T’Challa is perhaps probably the most well-known Black Panther of all time, however he is undoubtedly not the one one.
Like several superhero mantle, the Black Panther title will get handed between individuals on a semi-regular foundation, for all types of causes. In Wakanda correct, succession is the commonest–it is conventional for the king to additionally take up the Panther behavior and change into the avatar of Bast. However there have been loads of different causes, too, from character demise to mistaken identities to space-age empires coming to beat Earth.
Now, the identical factor will likely be occurring within the MCU for the primary time. The tragic passing of star Chadwick Boseman has left an sudden emptiness within the Black Panther nook of the world, that means {that a} new character might want to step in and proceed the legacy. To date within the MCU, the one different important superheroes to undergo one thing comparable have been Ant-Man and Thor, which noticed the mantle “move” (form of) from Hank Pym to Scott Lang, after which briefly from Thor himself to Jane Foster. The transition will clearly be a bit extra everlasting within the case of Black Panther, although–so we must always undoubtedly be ready.
Whereas the thriller of who’s sporting the brand new Black Panther go well with within the Wakanda Endlessly trailers is, actually, barely a thriller in any respect–guessing that it is Shuri is perhaps the best and most secure wager in MCU historical past–there are nonetheless plenty of potentialities and choices as Part 5 and Part 6 proceed on. Who’s to say there may be a number of Black Panthers working across the MCU–in any case, there is definitely precedent for it within the comics.
So, with that in thoughts, let’s check out all of the characters who’ve taken up the Black Panther title within the mainline Marvel comics, from area emperors to historical shamans who roamed the Earth over 1,000,000 years in the past.