Warning: contains spoilers to "Heart of a Panther" from Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda!
Marvel's Black Panther just discovered a secret Wakandan colony – in the United States. Black Panther has always rightly been seen as a revolutionary superhero. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby back in 1966, he was a radical figure from the start; a black man who was no sidekick or assistant, but rather a genius on par with the likes of Bruce Banner, Mr. Fantastic, and Tony Stark. And though he ruled an African nation, Wakanda was as technologically advanced as anything seen in comics, offering a bold vision present in few other mainstream works of the time.
Of course, Black Panther is now bigger than ever before. The character was brought to life in the MCU by the late Chadwick Boseman, inspiring audiences and earning an outstanding $1.3 billion in the global box office. In honor of Black Panther's increasing cultural significance, Marvel has just published a groundbreaking anthology of short stories, called Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda. Some of these stories appear set in the MCU, others in the comic continuity, and still others in realities all their own.
One of the highlights is "Heart of a Panther," by Sheree Renée Thomas, current editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. This story is clearly set in the comic book world, and it sees T'Challa forced to investigate an ancient mystery of Wakanda. He learns that, centuries ago, a Wakandan mystic named Djimoni left Wakanda because she objected to her homeland's isolationist ways. She settled in the area around the Mississippi, where she formed a community she called Freetown, using the science and sorcery of Wakandan to liberate the slaves there. Vibranium was seeded into the ground – along with seeds from the precious Heart-Shaped Herb. Over the centuries, the effect of the Vibranium mutated some of the wildlife around Freetown, and the combination of empowered residents, so-called "Wild Ones" and even a mystic Wakandan shield drove off attackers such as the Ku Klux Klan.
The idea of this secret Wakandan colony, unknown even to the Black Panther, is a fascinating one. Freetown embodies the difference Wakandan secrets could have made to black communities across the world, had the nation not chosen to be so reclusive. As such, the discovery of Freetown forces T'Challa to do some serious soul-searching and re-examine his own philosophy. It helps that Thomas is a superb writer, and her story is absolutely captivating.
It is true "Heart of a Panther" is not necessarily canon to future comic stories, but in the past many characters and concepts have made their way from Marvel books into the comics themselves. The most prominent example is the character of Red Widow, the latest product of the Red Room, who has even played a prominent role in Jason Aaron's current Avengers run. Hopefully, Freetown will come to be developed in the comics as well, adding as it does to Black Panther and Wakanda's richly storied history.