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In Avengers #53, Black Panther debuts an impressive and powerful new costume that is entirely too macabre to ever be featured in the MCU.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Avengers #53, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
A multiversal Masters of Evil team has descended on the mainstream Marvel Universe. Led by Doom Supreme, also known as the Doom Above All, it features fearsome variants of villains like Thanos and heroes like Wolverine. Created by Doom and Mephisto, they’ve been traveling through dimensions, slaughtering every Avengers team they encounter.
Cut off from the rest of the Avengers and facing Doom and Kid Thanos’ assault on Avengers Mountain, Black Panther dons a new, over-powered costume as his contingency plan. The Red Panther suit allows T’Challa to stand up to Doom. As impressive as it is, however, Black Panther’s new look will likely not make the transition to the MCU due to its gruesome origin.
The color scheme of the Red Panther armor doesn’t come from paint or dye. Avengers #53, by Jason Aaron, Juan Frigeri, David Curiel and VC’s Cory Petit, reveals it’s the metallicized blood of the Orisha, the gods of Wakanda. That includes the god from whom T’Challa takes his title, Bast. Although the issue does not reveal how T’Challa was able to harness the blood of gods, the costume appears to be one of the most powerful he has ever worn.
T’Challa using armor coated with the blood of gods is a noteworthy contrast to Doom Supreme’s armor. A conversation with his Masters of Evil teammate Kid Thanos at the beginning of the issue confirms that Doom is wearing armor comprised of his dead lover Valeria’s skin. It’s a similar, if more macabre, sacrifice to the one Thanos made to earn the Soul Stone. Both men went into battle in macabre armor, with T’Challa’s giving him a physical advantage over the sinister Sorcerer Supreme.
Doom Supreme has been built up as a world-destroying threat. He’d have to be to lead a team that includes variants of the Dark Phoenix, Red Skull and Black Panther’s arch-nemesis Killmonger. T’Challa pummeling Doom to the point that he retreats is impressive, especially given that the only other character to achieve such a feat so far is the cosmic powered Star Brand.
As impressive as T’Challa’s armor is, it’s hard to see it ever appearing in the MCU. Even at its darkest, like the recent adaptation of Marvel Zombies in What If…?, the MCU avoids gore. A costume covered in the blood of gods seems excessive, even if it’s not as visually gruesome on the page as something like Carnage’s symbiote.
While it’s unlikely that the Red Panther armor will make it to the big screen, it is sure to make another appearance during the Avengers’ battle with the Masters of Evil. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes need every advantage they can get against their dimension-hopping adversaries, and T’Challa’s bloody new costume has proven to be a powerful addition to the team. Still, the new outfit serves as a reminder that no matter how well the MCU has translated Marvel Comics to live-action, there are some things it just can’t replicate.
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