It Could Have Been Different: Reviewing ‘Black Panther’ #12

What happens when someone already at rock bottom, falls even further? That’s something the Black Panther might find out very quickly. The sins of T’Challa’s past and present have come back to haunt not just him, but the entire world.

All through this run John Ridley has been systematically taking T’Challa apart as a character and sinking him lower and lower. There are only three issues left in this series (my wild guess about the run wrapping up in the last review ended up spot on), and even as T’Challa gathers a team here to try and clean up his own mess, there is no way that the character will be in a good position when all is said and done as the fifteenth issue wraps. He is King no longer (as Wakanda is a Democratic state now), lost his spot in the Avengers, and lost the trust and respect of everyone he called friend or ally.

I’m very intrigued by runs that sort of deconstruct characters and put them in another place by the end, but damn this has been a pile-on for the character. We have seen a lot of this sort of Kingly arrogance from T’Challa before, so him pulling a Batman, having fail-safes in place to take down all the heroes just in case, isn’t that far out of character as we’ve seen him.

Truth be told I think that this series-long arc has a lot of strength to it and explores a lot of solid topics, but I do wish that there was more room to really explore T’Challa and the changes rather than having to keep piling on losses. Perhaps that is what will come next, as it seems unlikely that after all these years of consistent Black Panther series that another won’t take the place of this one when all is said and done.

What we get in this issue is a very character and exposition-heavy issue from Jhai revealing his plan, to the Avengers conversation, followed by a general team gathering style issue. It’s putting all the pieces on the board where they need to be for the endgame, and Germán Peralta makes it all look great and hit the right emotional notes. Even with people mostly sitting around talking there is still a sense of movement and flowing energy in the panels, and the emotional aspects are clear as day upon faces and within body language. Peralta has a very light feeling within his style but there is also a slight rougher edge that makes things hit even harder. Heavily detailed when he needs to be while also knowing when to pull that detail back in order to guide our eyes to the person or thing that needs our full focus.

I’m really liking the sort of watercolor/paint feeling that Ceci De La Cruz brings to the page with the colors. They are bright and vivid but also toned down at the same time, allowing certain elements to naturally pop far more than others. In the Avengers scenes, many of the backgrounds are a very stark gray color that allows the characters before them to stand out more, keeping our eyes on the emotion that is happening as T’Challa has to come clean. Another element that stands out is the faded brown aspect that overtakes some of the panels that are flashbacks, making sure they stand apart from the rest of the art and we peg them as flashbacks on sight.

As noted, there is a ton of exposition and dialogue that goes on here which Joe Sabino handles perfectly and makes sure that it just flows through the pages naturally. Even when there are a ton of words in a bubble, it’s placed in a way where it hits with the most impact without overwhelming the reader or taking away from what else is on the page. It’s always so amazing how different letterers are able to use a variety of tricks that can totally change how one reads certain words in order to perceive the expected tone of those words. Some bolds here or there or changes to the style and size of the font instantly let us know if they are meant to be said louder or quieter than normal dialogue and even can help enhance what the clear emotions on the character’s face happen to be.

Black Panther #12 is now available from Marvel Comics.