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Black Panther #3 reveals that even though T’Challa is king of Wakanda only from a ceremonial standpoint, he is still needed in his country.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Black Panther #3, available now from Marvel Comics.
The past few months have seen T’Challa reeling from the revelation that some unknown enemy has uncovered his darkest secrets to use against him. In the hopes of staving off this enigmatic threat, the Black Panther has taken it upon himself to personally retrieve the secret sleeper agents that he sent out into the world years ago. This couldn’t have come at a worse time, as Wakanda’s fragile, new parliament is proving that the country needs T’Challa more than ever, even if it doesn’t necessarily need him as its king.
T’Challa’s search for the remaining agents has sent Marvel’s Black Panther all across the globe in a race against the mysterious assassins who have been hunting them down. Walking away from his other duties hasn’t been easy on the king, and it hasn’t been easy on his homeland, either. Despite not holding any real power in Wakanda’s government, it is clear that the hero is still important to the inner workings of his country whether he realizes it or not. As Akili informs Shuri in Black Panther #3 (by John Ridley, Juann Cabal, Ibrahim Moustafa, Matt Milla, and VC’s Joe Sabino), the new parliament of the African nation is beginning to suffer from infighting. The various factions that are coming together within the government may not see eye-to-eye on much, but they all recognize T’Challa’s word as final.
Unfortunately, T’Challa is not available to provide any guidance regarding the nation’s pressing issues. Apart from the mission at hand sending him all the way to the planet Arakko, T’Challa has been making a point to stay out of the governing affairs of Wakanda. While some of that decision is rooted in his own feelings about no longer being a ruling king, the awkward if not passive-aggressive responses he has previously been given by members of the new parliament haven’t exactly been endearing. However, letting Wakanda’s first attempt at democracy run its course without him just might be the worst decision the king could make.
With the various factions forming within Wakanda’s government coming to a unified standstill, it is only a matter of time before minor grievances lead to political unrest. From that point, tensions could easily snowball into something much worse than a mere spat between bureaucrats. If the Black Panther still isn’t around to quell the matter before it all reaches a tipping point, the fallout might be more than even T’Challa can smooth over. With his life and reputation already in a rather precarious position, there is no telling how much worse things would be if the king passes up the opportunity to stabilize Wakanda.
Although there are still qualified and capable leaders in Wakanda such as Akili and Shuri, neither of them can make up for T’Challa’s absence. At this point, the best course of action appears to be for the king of Wakanda to step up and smooth things over within the new government of the country.
Unfortunately, the king has taken a hands off approach to the issues the new government faces, preferring instead to leave the people to deal with the issues that have come with their determination to establish a new parliament. However his scorned and standoffish attitude may come at the high cost of his beloved country descending into a state of chaos.
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