumbled to express himself to Ororo, however, she finished his thought by saying "some things are easier to annul than others." A confession that she would always love him too, or a harsh reminder that their divorce was his unilateral decision? Perhaps both.

Black Panther and Manifold then moved on to the true reason T'Challa had summoned Eden to Wakanda. All of T'Challa's efforts to free Shuri from the living death of Thane's power had proven fruitless. When he stopped treating her problem like a scientist and started focusing as ruler of the Wakandan Necropolis, however, T'Challa found his answers. His new soul-stalker power allowed the Black Panther to perceive Shuri lived on in the Djalia, the spiritual realm of the Orisha gods of Africa. Although he could "see" his sister, T'Challa could not reach her without Eden's teleporting power, one power guiding the other across dimensions. Their efforts proved victorious, and Shuri, daughter of T'Chaka, walked the fields of Wakanda once more. [Black Panther (6th series) #7-8]

While Tetu and Zenzi prepared for war, the Midnight Angels sought to avoid outright conflict without compromising their principles. Aneka and Ayo returned the captured Hatut Zeraze to Birnin Zana unharmed. Shuri had returned from the Djalia as Aja-Adanna, keeper of Wakandan lore, possessing great new powers and the ability to reach out to Aneka in ways T'Challa could not. While Shuri convinced the Midnight Angels to abandon their ties to Tetu, T'Challa reached out to Changamire for a similar conversation. The two men acknowledged that Wakanda and The People had grown beyond their hopes for either group, and needed to be course corrected. As the Black Panther prepared to defend the Golden City from revolutionaries, the founder of that revolution would stand by his side. [Black Panther (6th series) #9-10]

The Golden City and its defenders rose to face the emotionally-controlled army of Tetu and Zenzi. As the People got within range, Changamire made a wide broadcast on the Kimoyo network, denouncing the violence of Tetu's movement and appealing to the revolutionaries to appear for peace talks for the good of all Wakanda. Many were swayed by his words, but those who were not killed the others at Zenzi's direction. When the remaining soldiers breached the walls of the Golden City, T'Challa was there waiting for them. Through the power of the Necropolis, he raised the spirits of the Wakandan dead to fight in defense of their city and their people. Tetu was defeated and as the dead prepared to return to their rest, T'Challa faced T'Chaka for the first time since the Incursion of the Great Society. Father and son made peace, and T'Challa felt worthy of the role of Black Panther again for the first time since he reclaimed the throne. [Black Panther (6th series) #11]