Marvel Comics is rewriting the history of Black Panther. In 2018, Black Panther took the world by storm. The film starred the late, great Chadwick Boseman, and it proved a cultural event, grossing a phenomenal $1.3 billion worldwide. Unsurprisingly, Marvel Comics recognized the character's newfound celebrity, and Black Panther has grown ever more prominent in the comic book universe as well. He's currently leader of the Avengers, operating an intelligence service that crosses the globe and has helped repel numerous cosmic invaders.
After the release of the film, everybody thinks they know the origin story of Wakanda's king. According to legend, Black Panther is the champion of the Panther God Bast, granted superhuman strength, speed and agility in order to defend the nation. The first Black Panther was the man who unified the tribes of Wakanda, and who first discovered the potential of vibranium, the alien metal that crashed to Earth millennia ago in an asteroid impact. King T'Challa is just the latest Black Panther, albeit the first to act on a global stage.
And yet, in an interesting recent development, Marvel Comics is systematically rewriting Black Panther's origin story. So many of the things fans thought they knew are turning out to be assumptions, and whole new elements are being written into the history of Wakanda - both in the pages of the Avengers and the X-Men comics.
The First Black Panther Served Alongside The First Avengers
The rewrites began in 2018, with the release of the Marvel Legacy one-shot. This introduced the Avengers of 100,000 BC, a powerful alliance whose very existence had been lost in the mists of time. These were dark days, with Mephisto ruling the world and the nascent human race struggling to survive. But the humans soon found themselves defended by champions; gods and mystics, cosmic avatars and even a Black Panther. "The Panther was the first to discover some manner of vibrating rock or such," Odin recollected in Jason Aaron's Avengers #4, "And the first to begin to unlock its many secrets. Never have I been more impressed by a mortal." Aaron's Avengers run has been skipping through the timeline with joyous abandon, and he's been offering the origin stories of many of these first Avengers. He's yet to do so, however, for this first Black Panther.
Regardless of the details, though, there have been certain clues. The Black Panther mantle strongly suggests this man is not only the first to discover vibranium, but he is also blessed by the Panther God, Bast. What's more, he has the kind of confidence and bearing you would expect from a king, suggesting he is already ruler of a tribe residing in Africa. But an important distinction is that he is no isolationist, but rather stands in defense of the entire planet, daring to wage war against cosmic entities like the Celestials and standing alongside the first Sorcerer Supreme and the first Ghost Rider.
The First Black Panther Wielded Mjolnir
Even more staggering, Avengers #36 revealed this first Black Panther wielded Mjolnir. Jason Aaron's seminal Mighty Thor run rewrote the history of Mjolnir as well, revealing that eons ago Odin found himself locked in combat with a cosmic force known as the God Tempest. This God Tempest was imprisoned within the legendary hammer, and Odin himself wielded it for a time, although the God Tempest resented his attempts to use his power. Evidently it had no problem with the first Black Panther, who it deemed worthy of its majesty, and according to T'Challa, this first Panther King used Mjolnir against Mephisto himself. Ever since, anyone who Bast deemed fit to become Black Panther has apparently also been worthy of Mjolnir.
The X-Men Just Introduced Skybreaker
The latest development has been introduced in the X-Men's "X of Swords" event. Ten X-Men have been chosen to wield ten legendary blades in defense of the entire planet, and Storm is one of them. In Marauders #13, she revealed her assigned weapon is an ancient Wakandan sword called Skybreaker. According to Storm, Skybreaker dates back to the day a vibranium meteorite crashed into a sacred mountain, and one local tribal leader led his people to the site. "The ancestors of those that would become Wakandan forged a weapon to speak with the boom of thunder," Storm observed. Skybreaker serves as a conduit, amplifying and channeling energy into a devastating weapon, and it was used in Wakanda's defense.
The creator of Skybreaker is remembered only in Wakandan legends, which called him "Olumo" or "Knower." Apparently he realized no normal fire could tame the metal, and built a special forge near the lip of a volcano. There, he labored for many days with his oldest daughter and his oldest son, using the heat of the volcano to soften and temper the vibranium. Given Odin's comment that the Panther he served alongside was the first human to learn the secrets of vibranium, it's reasonable to assume they are one and the same person. But it is unlikely he ever used Skybreaker in Odin's presence, because it appears to have been devoted to the protection of Wakanda, thus it was presumably kept by his representative. Still, it is no wonder he was capable of mastering Mjolnir; the first Black Panther was no stranger to cosmic power.
According to Marauders #13, Skybreaker is the key to Wakanda's technological development. The Wakandans studied Skybreaker, attempting to understand its powers, and in doing so, they gradually unlocked the secrets of vibranium. "The conduit helped them unlock a deeper understanding of the world," Storm revealed, "and develop technology at a blistering pace. It helped catapult Wakanda into the future." Thus Skybreaker exists, to this day, as a symbol of Wakanda's spirit.
Marvel Comics writers have clearly decided it is time to explore the ancient history of Black Panther, to reveal the true history of the very first ancestor to bow the knee to Bast and receive the blessing of the Panther God. But in exploring all this, they're also rewriting the rich lore surrounding T'Challa, adding whole new elements into it. It will be fascinating to see how it all comes together, and how all these revisions ultimately affect Black Panther's standing in the Marvel Universe.