black panther cast

THE BLACK PANTHER

The Black Panther was surrounded by a colorful cast,
In fact, the Panther was, often, the sanest man in the room. Trapped in a world he never made, the King of Wakanda often mystified, confused and angered his friends and foes alike as he brought his mystical, tribal sensibilities to bear on the cynical, crime-infested concrete jungle of Brooklyn, NY. Here are some of the major players:  

THE BLACK PANTHER
King T'Challa of Wakanda, an ancient monarchy secluded somewhere in Africa. T'Challa assumed the throne at about age thirteen when his father, King T'Chaka, was murdered at the hands of Ulysses Klaw. From that day forward, King T'Challa dedicated his life to maintaining the safety and welfare of the Wakandan state, often at the cost of is own personal life and relationships. 

T'Challa has lived his entire life in the shadow of him who is called "The Great King," his father T'Chaka. He views himself as, largely, a caretaker of his father's legacy, an overseer of his father's lands. In rare moments of self-criticism, T'Challa will typically fault himself for not living up to his father's legacy. Like the jungle cat he is named after, T'Challa's modus operandi involves remaining one step ahead of his enemies at all times. He is secretive and at times seemingly aloof, to the chagrin and puzzlement of his friends and others in the super-hero community. While T'Challa is certainly noble to a fault, he is not, specifically, a hero, and his actions are based more on nobility of cause, efficiency of effect, and, ultimately, the good of his father's kingdom, which he has sworn to protect at all costs. T'Challa is, therefore, ultimately a bit unknowable, distant, and mysterious. His relationship to America and America's super-heroes is often strained, always full of tension, as one never knows exactly what the mysterious monarch of Wakanda will do next.

T'Challa was educated at several prestigious universities in the U.S. and Europe, earning advanced degrees in physics (Ph.D.), engineering, economics, political science and psychology. T'Challa is a master of several disciplines of martial arts, including some ninjitsu techniques of hypnosis and mind control.

Although he became king as a matter of right of succession, T'Challa did not assume the more important role of spiritual leader of his people— the role of chieftain of the panther clan— until he had completed his studies abroad. Returning to his homeland, the young king endured the rite of ascension, a torturous ordeal that left him near-death before he finally discovered the life-giving heart-shaped herb on the far side of a distant mountain. The heart-shaped herb, given only to chieftains of the panther clan, endows whomever consumes it with peak human strength, peak human reflexes, and peak human senses such as enhanced hearing, smell, taste, and "night" vision. Assuming the mantel and the ceremonial garb of The Black Panther, King T'Challa unified the culturally fractious nation, growing in stature and maturity.

Curious to test his abilities and technological prowess against the best America had to offer, the young king lured the Fantastic Four to the hidden kingdom of Wakanda, offering a flying car to Reed Richards as a gift. Upon their arrival, the Panther hunted the World's Mightiest Super-Team, besting them one by one, and would have conquered them all had not Wyatt Wingfoot, asleep in the back of the car, intervened. Apologizing for his deception, the Panther then joined forces with the FF to battle the deadly Klaw, finally avenging himself and his father against that deadly scourge.

Following an adventure to thwart the deadly Baron Zemo's plan to activate an orbital death ray platform, a grateful Captain America sponsored the Black Panther for membership in the American super-hero team, The Avengers. Panther accepted, but his true motives— to learn whether or not these American "heroes" were a threat to Wakanda— was not revealed until years later (issue #8). In short order, the Panther satisfied himself that the Avengers' motives were good, and he settled in as an Avenger and an American "super" hero for quite some time, even adopting a "secret" identity as Harlem school teacher Luke Charles.

Panther eventually returned to Wakanda, where he remained, mostly in seclusion, for a number of years. He eventually became engaged to social worker/jazz singer Monica Lynne, and faced many challenges to his rule and his kingdom.

Finally, a scandal at a Wakandan-supported U.S. charity drew the Panther to America once more, thus beginning our current series.      TOP OF PAGE

EVERETT K. ROSS
Everett Kenneth Ross is a Special Attaché for the Office of the Chief of Protocol, U.S. State Department. His job, typically, is to escort foreign diplomats on visits to New York. Ross has an office in the State Department building at 2201 c street nw washington, dc 20520. Ross' modest 1-bedroom apartment is off of Third Avenue in New York.

Ross grew up in a trailer park in the Midwest. Raised by an eccentric single mom, "Kenny" was a nearsighted, pudgy geek who suffered the slings and arrows of adolescence in the most extreme sense of the phrase. Winning several scholarships, including one that landed him at Oxford, "Kenny" eventually became Ross, and vowed never to look back at his humble beginnings again.

A brilliant attorney, Ross is in his best element when he is litigating a case before a judge or plea-bargaining one away with a D.A. Fast-witted, a bright thinker, Ross is truly master of his domain— when he's actually in his domain. Ross was assigned to facilitate a state visit by the Black Panther. That assignment was for four days. That was more than a year ago. Since then, his world has never been the same. TOP OF PAGE

QUEEN DIVINE JUSTICE
Chanté Giovanni Brown, a Chicago native, was recruited into the order of the Dora Milaje after Nakia, one of the original Milaje, betrayed her oath and became the deadly Malice. Queen is descended of the bloodline of the deadly Jabari tribe— the Cult of The White Gorilla— whom the Black Panther had outlawed and scattered throughout his kingdom.

Queen's father, Damola, was the tribal chieftain of the Jabari. He and his family fled Wakanda in fear of tribal extremists looking to ethnically cleanse the kingdom of the Jabari clan— those whose religious beliefs differed from the Panther God. In America, Damola and his wife gave birth to their only child, Ce'Athauna Asira Davin (say-athWANA a-SHEER-ah dah-VEEN). 'Asira Davin' is Wakandan for "God's Peace," or "The Peace of God" ('God' being neutral, not The Panther God, as she is a product of the White Gorilla God and is intended to bring a lasting peace to Wakanda).

Damola, the tribal chieftain, and his wife were both murdered while Queen was an infant. The Black Panther discovered, to his horror, that these people had been killed and this child abandoned (issue #35), and realized his tacit complicity in the crime. He also realized the potential for civil unrest and even civil war within his realm over the welfare and disposition of the Jabari Queen. Therefore, to protect the realm, Panther installed a security detail around Queen, creating an artificial environment of a kindly grandmother, and neighborhood friends and associates, most of whom were actually lethal, highly-trained Wakandan security forces.

When the Dora Milaje called Nakia turned against her king, Panther realized Malice (Nakia's new name)'s potential target could be the Jabari child, and that his forces in place may not be sufficient to protect her. Thus, he ordered the child to be recruited into the order of the Dora Milaje, a religious order of young girls betrothed to the Wakandan king. Making the Jabari Queen his wife-in-training would stabilize a potentially volatile political situation, and, hopefully, ensure a lasting peace in the realm.

Queen has only recently begun to learn the truth about her origins and her role in Wakandan society. The weight of her responsibility to her king and her tribe is, at times, more than she can bear. TOP OF PAGE

MAN-APE
Once a dear friend and ally of the Black Panther, the grim warrior known as M'Baku ruled the kingdom of Wakanda during the Panther's extended absences with The Avengers. However, upon the Panther's return (AVENGERS #62), M'Baku revealed his ruthless nature and his true heritage— a zealot of the Jabari cult, the Cult of the White Gorilla, which Panther had outlawed long before. Adopting the skin of the banned White Gorilla God, an act of heresy, M'Baku re-christened himself Man-Ape and challenged the Panther for the Wakandan throne. Several attempts to unseat the king have failed, but M'Baku will keep trying as long as he lives. His most recent attempt to topple the king involved restoring the Jabari queen— Queen Divine Justice— to her people (issue #34-35).  TOP OF PAGE

THE DORA MILAJE
"The Adored Ones." Pronounced dora-meh-LAH-shay, these young girls are the king's concomitants (or "wives in training"). The order of the Dora Milaje was established to promote harmony between Wakanda's many rival tribal factions. The Milaje are typically recruited in early puberty and become members of the king's household until the king either marries or releases them. They also perform the role of the king's deadliest bodyguards and most faithful, most trusted servants. Although the order entitles the king to complete rights to his concomitants, T'Challa has always viewed the order as largely ceremonial, and has made no demands of them. Okoye of the J'Kuwali tribe (pictured) acts as a traditional, proper concomitant to the king, speaking only to the king and only in Hausa, an African dialect not widely spoken in Wakanda and thus affording the king and his wives a measure of privacy. Queen Divine Justice (above) currently serves as the Panther's other Dora Milaje, but she has yet to fully embrace her role as quiet, retiring servant. TOP OF PAGE

MALICE
The Dora Milaje known as Nakia fled the king's mansion (issue #13) when the king expelled her from the order of the Dora Milaje. To be expelled from the order is a great shame, and the rejected woman is shunned by her tribe and by all of Wakanda, a cursed woman who will never marry and never have children. Nakia was expelled for attempting to kill Monica Lynne (below) in a jealous rage over the king (issue #12). 

A descendant of the gentle fisherman of Q'Noma Valley, Nakia was prepared for the order of the Dora Milaje, as many girls are, from a very early age. She spent years training and preparing herself (issue #6) before being presented to the king at around age 14. Nakia and Okoye grew up in the king's palace, enjoying a childhood most native tribalists could only dream of. As Nakia entered puberty, she became increasingly obsessed with King T'Challa, fantasizing openly about marrying him, and even throwing herself fifty feet into a shallow pool to get her king— her love's— attention (T'Challa administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, to the young teen's delight). In other words, Nakia was likely emotionally disturbed from the day her childhood was interrupted and her life focused on a single purpose and a single man— The Black Panther.

Her dismissal from the order of the Dora Milaje, from her slim hope of ever marrying T'Challa, was more than she could stand. Her mind snapped, and she fled the mansion in a blinding rainstorm, eventually crashing her sky sled near an old monastery that, unbeknownst to her, had been recently taken over by Achebe— the Panther's deadly enemy.

Achebe brutally tortured Nakia and left her to die, hung upside down from a tree, when Erik N'Jadaka Killmonger, recently resurrected from the dead, found her. Using his arcane methods and the eerie energies from the Altar of Resurrection (issue #20), Killmonger restored Nakia to health, while mutating her somewhat into a being of increased strength and flawless accuracy. Killmonger re-christened Nakia (who no longer wanted that name, anyway) to MALICE, after Killmonger's former protégé, and armed her with an arsenal of weapons, both high-tech and tribal. Her primary weapon is a toxic herb called Jufeiro, which makes men become as obsessive about her as she is about Panther.

Malice's obsessive love for the Black Panther is her single motivation. As a former Dora Milaje, she knows all of the security protocols, all the safe houses, all the resources at the Panther's disposal. She knows how he thinks. She knows how to get to him. She is ruthless in planning, deadly in combat. She has absolutely no regard for human life other than Panther himself. 

Malice speaks only to the Black Panther, and only in Hausa. To most observers she seems almost catatonic. She is emotionless and disconnected from the world around her. Her only focus, her only reason for breathing, is to win her master's love, and she will never give up trying. TOP OF PAGE

MONICA LYNNE
T'Challa's former fiancée, Monica Lynne is a struggling jazz singer and former social worker whose on again-off again romance with the king constantly complicates her life. For reasons unrevealed, T'Challa abruptly broke off their engagement, sending Monica back to New York brokenhearted. She calls herself, "the Hockey Puck," and complains incessantly about being drawn, again and again, into the Panther's world. The truth is, Monica thrives on these adventures, because it keeps her close to the man she truly loves and who truly loves her. Monica is endlessly resourceful, and knows Panther better than anyone else alive. TOP OF PAGE

VIBRAXAS
The self-titled "Master Of Vibration," young N'Kano was the son of Wakandan aristocrats. His godfather ("Akafe" in Wakandan) was the head of the prestigious Vibrasurge Group, a project designed to advance the uses and productivity of Vibranium— an exotic metal that is the chief natural resource and industrial export of Wakanda. A deadly accident left N'Kano orphaned and endowed with vibrational powers he cannot completely control. The Black Panther presented the youth to his friends, The Fantastic Four, hoping they could help the lad control his powers, but the FF vanished over to Image Comics, so N'Kano became allied with the bizarrely mutated Franklin Richards and his group, The Fantastic Force. 

At some point during their alliance, King T'Challa withdrew his financial support of Franklin's group. N'Kano, a kid with a fiery temper, lashed out at his king, disavowing T'Challa and Wakanda. Upon the FF's disbanding, N'Kano wandered America for a time, until events in CAPTAIN AMERICA #14 created a global-sized standing wave that came to be thought of as a Vibranium cancer. This sound wave sought out and destroyed all the Vibranium it touched, and it completely destabilized N'Kano's powers. Fearing he might kill himself and a great many innocents, N'Kano turned to the FF for help, but Reed insisted the best expert who could help N'Kano would be the Black Panther— the king he'd disavowed.

N'Kano returned to Wakanda to seek the Panther's help, only to be shot down by the White Wolf (see below) and used to resurrect the deadly Klaw (issue #26). N'Kano subsequently lost his voice for a time, and ended up meeting Queen Divine Justice, who was naked at the time (#27). The two eventually formed a friendship, and then a romantic entanglement, which was derailed when N'Kano discovered Queen is a novice in the order of the Dora Milaje (see above). Contact with such persons is strictly forbidden, and N'Kano could not only bring great shame on himself and his tribe, but a romantic affair with the Queen of the Jabari cult could de-stabilize the entire realm, and plunge Wakanda into civil war.  TOP OF PAGE

ZURI
Formerly a close friend to King T'Chaka, the Black Panther's father, Zuri is a trusted aid and member of the king's inner circle. Think of him as a kind of tribal Uncle Fester who keeps backing over your skateboard with his station wagon. Zuri typically carries the spear of Bashenga with him at all times. The spear is a symbol of the Panther's tribal authority, and belongs in the possession of the chieftain of the Panther Clan. TOP OF PAGE

W'KABI
The King's right-hand man, W'Kabi serves as regent in the king's absence. He is the king's chief of security and commands the king's armed forces. W'Kabi is a fierce loyalist and is suspicious of and hostile to most outsiders. He once had Monica Lynne arrested on a murder charge, which was later proved to be false. He does not like Monica or Ross, both of whom he suspects have ulterior motives toward the king. W'Kabi has a bionic arm, is a skilled warrior, and is almost relentlessly grim. W'Kabi's son, Kono, is the chief priest of Tranquility Temple.  TOP OF PAGE

TAKU
The king's Minister of Information, you can usually find Taku down in the foreboding labyrinth of tunnels beneath the Wakandan Central City known as the Techno-Jungle. Taku is a man of great intellect and great restraint, Mr. Spock to W'Kabi's Dr. McCoy. He typically communicates to the king via the king's Kimoyo Card (a device similar to the Avengers' communicards). From his command center in the techno jungle, Taku can carry out virtually any wish the king may have, up to and including launching first strikes against hostile forces.  TOP OF PAGE

SGT. TORK
A narcotics officer for the New York City Police Department, Sgt. Tork ran into the Panther outside of a Brooklyn Chinese take-out restaurant, and has since forged a warm friendship with him (whom Tork refers to as, "Your Royal Whiskas" and so forth). Tork is a salty, hardened New Yorker who carries a sawed-off shotgun wherever he goes. He lived in Brooklyn but works in Harlem, where he is close friends with The Falcon. TOP OF PAGE

KILLMONGER
One of the Panther's fiercest foes, N'Jadaka's father was killed by Klaw and N'Jadaka was placed into forced labor for the villain. N'Jadaka was later taken from Wakanda when Klaw fled after his latest scheme failed. He ended up in Harlem, New York, where he nursed a great hatred of both Klaw and the Wakandan king. N'Jadaka changed his name to Erik Killmonger, and dedicated his life to avenging his father's death. He eventually was able to contact Panther and Panther repatriated Killmonger to Wakanda, where Killmonger later settled in a village that would later change its name to N'Jadaka village in honor of him. Killmonger became a kind of reactionary leader, dedicating his time to the overthrow of T'Challa's government. His latest scheme partially succeeded, gaining him chieftain status of the Panther clan, but Killmonger's mutated body had a severe reaction to the heart-shaped herb all chieftains must eat as part of the ascension rite. Killmonger is now legally dead, but remains on a life support machine while Wakandan scientists search for a cure.  TOP OF PAGE

ACHEBE
His true name is not known. Rumor has it he was once a humble farmer who lost his mind when his wife betrayed him to rebel factions and left him for dead. In his death throes, he sold his soul to Mephisto, who was looking for a way to acquire the most pure soul he'd yet encountered— that of King T'Challa. In return for the farmer's assistance, Mephisto granted him wealth and resources and helped him avenge himself on his ex-wife. The farmer changed his name to the Reverend Dr. Michael Ibn al-hajj Achebe. He became a contract agent for the CIA and joined in the conspiracy that overthrew the Black Panther's government in issue #2. Achebe has since been defeated by the Panther, but remains at large.  TOP OF PAGE

THE WHITE WOLF
Hunter was orphaned in a plane crash in the Wakandan plains. He was adopted by the king and spent many happy years as T'Chaka and N'Yami's son. His place as favored son was usurped by T'Challa's birth, and Hunter found himself shunted to the sidelines as T'Chaka delighted solely in his true heir. Before his death, T'Chaka named Hunter as chieftain of the tribe known as the Hatut Zeraze ("Dogs of War"), the rough equivalent of the Wakandan secret police. Upon ascending the throne, T'Challa dissolved the Zeraze, objecting to their brutal methods. Hunter went into exile, he and his men working as freelance operatives. Hunter seized the moment of the CIA's coup d'etat to reemerge and attempt to regain his status in Wakanda. After a confrontation with Panther (issue #12), Hunter submitted to the king's orders and was imprisoned for a time, until Ross, acting as the king's regent, commuted his sentence. Presently, The White Wolf remains at large. TOP OF PAGE

THE HATUT ZERAZE
"The Dogs of War," this tribe is an elite group of warriors dedicated solely to the protection of the king and country. They at as secret police, using whatever methods— regardless of how brutal— to safeguard the nation. They have personal cloaking devices that enable them to literally vanish, and they are among the realm's deadliest warriors. TOP OF PAGE

NIKKI ADAMS
A section chief at the Office of the Chief of Protocol, U.S. Department of State, Nikki was both Ross' boss and Ross' lover. Ross' often convoluted reports to her formed the narrative flow of BLACK PANTHER, and her no-nonsense, impatient handling of Ross and his adventures created a warm, romantic tension between them. Nikki was, however, also a college classmate of T'Challa's, and they dated briefly; a relationship Nikki never completely got over. When she learned she would have to escort the king on his state visit, she handed the assignment off to Ross (who did not know of their prior relationship). When Ross discovered, months later, that Nikki and the king had once been intimate, he felt betrayed by both, and his devastation eventually set in motion events which culminated with Nikki's death in issue #24. TOP OF PAGE

HENRY PETER GYRICH
Nikki Adams' replacement at the Office of the Chief of Protocol, U.S. Department of State, is the infamous Henry Peter Gyrich. Gyrich, former National Security Agency liaison to the Avengers and notorious anti-mutant activist, was demoted from the NSA in response to his bungling of the Omega-32 project in THUNDERBOLTS #50.  TOP OF PAGE

RAMONDA
Last name unknown, a native of South Africa. Ramonda married the widowed King T'Chaka some years after the Black Panther's mother, N'Yami, died at childbirth. When Panther was about eight years old, Ramonda was kidnapped by a South African industrialist named Anton Pretorius. She was held captive in Pretorius' Johannesburg mansion for years before finally being liberated by the Black Panther (see issue #12). Ramonda is the only mother the Black Panther has ever known. She is his trusted advisor and often his conscience. TOP OF PAGE

M'KONI
Mary Wheeler is the Panther's cousin. She and her husband, Wheeler, lived in Brooklyn, New York, with their son until Wheeler's death at the hands of Malice (issue #31). Wheeler was a pilot in the famed Wakandan Air Guard, and worked as an aviation consultant here in the states. Wheeler was given to drinking and gambling problems, and was not always faithful to his wife. Panther disliked Wheeler intensely for how he treated Panther's cousin, but made every effort to help Wheeler with his problems. Mary's son is the only known male in line of succession to the Wakandan throne. TOP OF PAGE

OMORO
The Black Panther's trusted butler and chief of security at the Wakandan Consulate in New York. Omoro is like a father to Panther, a wise elder counselor. A salty, snarky old coot, Omoro is a kind of African Jonathan Gielgud, his wry, sardonic sense of humor coming to the fore quite often. Omoro is the only servant Panther allows to speak to him in so frank a manner. Omoro frequently impersonates the Panther (issue #31) when Panther needs to be in two places at once. Despite his advanced age, Omoro is an expert martial artist and a highly trained assassin. His chief allies are the two hulking warriors Ogun and Kunta, massive men in high-tech armor whom the Panther rarely calls upon, as they represent the last line of defense for the king.. TOP OF PAGE

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