"Who Is the Black Panther?" Part 3 of 6
Many years ago, Klaw killed the reigning Black Panther – but not without a price. Learn how he did it... as he readies himself for the death of T'Challa!
While I miss his work over on Spider-Man, John Romita Jr. is an extremely good match for this title as the Black Panther is a character who is very similar to Spider-Man when it comes to his fighting style, and John Romita Jr. has more than proven he's capable of delivering visually arresting battle sequences where the lead character is in constant motion, and I can't wait for the Black Panther to step out of the background, as the players that are being arrayed against him promise to deliver a very exciting battle. Now this issue opens with a great little sequence where the Rhino pits himself against his counterpart in the animal kingdom, and the art also compellingly sells the intensity of the assassination later in this issue. The nation of Wakanda is also full of some lovely bits of Kirby-tech which is another area that John Romita Jr. has proven to be quite adept at delivering. There's also a hilarious if somewhat crude bit of humour, as the Black Knight's steed expresses its f Read Full Review
Issue #3 grabbed my attention because it portrayed Ulysses Klaw not just as a villain, but almost as a symbol of colonial greed. Hudlin's writing about him, driven by his obsession with “taking what’s his,” reminded me of how colonizers once claimed entire continents. I also liked how the story seamlessly blended action with heartfelt emotion. The flashbacks to T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, added a personal touch, showing how much of T’Challa’s strength comes from his family and the legacy he’s carrying forward.
It feels a bit random and slow now. 3 issues of flashbacks and villains readying their attack. Too many villains. Even the freaking Rhino! Also I'm not a big fan of Panther, so I can't say is it OK or not for Klaw to be a killer of Challa's father, but I definitely miss his sound-hand... Where is that and why didn't he have it in flashbacks???
P.S. I checked the first appearance of Klaw and they really kinda retconned the original story... Yeah, the outcome is the same - Klaw killed Chakka, and Challa shot Klaw's hand. But the actual scene was very different and in Wakanda first of all! Not a fan of retcons, sorry... I could understand adding something we didn't see, even if it's hard to imagine how it really could happen (Black more