Although the Black Panther feature film is still two years away, 2016 is going to be a huge year for King T’Challa. Chadwick Boseman is portraying Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, and Marvel Comics is relaunching a new Black Panther series by author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates with veteran comic artist Brian Stelfreeze.

Coming out of Secret Wars, Black Panther was one the big winners. Wakanda was restored as a world power and T’Challa was once again in control of his country. But Wakanda’s good fortune may not last. In a new blog post, Coates indicated that he is looking through the previous Black Panther runs by Don McGregor, Christopher Priest, and Reginald Hudlin, as well as Jonathan Hickman’s depiction of T’Challa. And according to Coates, T’Challa will soon face some serious consequences for his previous failures.

“Wakanda had always prided itself on having never been conquered,” wrote Coates. “This is no longer true. What, then, is the country if it is as vulnerable as all others? And what happens to a state when its absolute monarch can no longer fulfill the base requirement of any government—securing the safety of their people? I tend to think war.”

Coates also shared his “working theory” about the nature of Wakanda itself. “Wakanda is a contradiction,” wrote Coates. “It is the most advanced nation on Earth, existing under one of the most primitive forms of governance on Earth. In the present telling, Wakanda’s technological superiority goes back centuries. Presumably it’s population is extremely well educated, and yet that population willingly accedes to rule by blood. T’Challa descends from an unbroken line of kings, all who’ve taken up the mantle of the Black Panther. But if you’ve ever studied monarchy, it becomes immediately apparent that the aptitude, or even the desire, to govern isn’t genetic.”

Black Panther # 1 will be released in April.

What do you think about Coates’ take on Black Panther and the early art by Stelfreeze and Laura Martin? Share your thoughts below!

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HT: The Atlantic

Image Credit: Marvel Comics