Black Panther, Vol. 2 #26-29 Of the Black Panther's many powers, skills and extraordinary abilities perhaps his most useful tool is his mind. Christopher Priest's Panther is always one,...no, check that...five or more steps ahead of his enemies. Seemingly no matter how byzantine the plot against him, T'Challa always manages to stay ahead of his opponents, a fact which is usually the main reason he wins. That is...until now. "Stürm und Drang" begins, of all places, in Texas where N'Kano (a.k.a., Vibraxas, nephew to T'Challa and former member of the team, Fantastic Force) evades local law enforcement so that he can escape to Wakanda to obtain help getting his wayward powers under control. The self-proclaimed "master of vibration" returns to Wakanda only to become the unwitting pawn of Hunter (a.k.a., the White Wolf ), the former head of the Wakandan Secret Police and adopted son of T'Chaka, T'Challa's father. Hunter forces Vibraxas to use his powers to restore Klaw, the Black Panther's nemesis, to life. Meanwhile, T'Challa becomes embroiled in an international stare down when he provides sanctuary to a child from the distant undersea realm of Lemuria. Lemurian High Priest Ghaur comes to Wakanda seeking the child and is flatly denied by T'Challa who is at the time accompanied by Storm of the X-Men. Ghaur storms off, reviling T'Challa and declaring that harboring the child is an act of war. Summoned by T'Challa's concerned friends and family, Storm had come to Wakanda to visit her old friend and ascertain the nature of his problems. T'Challa and Storm recover the lost child and enjoy their brief time together. Before Storm departs, she warns T'Challa that by isolating himself, he risks becoming like another man who went mad with power and became a despot: Magneto. Despite the show of strength and indifference that he projects, T'Challa admits to Storm that he often feels vulnerable and that the pressure of ruling Wakanda is often a heavy burden. The two comfort one another, culminating in a private and very romantic kiss goodbye. T'Challa leaves for New York and summons his fellow super-powered heads of state to a summit meeting of sorts. In attendance (some in person, some by holographic projection) are Namor, King of Atlantis; Dr. Doom of Latveria; and Magneto, leader of the mutant nation, Genosha. The Black Panther explains that he can not give the child back to Ghaur because 1) Ghaur will kill the child, and 2) Ghaur has a history of megalomania and for all they know, he could be using the child for another of his outlandish world domination schemes. Doom professes that the Panther should return the child and that it is none of his affair. Magneto urges caution. Namor is furious and invokes the events that occurred during the Kiber incident (in which Wakanda or Atlantis nearly engaged in nuclear war) to urge the Panther to reconsider any aggressive acts. (See the story, Battle Royale, for more on the Kiber incident.) In fear of a preemptive strike from Lemuria, the Black Panther dispatches to Lemuria a fleet of N'Yami-class battle cruisers, a highly lethal Wakandan war craft capable of waging war in the air, in the deepest seas or even in outer space if need be. Atlantis responds to the perceived Wakandan aggression by sending a fleet of Atlantean craft to monitor the N'Yami battle cruisers. The United States also responds, sending a fleet of ships to the area, including the air craft carrier, Roussos. A tense stand-off begins. The Black Panther believes that this is all a simple case of saber rattling by Ghaur and the Lemurians, when the unexpected happens: the Roussos is destroyed, seemingly by Wakandan forces! Unaware that Klaw is the actual perpetrator of the Roussos attack, the Panther scrambles to control the flow of events before World War III is started. He dispatches Everett Ross, his friend and confidant, to quell Ghaur and the Lemurians. Ross astutely discovers the root of the problem, greatly angering the Lemurian priest. While in Lemuria, Ross bumps into Klaw who is there to once again stir up the pot. Klaw uses his sound control powers to simulate the sound of an imminent Lemurian missile attack. The Wakandan forces hovering over Lemuria attack the Lemurian missile silos and the Atlantean vessels simultaneously. They succeed in disabling the Lemurian missiles but become mired in a firefight with the Atlanteans. Furious that it has come to this, Namor attacks the Black Panther in New York. The two combine forces to stop a robbery and then proceed to battle one another. Cut off from communicating with his forces by Klaw, the Panther is perplexed at Namor's actions and defends himself against the hotheaded Atlantean's assault. The Black Panther convinces Namor to cease his attack and cooler heads prevail. While the evidence is damning, the Panther protests that he did not order his forces to attack and swears to get to the bottom of this. Just as the Black Panther prepares to go to his forces to order them to stand down, he is ambushed by Klaw who is bent on destroying his old foe. At last the hidden party reveals himself and all the pieces come together for the Black Panther. Using his enhanced technology, Panther is able to temporariliy beat Klaw and return to Namor to discuss what steps to take next. Because he has been cut off from communicating with his forces, the Panther explains that the only way to avert a war is for Namor to order his forces to surrender. Namor balks at the notion of surrender but acquiesces to the Panther's will. Just then, Klaw returns to finish what he started. Taking gargantuan form, the malleable Klaw shields his body with water to dull the Panther's weapons. Never one to be caught off guard, however, the Panther is ready for him. Using his father's ceremonial blade, the Panther penetrates Klaws defenses yet again and proceeds to pummel him, apparently to death. From the brink of war, the various combatants retreat from battle. Ross arranges for the child to appear to have died so Ghaur can save face. Namor takes in the child and presumably her mother who assume new identities. Wakanda returns to peace, but T'Challa is forced to remain in New York to stand trial for his assault on Klaw.

Writer: Christopher Priest Artists: Sal Velluto and Bob Almond "Stürm und Drang" is a complex political thriller that weaves several plotlines into one cohesive story. That Priest is able to do this without making the story overly convoluted or confusing is a credit to his writing abilities. In the process of the story, we see that the Black Panther is not as omniscient and unflappable as he always appears. Even he can be caught off guard and can not control all of the events around him. Even so, with his sharp mind, the Panther is able to navigate Wakanda through a dangerous game of brinksmanship and come out victorious in the end. In battle with Klaw, we see a rare side of the Black Panther. He is furious, in a fit of uncontrollable thirst for vengeance against the man who killed his father and changed his life forever. We see how much this has affected T'Challa and how the burdens he has had to take on weigh upon him heavily. The scenes showing T'Challa's vulnerability and rage are emotionally compelling and show excellent character development. Velluto and Almond lend their able hand to the art chores on this story. Their realistic style lends itself well to the political nature of the story. There are many scenes heavy on dialogue in this story and the artistic team handles them superbly, capturing the subtle nuances of conversation and emotion. "Stürm und Drang" is a fantastic political thriller and a character-driven drama masterfully melded together. This story contends with the very first arc as best of the series and one of the best super-hero comic stories of the year.

Return to Stories.