For my final project, I have decided to do a sort-of comparison, of one of my favorite superhero characters ever. Originally named or almost named the Coal Tiger, King T’Challa has quite recently emerged from the depths of the comic pages to the big screen. There is no doubt that this movie, the Black Panther, has created a huge movement and been the center for many social justice issues, such as on-screen time for any colored characters in the movie world or how these characters we depicted. It has also brought about much conversations of femininity and feminism. The list goes on and on, but these were some important ones to me that I thought I could share with you today.
That being said, I have watched the Black Panther many times, more than I would like to admit, and even a few times (again) for this project. Each time pausing every other minute in order to write things down, see what I can catch, to see how each character are being depicted, etc. As such, I have also been doing the same thing with the few early comics of the Black Panther as well. Again, I hope to compare and find similarities and differences in the movie today, and the first few volumes of the comics. I aim to (mostly) find how the character as such was seen and how everyone reacted, acted towards him, how he acted back, his traits and how he was seen by the reader, etc.
Interesting enough, in the first few volumes of the original Black Panther, the King T’Challa was actually depicted as rich, wealthy, affluent, smart, etc. To me, this came as a huge surprise. I would have never thought that in the first few volumes he would be shown as such. Why? Because this was during the 60s and we all know some of the notorious things that happened in the 60s and before. On top of that, this was the first black superhero to ever hit the market, AND he was created by white persons. Surprise! Again, some of the many reasons as to why this was a “wow” moment for me.
In the first few comics, we can see that there are white persons, like the Fantastic 4, that are sort-of skeptical and even suspicious about a black person having nice things, and being rich, wealthy, and even generous enough to give them away. Their suspicion is very much notable and even representative of what other white Americans would have been saying and thinking back in the 60s (well, their thoughts and words were likely much kinder than what other white Americans may have said).
The Black Panther is a character that represents blackness and all peoples of color beyond what people know to be stereotyped. Pre-existing thoughts and prejudice cower at the thought that someone who is seen to be less than, can actually be more than. The questions are, how what the Black Panther originally portrayed? Did he for the stereotypes? How did he change people’s minds about black people and other colored peoples? Did people still think of him as inferior? This racial reform, transformation, and reconstruction that occurred at the political and social levels are still alive and happening today, for the battle is nowhere near over, however, such a character may serve as a sign of hope for those that may have lost theirs.
