Name: T’Challa

Superhero Name: Black Panther

Created By: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Played By: Chadwick Boseman

Powers: Peak human strength, speed, stamina, agility, endurance, reflexes and healing, as well as acute senses and the ability to draw knowledge and strength from every previous Black Panther.

Mini Bio: T’Challa was the first-born son of King T’Chaka of Wakanda, a secluded African country with technological advancements far beyond the rest of the world, thanks to their stores of Vibranium – a rare, ultra-durable metal. His mother, Queen N’Yami, died a week after giving birth to him, due to an auto-immune disorder.

When T’Challa was five years old, he got lost while out with his father, but he was found by an outside explorer, Ramonda. The two became close, with Ramonda becoming a mother figure to T’Challa, before eventually marrying the King and giving birth to T’Challa’s sister, Shuri.

T’Chaka died in a fight with Ulysses Klaw, and Ramonda was kidnapped at the same time when T’Challa was a teenager. T’Challa was too young to become King, so his uncle S’Yan took over, while T’Challa studied in America and Europe. When he was of age and felt ready, he challenged his uncle for the throne and won, S’Yan stepped down happily, allowing T’Challa to become King.

T’Challa also became the Black Panther, by taking the Heart-Shaped Herb, which is believed to have been a gift from Bast, The Panther God. This gave T’Challa his powers, and a link to Bast themself.

He famously married Ororo Monroe, aka Storm, of the X-Men, who he originally met when the two were teenagers. They separated during the Avengers V X-Men war, which took place after House Of M.

Since then, T’Challa has ruled Wakanda (though at points has had to step down/or was thought dead so others, like Shuri, have taken over the mantel), has also been a part of the Avengers, fought with the Fantastic Four, joined the Illuminati (though with a lot of arguments with Namor), and had to face an uprising from two members of the Dora Milaje. He is generally seen as a good ruler though and is known for listening to his peers before making decisions.

Interesting trivia: T’Challa is a fan of Game Of Thrones, and once threatened Deadpool when he was speculating how the series would end, in case Wade gave him spoilers. He also once took over as Daredevil (with Matt’s permission) when the two characters needed time away from their usual homes to re-evaluate their lives/motives.

First Comic Appearance: Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966)

Most Common Team Ups: Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Mighty Avengers, New Avengers

Comic Recommendations: I have a whole blog post dedicated to this right here, and then after that, I have some more here.