Avengers #20: The Panther Gang

Many times have comic book superheroes, Marvel and DC alike, been whisked away to a dark alternate dimension, a tyrannical alien planet, or a dystopian hypothetical future and forced to organize a revolution against the oppressive regime before returning home. It’s one of the oldest and most reliable storyline templates in the business, but its quality is ultimately dependent on the writer’s execution. From the very first page, Jed Mackay injects his own flavor into these well-worn tropes, penning both a satisfying sci-fi adventure and an excellent spotlight issue for Black Panther.

Having bided his time as the Avengers stoic, highly competent muscle, King T’Challa is finally given an opportunity for serious introspection as he ventures in a pocket dimension prison world to liberate its inhabitants. It’s exciting to see him in a foreign environment; out of his element yet unfazed and in-control. His inner monologues show a wonderfully consistent understanding of his voice: focused and tactical while still emotionally invested in his mission, even willing to have a little fun along the way.

Equally impressive is the amount of worldbuilding Mackay incorporates into the comic by giving the inmates of this prison world their own history of war and conflict between a multitude of factions. Artist Farid Karami grants realism to this lore, illustrating a world that feels ancient and lived-in with an atmosphere different from any mystical or alien realm previously seen in the Marvel universe. The prisoners in question were taken from worlds throughout the galaxy, so Karami has a lot of fun filling blank spaces with crowds of bizarre extraterrestrials. Any setting of this nature will inevitably homage Star Wars, and there are certainly familiar aliens to be spotted by eagle-eyed fans, meaning Avengers #20 has a great amount of re-readability.

By the end of the comic, it becomes clear that this is only the beginning of T’Challa’s rebellion, but with the various factions of this world slowly being unified as the Panther Gang, the Wakandan king has given these prisoners a clear line to victory and hope for a better world.