Coal Tiger: Son of the Black Panther

 

Having recently watched Black Panther: Wakanda Forever I felt inspired to keep writing posts in that vein. So, today let us take a look at Prince T’Chaka aka Coal Tiger, the son of the Black Panther.

 

The moniker of Coal Tiger was originally one considered during the creation of the Black Panther, and it seems Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz elected to pay tribute to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby when they introduced T’Chaka’s alias in A-Next #4. While visiting America for a trade agreement, T'Chaka was attacked by the hate group Soldiers of the Serpent. It is at this point we learn that T'Chaka has the ability to transform into a humanoid cat-like being resembling a Black Panther.

 

Alongside the Avengers original line-up, Coal Tiger rescues N’Kano (aka the Wakandan ambassador and super hero Vibraxas) and notes the new team of heroes seem more like a family. N’Kano tells T’Chaka his father would be proud. T’Chaka tells the Avengers he will tell his father about all of them and that he considers them friends.

 

T’Chaka next appears when, upon returning from an alternate reality ruled by Doctor Doom, the entire Avengers team are captured by the Red Queen aka Hope Pym and her Revengers. With Mainframe’s consciousness transmitted to another body, he recruits Earth Senty, Argo, Blacklight and Coal Tiger to rescue the Avengers (A-Next #12).

 

At some point, Coal Tiger is pulled into the massive Destiny War alongside the Avengers’ American Dream and Freebooter and the Fantastic Five’sd Kristoff Vernard (Avengers Forever #12).

 

Coal Tiger is not seen again until a large assembly of the MC2’s super heroes gather at Avengers Headquarters in preparation for battle with Seth the Serpent God of Death. Despite this, the assembled heroes end up trapped within an impenetrable barrier until Spider-Girl weakens Seth enough to free them (Spider-Girl #58).

 

Alongside fellow reserve Avengers members Spider-Girl, Blacklight and Earth Sentry, Coal Tiger was called upon to join the Avengers team due to a large number of team members being sidelined for various reasons following the events of Last Hero Standing. This line-up of Avengers is briefed about someone posing as the mutant master of magnetism; Magneto. Spider-Girl and trainee member of the X-People known as Push would ultimately apprehend the poser (Spider-Girl #92).

 

In his last appearance to date, Coal Tiger again joins a large assembly of super heroes who show up to help Spider-Girl when she is captured by the Hobgoblin aka Roderick Kingsley (Amazing Spider-Girl #15).

 

It’s a great missed opportunity that T’Chaka as the Coal Tiger never got more than a few brief appearances after his debut, as there is a huge amount of potential left unexplored and stories left untold.

 

Until I develop the ability to transform into a Wakandan werecat, I remain

 

frogoat

MC2 Wakandan Royal Family Tree (Update/Correction)

 

I always endeavour to provide accurate information with sources provided so others can themselves check my work. So when I find out I have made a mistake, I’m going to do my best to address it and make the appropriate corrections or updates. Today’s post will be one of those times with a Correction and Update to the MC2 Family Tree for my previous Wakandan Royal Family Tree.

 

Originally, I had declared the Black Panther aka T’Challa’s mother Ramonda to be his biological mother with this explanatory paragraph and statement:

 

“There aren't any new additions to the Wakandan Royal Family Tree until the publication of Black Panther (vol. 3) #1, cover dated November 1998. As the MC2 first appeared several months prior in What If #105 (cover dated February 1998) any stories and characters published after this point should be considered non-canon unless otherwise referenced within MC2 comics. For completeness’ sake I will give a brief account of later additions and changes to the Royal Family.



The aforementioned Black Panther (vol. 3) #1 retcons Ramonda as T'Challa's step-mother and states that his biological mother was a woman named N'Yami who died giving birth to T'Challa.”

 

Well, it turns out I was wrong as I recently discovered. Thanks to the recently published mini-series’ Wakanda #1 which contains a back-up story detailing the history of the nation followed by annotations courtesy of some of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe writers, I again saw the mention that N’Yami was T’Challa’s biological mother. So, I went digging and as it turns out, while she had not made an on-panel appearance prior to the MC2, N’Yami had in fact been named and declared deceased in the Black Panther’s profile from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol. 1 #2, and again in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Vol. 2 #2.

 

What this means is that when Christopher Priest wrote Black Panther (vol. 3) #1’s above mentioned explanation about N’Yami, he was attempting to provide a workable solution that did not contradict either the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe nor the phenomenal epic ‘Panther’s Quest’ from Marvel Comics Presents #13-#37 by Don McGregor. A veritable No-Prize effort. I apologize for dismissing this as an unfounded retcon out of hand, Mr Priest. Well done.

 

As a side-note to all this, in light of N’Yami being the first wife of T’Chaka and it being explicitly stated that T’Challa’s half-brother Jakarra’s mother was T’Chaka’s ‘second wife’, we can logically conclude that Ramonda was the T’Chaka’s third wife. So, had Jakarra not died, it would presumably be he and not the non-MC2-canon Shuri in the running for the title of the next Ruler of Wakanda and Black Panther. Just something to think about before I *finally* go see Black Panther: Wakanda Forever tomorrow.

 

Until I manage to catch up with the rest of the MCU releases and simultaneously gain flawless obscure comic lore, I remain

 

frogoat