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Quote1 My name is King T'Challa, son of King T'Chaka. I am the sovereign ruler of the nation of Wakanda. And for the first time in our history, we will be sharing our knowledge and resources with the outside world. Quote2
T'Challa[src]

History

T'Challa was born as the crown prince of Wakanda, a highly scientifically-advanced country in Africa. As the prince, T'Challa was next in line to inherit the mantle of the Black Panther, a mantle that passed through every generation of Wakandan rulers.[4]

Becoming the Black Panther[]

When he was a young adult, T'Challa inherited the mantle of the Black Panther from his father, King T'Chaka, upon T'Chaka's retirement from the role. For one of his first missions as the Black Panther, T'Challa was tasked to travel to Paraguay to rescue Wakandan hostages from mercenaries. Unbeknownst to T'Challa, T'Chaka had assigned Okoye, a member of the Dora Milaje, solely to report on the prince's progress and effectiveness on the field. However, Okoye revealed this to T'Challa before the mission began, which earned her T'Challa's trust.

In Paraguay, the duo confronted mercenaries Zanda and Douglas Scott, who proved no match for the combined skills of the Black Panther and the Dora Milaje. After the successful mission, they each reported back separately to King T'Chaka with nothing but praise for each other. T'Chaka noted that T'Challa was learning well, but there was more he had yet to learn.[5]

Nearly a decade later, a conflict in Lagos resulted in the deaths of several Wakandan humanitarians, which forced King T'Chaka to re-enter the public sphere. T'Challa accompanied his father to a United Nations conference in Vienna to ratify the Sokovia Accords, which would bring the Avengers under close monitoring by the organization. During the conference, his father was killed in a bombing seemingly caused by Bucky Barnes, an assassin known as the Winter Soldier. In the wake of the bombing and his father's death, T'Challa vowed to track down and kill Barnes to avenge his father.

Pursuing the Winter Soldier[]

T'Challa soon tracked Bucky to Bucharest, where he attacked the man already in the process of escaping from local authorities and Steve Rogers, the Avenger known as Captain America. T'Challa's quarry evaded the initial encounter however, and T'Challa soon found himself giving chase and trying to reach Barnes ahead of Rogers, as well as Rogers' fellow Avenger Sam Wilson, the Falcon. Eventually all four were apprehended and transferred to the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre in Berlin.

When the facility lost power during a psychiatric evaluation of Barnes, T'Challa was quick to note Steve Rogers reacting to the situation and to understand the threat that this would pose to the security surrounding Barnes. He soon intercepted Barnes in the midst of an escape attempt, and the pair fought briefly before Barnes made another escape with Rogers and Wilson.

T'Challa (Earth-199999) from Captain America Civil War 002

Civil War[]

Following the escape, Avenger Tony Stark, whom T'Challa knew as the Iron Man, started putting together a team that was tasked with arresting Rogers and his allies. Stark's ally Natasha Romanoff persuaded T'Challa to join this team by stating the obvious fact that he'd locate Barnes much faster with them than he would alone. Stark's team confronted Roger's team in Leipzig where two factions of Avengers were facing off over Barnes as well as breaches of the Sokovia Accords. Disinterested in any conflict with the others, T'Challa focused entirely on Barnes but again the man eluded him when others intervened, notably Romanoff, who turned against him and slowed him down while Barnes and Rogers escaped on a quinjet.

After reporting his findings to Secretary Thaddeus Ross, T'Challa shadowed Tony Stark to an old Hydra bunker in Siberia when Stark went to confront Rogers and Barnes alone. He remained hidden throughout the exchange, learning that it had been Helmut Zemo who had orchestrated the Vienna bombing. As battle erupted inside the facility, T'Challa intercepted Zemo who had tried to slip away in the unfolding chaos. Having witnessed how revenge had consumed Zemo, and how he too had been blinded by a need for revenge, he opted not to kill Zemo, instead going to further lengths intervening in Zemo's attempt to commit suicide so that Zemo could face justice.

Making Amends[]

As atonement for his actions, T'Challa helped Steve and Bucky by offering to help cleanse the programming that made Bucky dangerous. T'Challa had Bucky consent to being put under cryo-sleep, while Wakandan scientists worked on a cure.[4] Months later, T'Challa's sister, Shuri, told him that they'd made a breakthrough. Shuri would be able to cleanse Bucky of his programming without altering any of his past memories. Shuri also revealed that her algorithm would advance her own research into artificial intelligence. T'Challa commended her and was pleased at the good news.[6]

Becoming King[]

Avengers Infinity War poster 017 Textless

A week after the attack on the United Nations, T'Challa, Okoye, and T'Challa's ex-lover Nakia returned to Wakanda so that T'Challa, also joined by his mother, Ramonda, and his sister, Shuri, could assume the throne. On the day of the ceremony, T'Challa is challenged by M'Baku, leader of the Jabari Tribe, for the crown in ritual combat. Having been able to subdue M'Baku and persuade him to yield rather than die, T'Challa was then crowned king.[7]

Death[]

T'Challa fell ill with an unspecified illness. He initially suffered in silence, but eventually asked his sister for help. She tried to recreate the Heart-Shaped Herb, hoping it would cure him, but Shuri was unable to finish and in 2024, King T'Challa passed away.[3]

Attributes

Powers

Heart-Shaped Herb Enhancement: After having consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Challa's physical attributes have been greatly enhanced to levels comparable to a super soldier. These powers are long-lasting, at least until a user drinks a serum to negate the powers of the herbs for a trial combat for a fair fight to become King of Wakanda, when he became a regular human.

  • Enhanced Strength: After having consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Challa's strength is tremendously enhanced beyond the peak of human potential, moving into the early levels of superhuman condition. He could overpower the Winter Soldier despite the latter's own strength and fighting ability, able to send him flying through the air with his attacks and is strong enough to push back Winter Soldier's bionic arm. He can even duel Captain America on equal grounds. Furthermore, he was able to swiftly tackle down a charging rhino and destroy a Wakandan plane using a vibranium spear. T'Challa was able to overpower the Outriders and even topple down the Cull Obsidian during the Battle of Wakanda.
  • Enhanced Durability: T'Challa is much more durable than a normal human being. Even when not wearing his Panther Habit, he can survive blunt force trauma, such as being hit with the Winter Soldier's bionic arm and surviving the explosion at the Vienna International Centre despite being right next to the blast's epicenter, both with minor injuries. While wearing the Habit, T'Challa's durability is increased further thanks to its vibranium composition, which allows him to withstand bullets and explosions while being completely unfazed.
  • Enhanced Speed: T'Challa can run and move at speeds beyond the peak of human potential, moving and running into the early levels of superhuman condition. He was able to reach the second floor of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building using his acrobatics before Barnes could walk up a set of stairs. He is able to catch up to and outrun speeding vehicles and outpace the running pace of Captain America and Winter Soldier, respectively, eventually overtaking the Winter Soldier's motorcycle by using the vehicle Captain America hijacked as a springboard. T'Challa has proven to be a bit faster than Captain America, as shown during the Battle of Wakanda, when he ran at slightly superior speeds with him when rushing towards the Outriders.
  • Enhanced Stamina: T'Challa's musculature produces fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human and his body eliminates the excessive build-up of fatigue-producing chemicals in his muscles. This allows him to exert himself at peak capacity for several hours before tiring or slowing down, granting him exceptional endurance and lung capacity greater than normal humans. He was able to intensely pursue the Winter Soldier on foot without any signs of fatigue.
  • Enhanced Agility: T'Challa's agility is outstanding, far greater than Olympic athletes. He can coordinate his body with perfect balance, equilibrium, flexibility and dexterity. His movements are akin to an actual panther, being capable of crawl and climb through walls and leap great distances with accuracy. He was able to lunge several feet when attempting to shield his father from the explosion in at the Vienna International Centre and could reach the second floor of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building faster than Bucky could walk up a set of stairs. After being propelled into the air by a kinetic pulse, T'Challa was able to contort his body mid-air and land on the roof of a vehicle while it was traveling at high speeds. While pursuing Ulysses Klaue, T'Challa was able to leap high into the air to reach Klaue after the latter had gone up a staircase.
  • Enhanced Reflexes: The Heart-Shaped Herb enhanced T'Challa's reflexes to be superior to those of the finest athlete, allowing him to effectively process the world at an accelerated rate to more efficiently find solutions using his sense and strategies. T'Challa was able to catch Hawkeye's arrows with ease. He was also fast enough to evade a blast from Ulysses Klaue's Prosthetic Arm and cover a grenade using his body as soon as he saw it. However, his reflexes are no match for the likes of Thanos, as Thanos easily caught him when he attempted to attack him.
  • Regenerative Healing Factor: T'Challa's fast healing capabilities allow him to have a conditioned metabolism that enables an extraordinarily efficient recovery. After having consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Challa has suffered blunt force, cuts, and bruises due to fighting for the Black Panther monarch. Afterwards, T'Challa recovered from many of the injuries he endured and were healed in a matter of hours. This even enables him to fully recover from being on the brink of death in mere hours.

Abilities

  • Genius-Level Intellect: T'Challa has a very high intellectual mind that is on par with some of the greatest scientific pioneers in human history, as seen by him being smart enough to hand-craft his own Panther Habit using his country's greatest resource with his own two hands.
  • Master Tactician: T'Challa is a master in strategy and tactics. Due to his desire for revenge on the Winter Soldier, T'Challa has been shown to be capable of planning an attack on Barnes in the short time the latter was on the run. When battling Killmonger, he was able to use his knowledge of the flaws in the vibranium suit to get the edge on his opponent in their rematch, ultimately defeating him and impressing the latter.
  • Master Martial Artist: T'Challa is an extremely skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand combatant, having been trained vigorously from childhood to one day take up the mantle of the Black Panther. His resulting skill is such that Black Panther is on par with the likes of Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Black Widow. His unique Wakandan fighting style is very acrobatic and heavily attack-oriented, primarily utilizing powerful sweeping kicks, aerial take-downs, and lashing attacks with hooked and clawed fists, reminiscent of the manner in which a panther strikes. His attacks are fluid and swift, allowing him to transition from attack to defense rapidly. Black Panther's techniques combine African oriented martial arts: Zulu Stick Fighting, Dambe, Laamb and Capoeira and other styles, including Tiger Style Kung Fu, Wushu, Taekwondo, and Muay Thai. His resulting skill is such that he is on par with the likes of Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Black Widow. T'Challa has displayed the sufficient level of skill that in his fight with Winter Soldier after the latter had swiftly beaten Tony Stark, Sharon Carter, and Natasha Romanoff, he could fight on par with and even pressure Barnes, forcing him to flee eventually. While wearing his suit, T'Challa is skilled enough to fairly quickly overpower and knock out Hawkeye using his staff unarmed, best and almost kill Winter Soldier and even fight on par with Captain America himself, briefly knocking him down, as well as contend with Erik Killmonger while the latter was also in his own Panther Habit and boosted by the Heart-Shaped Herb and eventually defeat the latter, although not without extreme effort. Even without the Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Challa's skill and rigorous training in martial arts make him highly formidable and he is also accomplished with the use of Wakandan weapons, as displayed when he fought for the Black Panther monarchy. He was able to best M'Baku, the leader of the Jabari Tribe, and go up against Erik Killmonger, initially having the upper hand, only losing due to the fact that he was hampered by his mercy and indecision to kill his cousin. T'Challa also managed to defeat hordes of the Border Tribe during the Battle For Wakanda and bested and killed many Outriders during the Battle of Wakanda, although he was still no match for Thanos.
  • Skilled Swordsman: T'Challa is a formidably skilled swordsman and is able to use Wakandan swords with great skill. He was able to up against Killmonger in their duel and initially had the upper hand, only losing due to his desire to show mercy towards his cousin.
  • Master Acrobat: T'Challa is an professional gymnast and acrobat, which allowed him to quickly catch up to and cut off the Winter Soldier mere seconds after being knocked down, and the latter having gone up several flights of stairs. The Heart-Shaped Herb enhances his agility further to allow him to effortlessly outrun and vault over moving vehicles, perform aerial wheel kicks while fighting Captain America, and lunge forward several feet to knock Winter Soldier off his motorcycle.
  • Pilot: T'Challa has shown to be a skilled and elusive pilot, managing to tail Iron Man all the way to Siberia without the latter knowing.
  • Multilingualism: T'Challa speaks his native Xhosa, as well as fluent English (albeit with a thick Wakandan accent). He has also shown to be able to understand Korean.

Paraphernalia

Equipment

Panther Habit and kimoyo beads

Weapons

Claws on Panther Habit

Notes

See Also

Links and References

References

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