Warning: contains spoilers for Avengers #55!

Marvel's Black Panther is a popular hero, but he's also a truly inspiring character - and he proves it with just one line. The King of Wakanda leads an entire nation and as such can be difficult to see as one who empathizes with the ordinary people of the Marvel Universe. Yet the character possesses great powers of compassion, and they can be seen in Avengers #55 in a conversation with the least-likely Avenger of them all: Marvel's Batman.

Roughly one year ago, Marvel's Heroes Reborn event turned the Earth of the Marvel Universe into a Mephisto-worshipping society. Tony Stark, Carol Danvers and the other heroes of the 616 universe never united as the Avengers; instead, the Squadron Supreme (Marvel's pastiche of DC's Justice League) now defend the planet. Blade manages to bring the Avengers together and the entire plot was revealed to be a pact between Mephisto and Agent Coulson (in this universe, the President of the United States). Most of the Squadron Supreme lost their memories and fled to parts elsewhere...except Kyle Richmond, otherwise known as Nighthawk.

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Nighthawk has since discovered that he isn't a "real" human at all; he was grown in a laboratory as part of the experiment that created the world of Heroes Reborn. As Marvel's version of Batman, Nighthawk is a supremely gifted detective and since figuring out the deception, feels without purpose. He evades Black Panther's attempt to team up, but T'Challa gives him all the information pertaining to Mephisto's activities anyway while saying "Remember that it doesn't matter if we were born in Heaven or grown in hell...no God or devil gets to decide if we're worth being called a man or not."

Like other rich superheroes before him, such as Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne, T'Challa grew up as an incredibly privileged individual. The son of King, he could have easily become a haughty, stuck-up heir to the throne who couldn't care less about anyone without royal blood. But T'Challa is at his heart a compassionate person who sees the struggles of Nighthawk and others, and wants to help them rather than ignore them.

Black Panther grew up in proverbial Heaven as a prince, while Nighthawk (this version of him) did not grow up at all. T'Challa is advocating that one creates one's own identity, not the circumstances of one's birth. Black Panther has always been royalty, but he is still one of the most human heroes in the Marvel Universe.

Next: Black Panther's Classic Marvel Costume Returns In Stunning New Art