Marvel Zombies Just Made Black Panther's Role Way Darker

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Marvel's What If...? episode 5, "What If...Zombies?!"

In Marvel's What If...?, the zombie story saw Black Panther's story being much darker than in the original Marvel Zombies from the comics. However, while Black Panther is one of the survivors of the first waves of zombies hordes in both versions, that doesn't mean his fate was any better than those that were infected. Instead, King T'Challa was forced to endure a dark fate in each, though the comics' version at least offered some potential hope for the world's future.

In the original Marvel Zombies story from The Walking Dead's Robert Kirkman and Sean Phillips, the Avengers were some of the first to become zombies, much like in this new MCU version. However, while there weren't nearly as many survivors, Black Panther was revealed to still be alive in the series' second issue, but in dire straits. Hank Pym's Ant-Man, who had been infected, was keeping him hostage and feeding on T'Challa's still-living body by cutting off pieces one limb at a time with surgical tools. Seeing as how the Marvel zombies of the comics retained their intelligence as long as they had recently eaten, Pym was using T'Challa as a dark means to keep his appetite satisfied, hoping to remain sane long enough to find a cure for the virus.

A still-living Black Panther is likewise discovered by Bucky's Winter Solider in episode 5 of Marvel's What If...?. Much like in the comics, T'Challa was being held captive in order to be a consistent zombie food source with his leg having already been cut off by the time Bucky found him. However, there wasn't even a possibility for hope, seeing as how he was being fed to an infected Wanda Maximoff whom Vision had already determined couldn't be cured. Instead, he was just feeding her out of love and an inability to let go. As a result, Black Panther's fate was going to be much darker and without any kind of meaningful purpose had he not been rescued by the surviving heroes.

While T'Challa lost more limbs in the original comics' story, at least he was being used in the faint hope that the world could be restored. Instead, the MCU Marvel Zombies just had T'Challa being used to feed the undead Wanda for no reason other than Vision's blind commitment that should have died when she did. That said, seeing Black Panther in a similar position as the comics is a dark callback to the original story, and it shows Marvel Studios' dedication and recognition that these comics in particular are an incredibly popular and beloved property.

In any case, while Robert Kirkman's Marvel Zombies is arguably the darker of the two stories on the whole, Black Panther was definitely going to have the darker fate in the MCU seeing as how he would have been a zombie's meal ticket without purpose. He may have been rescued, but what he's heading toward with the other survivors at the end of Marvel's What If...? episode 5 might not be much better, seeing as how an infected zombie Thanos had already begun to invade the nation of Wakanda by the episode's end.

More: The MCU Has No Reasons To Make A Marvel Zombies Movie Now (Sadly)

Marvel's What If...? releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.