Black Panther #8: Destiny

Wow, Ta-Nehisi Coates & Kevin Walker is pulling all the punches in Black Panther #8! They are reminding us some factors that made this saga so extraordinarily interesting. The Maroons, once nameless and slaved by the Empire, seek out to retrieve what have been lost. To be successful in the ultimate goal, Captain M’Baku and his right hand officer, Nakia, entrusted T’Challa to carry out a mission to aboard the Imperial fighter, Taharaqua and steal the raw vibranium.

Sounds simple enough for the legendary Black Panther, but this ship is carrying some unexpected cargo. T’Challa’s discovery causes great conflictions between him and the immediate mission on hand. He confronts this dismay and acts upon what is most important. Will he leave the slaves to their fate of the Empire and only focus on the mission to secure the vibranium shipment for his fellow rebels? A run in with a slave and his son may force T’Challa to make another choice.

Will he extricate the refugees and be the “one who shall put the knife where it belongs”? This choice could put everything the rebellion has been building towards in jeopardy. T’Challa must decide between the mission by his commanding officers and his inner feeling of what is right. Coates & Kev Walker make a bold and wise decision to bring that choice to the forefront in this issue and give T’Challa some moral and ethical dilemmas to decipher. Comprehending the slave’s pain first hand, T’Challa has conflictions on abandoning them.

The dialogue between T’Challa and Nakia draws the reader to determine if T’Challa made the right decision at the end of this eighth issue? What will be the consequences of his choice? Coates and Walker leaves the answer open to more than one interpretation with the cliffhanger ending.

Kev Walker’s artwork is amazing as he gives each character depth of emotion on their faces. He is detailed on the action scenes very impressive backgrounds. The colors from Stephane Patreau are absolutely gorgeous! The connection between Coates, Walker, and Patreau says a lot when words are not needed. Black Panther #8 brings out the best of these dynamic comic book creators.