Black Panther is one of the most well-known heroes in the Marvel universe. His superhero charm and abilities quickly made him rise amongst the ranks of the Avengers and soon enough he was a fan favorite. Not only was Black Panther a great hero in his own right but because he was the first black character in the series, he also served as a positive representation to many.
For the same reasons, Black Panther comics have seen one of the most successful run-times, however, there are some truly terrific underrated comics out there that only the biggest Black Panther fans would know of.
10 The Client – Where Black Panther Finds The Killer Of Jamie
The story opens with the introduction of a scandal: The Tomorrowland Fund (a housing initiative by Wakandans) has been accused of money laundering and fraud. This adds to the stress of T’Challa who was already struggling to convince the various tribes that live in Wakanda to accept the refugees. Jamie Robbins, the poster child of the housing initiative has been killed and T’Challa, who is deeply bothered by this, wishes to find the killer. He travels to the US to investigate further. Through a series of events, he convinces Manuel Ramos (with the help of an energy dagger) to find the killer of Jamie.
9 Who Is The Black Panther? – A Brief Look On Black Panther’s Character
Reginald Hudlin and John Romita Jr came together to work on this particular book of Black Panther, and this was mainly done to delight both movie-going fans as well as comic-book enthusiasts. When the Black Panther movie released, many people took to this book to give themselves a crash course on Black Panther and to familiarize themselves with the premise of the character. Not only does this particular comic help you understand the aforementioned points but because this book is politically charged, you also understand the morals and beliefs of Black Panther.
8 The Panther vs The Klan – An Action-Led Drama
The edition of this comic introduced Erik Killmonger to the series and established him as a villain. As the story goes, Black Panther is with Monica Lynne (his girlfriend) who is attacked by the members of the racist Klan. On his trip to find her, he hunts down the Klan and finds them at the Devouring Swamp, where a fight ensues.
Although the book does leave the readers with a bit of a cliff-hanger, it is filled with suspense and action-led drama. The Panther vs The Klan also features the appearances of characters like Wind Eagle and Kevin Trublood.
7 King Solomon’s Frog – And The Introduction of Hatch 22
Originating from the Wakandan kingdom, the Solomon frogs are mystical artifacts with time-shifting abilities. Princess Zanda, the ruler of Narobia seeks out to steal the frog from Mr. Little (a collector) and tries to ambush Black Panther (who helped Mr. Little find the frog). A fight ensues between Black Panther and Princess Zanda, which leads the frog to activate its powers and bring a futuristic human named Hatch 22 (which in no way resembles the modern-day human) to life. Hatch 22, when unconscious, allows Black Panther to learn his origin story.
6 Once You Slay The Dragon – The Comic That Comes With A Letter Page
Black Panther, with his trusted confidants, W’Kabi and Taku, leads his army for a sneak attack on N’Jadaka (Killmonger’s village). The reason for this is stated to be the recent raid that Killmonger had done on Wakanda and stolen their weapons and technologies.
Black Panther, hurt by Baron Macabre and King Cadaver, who helped Killmonger successfully raid the nation, is now wary of his network. This issue also has a letter page titled “Jungle Re-Actions” which has letters from Ralph Macchio, Orisis, Bannonw, and Jack. L.
5 Rise Of The Black Panther #5 – It Has Everything You Need For A Good Story
This comic book was recently released in 2018 and it focuses on Project Koukou and the people behind it. T’Challa seeks out to find Ororo Munroe from X-Men who T’Challa had befriended years back when he was on the quest to become king. However, now that he king and a young one at that enemy forces come to rise to fight the Black Panther and conquer over Wakanda, one of the most technologically advanced lands on earth. The comic book has everything that is needed to make a good story–a dramatic tale, the rise of a king, and an old romance.
4 Black Panther #24 – The Comic Features One Of The Biggest Fights In The Black Panther Comics
Black Panther #24 is one of the most gripping stories from “The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.” T’Challa calls upon the help of X-Men character Prodigy (who is described to be like Professor X) to help him fight Killmonger (now known as Emperor N’Jadaka) who T’Challa accidentally bought to power.
Due to the collaboration of powers from different universes, the Black Panther #24 comic book sees one of the biggest fights in battle history. For the kind of content that it brings, this gem is criminally underrated.
3 Black Panther Vol 8 #1 – Will The Identity Of Black Panther Be Revealed?
One of the recent releases that was published this very year, Black Panther Vol 8 #1 is one of the few Black Panther comic books where T’Challa is truly worried about the possibility of his identity being revealed for everyone to see. Parts of his past come back to haunt T’Challa and in the midst of this, he receives critical information from a secret agent back home in Wakanda. Black Panther works against time to save the secret agent from being killed whilst also protecting his identity from the world.
2 Secret Invasion – A Nation That Stays Unconquered
Written by Jason Aaron, Secret Agents is one of the most wonderfully crafted stories in the Black Panther universe. Wakanda has always been known as a place with one of the most powerful armies in the world with the most sophisticated defense systems known to man. However, when the Skrulls get to know of this, they are interested to find out what is it that makes Wakandans so powerful but when they come to attack Wakanda, they find out the hard way why Wakanda is a land that has never been conquered.
1 Fantastic Four #52 – We Need To Speak Of This More
This may not technically count as a Black Panther comic book but Fantastic Four #52 is the first comic where Black Panther is introduced in the series. Due to the fact that this issue was launched just two years after public segregation in America came to end, this makes the entry of Black Panther as the first-ever black character utterly powerful. Irrespective of the storyline, the introduction of Black Panther to the Marvel universe is what makes this comic book one of the best pieces of literature out there.
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