The Avengers are Earth's Mightiest Heroes but Black Panther has an edge over them. Iron Fist is the world's strongest martial artist, Doctor Strange is the world's greatest sorcerer, Ghost Rider is a supercharged host of an immortal spirit, and Thor is the most heroic deity of the Marvel Universe. But in the new issue Avengers #33, Wakanda's champion stood when the rest of that team fell, for one simple reason: Black Panther's power source can't be stolen.

Avengers #33, by Jason Aaron and Javier Garron, with color from Jason Keith, kicks off the much-hyped "Age of Khonshu" storyline. The mysterious and troubled hero Moon Knight (aka Marc Spector, aka Jake Lockley, aka several other dissociative identities) has received a directive from Khonshu, the ancient Egyptian god he serves. The quest: to save the world by taking it over and turning the entire globe into a new Egyptian empire, with New York serving as its new Thebes. Before he can do that, however, he needs to get powerful enough while eliminating those who would stand in his way. That means striking down the Avengers one at a time.

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Moon Knight fights each Avenger he targets on their home turf in turn; each time he gains an opening, he rips the source of their power away and escapes with it. He punches out Iron Fist and siphons away the mystical energy that gives the martial artist his chi-empowered strikes. Moon Knight then uses one of those strikes on Doctor Strange and rips the doctor's magic away. Ghost Rider never sees him; the nocturnal crimefighter finds and steals Ghost Rider's car out from his garage, leaving the possessed hero to wake up in a cold sweat, wondering why he suddenly feels deprived. Even Thor falls to Moon Knight's power.

The only hero that Moon Knight can't depower and break? Black Panther.

The Fist of Khonshu arrives on Wakanda's doorstep with an army of mummies and wizards behind him. MK comes threatening war, but offering an easier way out a duel between himself and Wakanda's king, and one which he claims he absolutely will not lose. The Panther claims he's convinced and surrenders. When Moon Knight pulls out the ankhs he's used to siphon the energies of the other Avengers, Panther scoffs that Moon Knight is wasting his time. T'Challa reveals that the power of the Black Panther is in his blood, a part of him, and that the only way to employ it is to ally with him. Moon Knight leaves empty-handed.

Why was Black Panther so willing to surrender to a force that had crippled his teammates? He knew what Spector wanted and that he wouldn't be able to get it. T'Challa gained his powers by ingesting a heart-shaped herb that every protector of Wakanda takes, greatly enhancing his physical abilities. The herb itself carries no inherent power; it enhances human physiology, a permanent process that can be reversed but cannot transfer or expire. Thanks to Black Panther's confidence in his understanding of his own powers, he was able to protect his people and avert a potentially devastating nationwide conflict... and T'Challa will have every ounce of power within him for the even more dangerous battle ahead.

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