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Written by: Bryan Hill
Art by: Stefano Caselli
Colors by: David Curiel
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Stefano Caselli, David Curiel
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: September 11, 2024
Ultimate Black Panther #8, by Marvel Comics on 9/11/24, knocks T’Challa off the battlefield with an injury that opens his eyes to Vibranium’s potential. Meanwhile, Killmonger and Storm search for a magic man.
Is Ultimate Black Panther #8 Good?
The water treading continues. Bryan Hill is a fine writer, so my expectations were high when he was announced to lead an Ultimate Black Panther book, but this title increasingly disappoints because the story has barely moved an inch in months. At most, we can say the Ultimate version of Vibranium potentially has different properties than we know from the version on Earth-616, but there’s no way to justify this long of a wait at this cover price for that meager revelation.
When last we left T’Challa in Ultimate Black Panther #7, we witnessed one-half of Moon Knight, Khonshu, recruiting people to his army as jihad zealots by using the power of the green goo to heal and instill devotion. Black Panther confronted Khonshu outside an industrial plant when the zealots attacked as suicide bombers. The fight ended in a bizarre stalemate where Khonshu and Black Panther simply walked away from each other.
In Black Panther #8, Black Panther and the forces of Wakanda meet Moon Knight’s army of zealots on the battlefield. During the fight, T’Challa is stabbed through the leg with a long blade that has special properties imbued in it, presumably from the green goo. The energy from the blade knocks T’Challa out and sends him into a hallucinatory state where he sees symbolic visions.
When T’Challa wakes up at home a week later, he learns Shuri is anxiously preparing for more battles. However, T’Challa has a new question to answer. He shows his wife that he can call the long blade to him due to its unique properties from the green goo, leading him to (somehow) conclude that Vibranium also has unique properties that must be discovered to even the odds against Moon Knight.
The issue concludes with Killmonger and Storm beating up an old man for information on the whereabouts of a supposed Sorcerer Supreme.
What’s great about Ultimate Black Panther #8? The idea that Vibranium has additional, unrealized properties of a magical nature is an intriguing prospect, so I’m looking forward to how that plays out. Plus, this issue introduces the existence of an Ultimate Doctor, which could be cool, but it’s also a negative (see below).
What’s not great about Ultimate Black Panther #8? If it wasn’t abundantly clear by now, the pacing or this arc is a complete drag. Bryan Hill is taking the slowest approach possible to treading water while the series kills time in anticipation of the Maker’s return 16 months from now, and that’s no bueno.
Per the comment above about a possible/probable Ultimate Doctor Strange, that cool development is also a negative because it runs completely counter to the whole existence of Earth-6160. The Maker intentionally created a universe without heroes who could challenge his authority, so there’s no Earthly reason why the Maker would allow a Sorcerer Supreme to come into existence. You could ding Bryan Hill for that faux pas, but it doesn’t look like any other Ultimates writer is abiding by that premise either (see Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spider-Men, etc.).
How’s the art? Stefano Caselli’s art is the consistently high point of this series. Caselli’s figure work, action, and dramatic framing look fantastic. Further, David Curiel’s color selection and application are top-notch.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
Ultimate Black Panther #8 continues to take the slow road to somewhere with an issue that looks good doing very little. Bryan Hill is doing his darndest to kill time and fill space waiting for the Maker’s return, but at least Stefano Caselli’s art gives you something good to look at while you wait.
5.5/10
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