Warning: Spoilers ahead for Black Panther #14!T'Challa, the Black Panther, has long been known to walk a fine line between the heroic and the unethical in order to secure Wakanda's political advantages, but his most recent actions and justifications bear a sharp resemblance to those of his villainous rival, Erik Killmonger. Both figures are obsessed with and exiled from Wakanda, as each has adhered to an agenda that seeks to promote a vision for Wakanda's future even if it costs them their lives.
John Ridley, German Peralta, and Jesus Aburtov's Black Panther #14 opens with a tumultuous moment for T'Challa: in order to secure alliances against T'Challa's rogue operative Jhai and prevent him from destroying the world's electronic infrastructure, the Wakandan government has entered into a treaty with Namor and Atlantis. As part of the treaty, T'Challa is horrified to discover that in addition to working with his sworn enemies, Wakanda has also disowned and exiled him from their nation. As T'Challa, Namor, and the Avengers lead the final assault against Jhai's forces, the exiled Black Panther still insists that everything he has done, he has done for Wakanda.
T'Challa's Devotion to Wakanda Has Torn the Nation Apart
T'Challa's actions throughout this series have been shown to be highly questionable. Accustomed as he is to being king, he has difficulty accepting the authority of Wakanda's democratically elected Prime Minister Folasade, and his attempt to subtly influence affairs through a network of sleeper agents has had devastating consequences. Taking T'Challa's doctrine of authority as an absolute, the agent Jhai has acted (as trained) like Killmonger to destabilize the Wakandan and international governments in his hope of installing T'Challa as monarch of a combined Earth and Intergalactic Wakanda.
T'Challa, Jhai and Erik Killmonger's schemes all follow one consistent thread: ensuring Wakanda's stability and security in the world. Jhai and Killmonger each see Wakandan supremacy as the best path; Killmonger, for his own personal gain, and Jhai, through his unswerving service to the image he has built for himself of King T'Challa. T'Challa himself only wishes to see Wakanda safe and thriving, but Jhai's evil acts as all of T'Challa's scheming made manifest. Regardless, T'Challa continues to justify himself by saying his actions are always "for Wakanda."
T'Challa and Killmonger fight for a vision of Wakanda, which they hold supreme above all else. While Killmonger's vision consists of domination and supremacy compared to T'Challa's wish for stability and security, this dream of Wakanda has pushed both of them to commit unspeakable acts. The Black Panther may see himself as a hero, but blind service in the name of an idealized nation is a dangerous path, and one that seems to be pushing T'Challa to become more and more like Killmonger.
Black Panther #14 is now available from Marvel Comics.