"Klaw, realistically, what are our chances of killing the Black Panther?" "Pretty good, considering I've already killed one." "Klaw:" "Mission completed." "Now the trick was to stay alive." "I had the option of really cleaning up this situation." "The kid shot me with my own gun." "Can you believe it?" "I knew I had to get out of there before defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory." "The kid was a good enough shot to make jumping out of a seventh floor window the better option." "Especially when you've got a well trained team waiting." "Although I didn't kill the entire bloodline, my sponsors were grateful." "They hid me from the endless searching by Wakandan security forces over the next decade or so." "Uh- h-hold on." "You still had supporters in South Africa even after the regime change?" "I didn't go back to South Africa." "But I thought you said your ancestor was a founding member" "After my great-grandfather's remains were returned to base camp- well, really, just a boot with his foot in it- the family returned home to Belgium." "Ah." "A destiny fulfilled." "Indeed." "After that clawing by the Panther," "I was barely alive." "But the Belgian government took good care of me." "They took my half-dead carcass and experimented on me for close to a decade." "They even took my left eye, and they could have saved it." "By the time they were finished with me," "I was the world's top assassin again." "And my sponsors would provide me with all the resources needed to get my revenge on the Panther." "It was in their own best interest that I did." "They knew once T'Challa took the throne, he would eventually hunt down everyone responsible for his father's death." "They needed a preemptive strike." "¶ Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther, Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther, Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther ¶" "Get out my way." "You certainly aren't wasting any time in your new role as king, T'Challa." "Ma, there's a lot to do." "You've been preparing me for this my whole life." "I just want to make sure you are focusing on all of your duties." "We're closing in on the assassin who killed Father." "That is exactly what I'm talking about." "You can't be so obsessed with the past that you neglect the future." "What do you mean?" "I mean the most important duty of a king is to produce heirs." "Don't roll your eyes at me." "Mother, I wasn't." "It's just that we have bigger issues to attend to." "There is always a crisis." "The world always needs saving." "But if you don't find a suitable bride and start a family, you are endangering the royal bloodline." "Oh, I cannot believe you are using this as an excuse to talk about" "I don't need an excuse to tell you what your responsibilities are." "I am your mother." "I don't know what the big deal is." "You've gone out with plenty of wonderful women." "Just pick one." "Mother, it's not that simple." "Yes, it is." "I always favored that nice mutant girl." "You know the one." "White hair." "Yes, Mother." "You made that very clear." "But it's your choice." "And what was that all about?" "In my day, marriages would be arranged." "What was wrong with that?" "Is this about Ororo again?" "Why are you so stuck on her?" "You were too young to know what happened, but a mother knows." "I'm old enough to hear the story by now." "What happened?" "Queen:" "Once a Wakandan boy reaches his teenage years, he must go on walkabout." "For young Prince T'Challa, that meant walking from one end of Africa to the other and surviving without people knowing his station in life." "Eventually, T'Challa arrived in the ghettos of Cairo, seeing a poverty he had never known firsthand." "A young thief tried to rob him of the little money he had." "She didn't get away with it, but she got a much greater prize." "Of course, my boy has such a kind heart." "He listens to her tale of woe and decides to save her." "First, he gets rid of the cruel slaver who forced the street urchin to steal for his gain." "Now all the poor kids see him as a hero." "But for one, he was much more." "He led her out of the city into the jungle, where they were young and free and in love." "And they both escaped their past." "But eventually they would return to the cities, where ghosts of the past would haunt them." "He knew he would never have peace until he found the man who killed his father." "They may have been a perfect match, but it as not a perfect time." "T'Challa returned home to face his destiny, and Ororo came into her own as Storm, the mutant goddess with control of the weather, which means that lightning... can strike twice." "That is a beautiful story." "He's got to marry her." "I can't believe you got me like that." "You're telling me the guy I'm supposed to seduce is here?" "If I'm supposed to make a guy forget his vows," "I'm going to need to show more skin than this." "Klaw:" "This isn't your typical client, but this is an important assignment." "We need the support of the Church." "Come in quickly." "Why the side door?" "I thought we were sanctioned by the Pope." "Officially, the Church has not been involved in military operations in several centuries." "However, there are branches of the bureaucracy that aren't scared to conduct a holy war." "Africa is the front line of religious warfare in the 21st century." "Christianity is the fastest growing religion on the continent." "But Muslims also have a significant presence." "But the Wakandans aren't Muslim." "Are they?" "No." "All that technology, and they still pray to the Panther God." "That's why we have to convert Wakanda, no matter what it takes." "But we found the perfect soldier for your crusade." "He's unstoppable." "And the ebony blade, it can cut through anything." "Wow." "Where did you get him?" "The Lord provides." "I hope the sight of such a lovely young lady doesn't weaken his resolve to stay pure." "Oh, I'm sure my modesty and his virtue are a perfect match." "This is a crime that was committed over a decade ago." "The trail is ice-cold." "Excuses mean nothing to me." "Start over." "Follow the money." "Who benefits from my father's death?" "Who didn't?" "Oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, technology firms." "All of them would benefit from a destabilized Wakanda." "Not to mention the Western powers:" "the former Soviet Union, the Chinese, OPEC." "But I will say this." "We have a better chance at catching them now than ever before." "Why do you say that?" "Because you are king." "Whoever did it will come back to finish the job." "You don't need to look for them." "They will find you." "¶ Black Panther, Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther ¶" "¶ Black Panther, Black Panther ¶"