Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Black Panther: a symbol for the Black Lives Matter generation

The acclaimed cultural commentator has penned a limited series of Marvels African superhero, and the timing couldn’t be better.

You have no people. You are no longer my son.

The first issue of the much-hyped, Ta-Nehisi Coates-penned Black Panther limited series landed at comic book shops this Wednesday, with fans of the titular character and fans of one of Americas most visible cultural commentators clamoring to see what Coates can do with Marvel Comics second most mythic African character (Storm still holds a special place in the publics collective heart and in Marvel lore.) With the superhero set to make his motion picture debut in May alongside Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and the rest of the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, and with a Ryan Coogler-helmed Black Panther film slated for 2017, all eyes are on TChalla right now.

“A Nation Under Our Feet” opens with Black Panther tormented by his own feelings of failure and regret, struggling with issues of identity and responsibility. Wakanda is in turmoil and support for TChalla at low ebb, raising the question of what happens if his people reject him. In one of the issues most compelling moments, T’Challa’s stepmother, Ramonda, conveys to the frustrated hero that intelligence must inform all actionand that the burden of leadership is heavy. But hes confused and angry. The country is on the brink of civil war, and Black Panther himself may resort to desperate measures to resolve the bloodshed… [Continue Reading]

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