Ultimate Black Panther #4 is unique in that it chooses to hold off on the titular character appearing until the tail end of the book. There’s actually a good reason for that – the previous issue had him being ambushed by Moon Knight’s forces and coming face to face with Killmonger and Storm – but the creative team of Bryan Hill, Stefano Caselli, David Curiel and Cory Petit take a different approach and explore how T’Challa’s absence affects the kingdom of Wakanda.
Hill decides to zero in on Okoye and Shuri, with both having a personal connection to the Black Panther: Okoye is his wife, Shuri his sister. They also have different positions on how to keep Wakanda safe. While Shuri is more than willing to trust her brother, Okoye lays into T’Challa when he returns with the very valid point that as his wife she deserves to know where he is. One area where the new Ultimate Universe has been excelling is flipping superhero tropes upside down, and that continues with Hill exploring the ups and downs of a hero keeping secrets from their loved ones.
Caselli depicts two different visions of Wakanda throughout Ultimate Black Panther #4: the golden, shining vision of Afrofuturism that is the capital of Birnin Zana – Petit’s lettering emphasizing the now-iconic chant of “Wakanda Forever!” – and the towers of shadow that it becomes at night. The latter takes prominence due to a combination of Curiel’s carefully applied colors and a fight between T’Challa, Shuri, and one of Moon Knight’s assassins. It wasn’t lost on me that the assassin wears a hood and cloak that makes them resemble the mainstream Moon Knight.
The only major issue lies with the speed of the plot. So far there’s no indication of why Moon Knight has been attacking Khonshu, or what exactly T’Challa discovered at the end of last issue. I enjoy a good slow burn story, but there has to be room for the story to progress. There are two issues left in the first arc, so hopefully answers are on the way.
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