The Painful Cost Of One’s Deadliest Sins: Reviewing ‘Black Panther’ #14

When one has very few to no allies left to aid them, sometimes the next best thing is a former enemy. Wakanda and Atlantis have been enemies for years now, with numerous lives lost in the various battles charged by the egos of King Namor of Atlantis and the former King of Wakanda T’Challa. While Namor has shown up in T’Challa’s greatest time of need (dealing with his own sins that now threaten the world), the oceanic king’s assistance comes with a hefty price for T’Challa to bear.

In previous reviews, I wrote about wanting to see even more fallout for all the secrets and poor choices that T’Challa had made that threatened Wakanda and now the rest of the world. While he lost his crown as the country turned towards democracy, the former King was still kicking and fighting for the country he once led and loved. As if hearing what I was thinking (clearly not of course), John Ridley struck a powerful blow that surprised me, setting the tone for this run’s final two issues (ahead of a new one in June from Eve Ewing and Chris Allen).

In order to secure peace with Atlantis to have a powerful ally, after T’Challa’s actions have left Wakanda light in military forces to protect their interest, Prime Minister Folasade signed a treaty that only asked for one thing on Atlantis’s side: the lifetime banishment of T’Challa from Wakanda. Even facing lifetime exile, T’Challa still doesn’t trust Namor but follows the orders of the prime minister and her proxy Imani in order to stop Jhai and save the world.

Ridley was playing a longer game, grinding T’Challa down to his basest levels and stripping everything away so that the character is basically rock bottom. We see a broken but steadfast T’Challa who speaks of how he’s lost his country, and betrayed his friends, but has also helped bring new heroes forward that can carry on the fight that he won’t be able to anymore. A new series having been announced already in some ways lessens the cliffhanger we’re left with here in one way, but it also doesn’t because this story is just so personal and we’re following the unraveling of T’Challa which makes it resonate even more.

There is a ton for Germán Peralta to tackle in this issue as the cast of characters skyrockets and we witness massive forces colliding in battle through a good portion of the second half of the issue. Peralta is so good about being able to give us really detailed and deep imagery that really captures the characters and their emotions/energy, but also other images that know when to pull back on that detail and give us bigger shots that are about the feeling more than seeing every minute detail. This gorgeous almost paint-like style pairs well with most colorists’ sensibilities, and we see that work again here as Jesus Aburtov returns to team up with Peralta after taking a few issues off.

Aburtov is one of those that can easily create a solid mix of brighter superhero-type colors and those that are far more grounded and Earthy and kind of toned down. In any given scene the surroundings will be colorful in their own right but toned down compared to the costumes of these heroes and other powerful figures, making them stand out from everything else in a way that keeps them in focus but also makes sense given their status as something “unnatural” to how we know and see the world. The colors pair well with that sort of paint feeling I mentioned previously, creating something almost akin to a watercolor effect.

Joe Sabino spends quite a bit of time in Wakanda bringing letters, between this book and the recently wrapped Wakanda miniseries and finds a way to bring all that emotion and energy to every word on the pages. Big bold large letters or smaller tamer letters that look quiet in essence are all over the place because characters are fully projecting their emotions and tone when Sabino is around. There is no mistaking how Namor is speaking to T’Challa at the start or the anger in T’Challa’s voice as they fight. It’s all clear on the page, resonating in our heads as we read through it all. Using the well-placed bubbles as sort of a track to guide us through the issues alongside the well-crafted panel choices of Peralta.

Black Panther #14 is now available from Marvel Comics.