Black Panther #8-12
Originally released in 1999
Written by Christopher Priest
Art by Joe Jusko, Amanda Conner (issue 8), Mike Manley (issues 9-10), Mark Bright (issues 11-12)
Christopher Priest's run on Black Panther seems to be the one that's held in the highest regard. I had started on it earlier, so I picked up where I left off - Black Panther came to the U.S. in response to a scandal surrounding a charity organization that Wakanda helps to fund, Everett Ross was assigned to escort him, and while T'Challa was away from his homeland, a maniac from a neighbouring country named Achebe arranged a coup d'etat.
The eighth and ninth issues deal with the Avengers - specifically, why T'Challa joined them in the first place. These issues bring up that he's the king of a nation, so it's not like he needed to spend his time in the US working with Captain America, Iron Man, and Hawkeye. It's soon established that he originally joined to spy on them and get an understanding of who they are and if they posed a threat to Wakanda, though from what I've read, writers go back and forth on that issue.
Some images from this book resonate really strongly today, like crowds of Americans coming out to see T'Challa speak and viewing him as an inspiration. While I'm sure it wouldn't have been expected back in 1999, it hit me particularly strongly because of the billion dollar success of Black Panther's movie, which helps to show how much the character and what he stands for means to people. Unfortunately, this peace is shattered by Achebe, who sent snipers to try and kill T'Challa and cause chaos, along with targeting T'Challa's former fiancee, an American woman named Monica Lynne. (this run also introduced the Dora Milaje, who are his bodyguards; one of them, Nakia, has fallen in love with T'Challa and is intensely jealous of Monica as a result, though this plot point is still up in the air by issue 12)
T'Challa investigates and discovers (or perhaps he suspected it all along) that Achebe's coup is part of a much larger political conspiracy involving (among others) elements in the United States government, who are looking to gain resources from Wakanda that a more isolationist leadership wouldn't let them get. I'd be interested to see if future Black Panther movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe take inspiration from this - there are elements of it in Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, but with what happened in Wakanda Forever, it seems like the US government in the MCU would take advantage of events in Wakanda to gain their technology or resources.
The story reaches its climax in Wakanda, where Achebe has activated Wakanda's defense systems (which include giant panther robots) and turned them against the people of the country. What follows is something out of a Hollywood blockbuster - slow-moving/over-the-top death traps, fistfights within an exploding castle, double and triple agents... It serves as a conclusion, but also leaves it open for further adventures. (which would happen - Priest's run lasted 62 issues) It makes me wish that Marvel and DC would let series run for 12 issues at least, so a full year's worth of content could be gotten out of them and it could reach a satisfying conclusion if needed. (whereas some series get cancelled after 5 or 6 issues, forcing the writer to awkwardly wrap things up in a really rushed/unsatisfying way)
The writing gives the book the feel of a well-plotted conspiracy thriller movie, though the art is inconsistent by virtue of it switching artists every two issues or so. Hopefully later issues will be more consistent in regards to the art, but it didn't take away from the plot in the slightest.
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