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Black Panther revealed he has the ability to use his stored kinetic energy to give himself super speed, making him even more powerful than he already was.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Heroes Reborn: Heroes Return #1 by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Matthew Wilson and VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
The Heroes Reborn world. built by Mephisto and Phil Coulson, has brought some new ideas to the Marvel Universe. Among them are some surprising new features to the Black Panther’s suit. When the Squadron Supreme of America invaded Wakanda, Black Panther was forced to go up against the Blur in Heroes Return #1.
That may seem like an uneven fight, since Black Panther is still a mostly human hero going up against a speedster. Fortunately, Wakandan tech has cracked superspeed as well because T’Challa revealed his suit’s use of kinetic energy can boost his speed to match that of the Blur’s.
At the onset of the two’s battle, Blur took the opportunity to mock Black Panther’s powerset, assuming that the king of Wakanda would not be able to keep up in a fight with him. But Black Panther was merely waiting for the right opportunity. With each blow Blur had landed on him, the kinetic energy stored in Black Panther’s suit increased. But instead of expanding it for a burst attack, Black Panther used the kinetic energy to increase the speed of his reflexes, landing an elbow blow to Blur’s face.
Black Panther informed Blur that he was in Wakanda where even the most ordinary of things were extraordinary. As Black Panther put it, “Vibranium remembers what it was like to be a meteor.” At that point, Black Panther began catching up to the Blur, racing right behind him. The fight didn’t last too much longer after Black Panther evened the playing field. The Blur was still faster, but Black Panther was the better fighter, waiting for just the right opening to sever Blur’s ligaments and take away his mobility, effectively ending the fight.
But this addition to the Black Panther’s capabilities already makes him even more formidable than he already was. Granted, the power comes from stored kinetic energy, so it only lasts for a limited amount of time and the question needs to be asked whether the amount of kinetic energy increases his speed limit or if it’s just one set limit he can reach with the kinetic boost. But even if it is the latter, this gives Black Panther an incredible edge in combat.
The Black Panther is already incredibly strong and his quick reflexes mean very few people can actually land a blow on him. But with the addition of super speed, it would make him nearly impossible to hit. As his fight with Blur proved, speedsters don’t have as much martial prowess as a ground-pounder like the Black Panther.
Logically speaking, it also puts a limit on Black Panther’s abilities so he doesn’t become too overpowered. The stored kinetic energy is the result of taking hits in combat, a way to turn damage suffered into an advantage. But there are always risks to that feature of Black Panther’s suit. He needs to be able to judge when the right amount of damage has been taken and how to apply it. Mistakes could easily be made when using this power as it seems to expend his entire reserve in one burst, meaning he would have to repeat the process all over again. Depending on how the fight was going by that point, he might not be in any condition to do so.
But even if this power is only to be used as a last resort, it gives Black Panther an ace in the hole to play whenever he is in a bind. And even though superspeed is not something one thinks of when they picture the Black Panther, T’Challa’s comment about Vibranium remembering what it was like to be a meteor makes the power fit perfectly into the Black Panther’s repertoire.
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