Iron Man Annual #5 As an Avenger, the Black Panther made several lasting friendships with other super heroes of the Marvel Universe. In Iron Man Annual #5, the Panther is reunited with the Golden Avenger when Tony Stark comes to Wakanda on business of great import. Shortly after his arrival, trouble begins to brew. A team of assassins attacks King T'Challa as he dines with Stark. Donning the garb of the Black Panther, he battles the hired killers but is quickly riddled with machine-gun fire and apparently killed. Or is he? Pulling a trump from Nick Fury's deck, T'Challa reveals that the slain Black Panther was nothing but a Life Model Decoy, an android serving as his ceremonial double. Once "dead," the Black Panther, with the aid of Iron Man, is able to witness the unfolding chain of events and discover who the conspirators are. He is shocked to discover that his chief antagonist is none other than Erik Killmonger, long assumed dead after plunging from the top of Warrior Falls in Jungle Action #17. With the help of his paramour, Madame Slay (last seen in Jungle Action #18), Killmonger rises from the dead and believes he has conquered his Wakandan nemesis at last. Feigning sorrow at the ignominious way T'Challa died, Killmonger dons the cloak of the Black Panther and addresses the Wakandan people as if they were his own. A recurring theme that is played in this story is Killmonger's unrelenting jealousy of T'Challa and his desire to overthrow him at all costs. Despite the fact that he gets his wish (or at least initially thinks he does), Killmonger laments that it was not he who slew the Black Panther but random bullets sprayed by lowly assassins. Iron Man and Black Panther soon emerge from the shadows to confront the conspirators. Iron Man is faced with Killmonger's soldiers, Madame Slay and the task of rescuing his pilot, James Rhodes, who has been taken hostage by Slay. The Black Panther is primarily concerned with Killmonger. The two engage in a brutal bout of hand-to-hand combat, one of many in their long history. In the end, it is discovered that Killmonger is not exactly what he seemed. He owes his brief resurrection to the Mandarin, who has bestowed upon Killmonger one of his powerful rings. Iron Man notices the ring before it vanishes and returns to its owner. However, no further conflict with the Mandarin occurs in the story. Iron Man Annual #5 could just as well have been titled Iron Man/Black Panther Annual. The two Avengers are given equal screen time in the story. If anything, the Wakandan setting makes the book more of a Black Panther story. "War and Remembrance" revives several old plotlines from Don McGregor's hallowed Jungle Action run and returns the Black Panther to prominence. It also seemingly allows T'Challa to even the score against one of his great nemeses: Killmonger! If not for the fact that the Mandarin was pulling the strings the whole time, we might believe this with more conviction.

Writers: Peter Gillis and Ralph Macchio Artist: Jerry Bingham "War and Remembrance" is an action-packed story with plenty of good character moments. The story's two protagonists, the Black Panther and Iron Man, are portrayed as two powerful men with very different lives, yet much in common as well. Writers Gillis and Macchio do an excellent job of portraying T'Challa in character. The reverence and comraderie shown between T'Challa and Tony Stark, and subsequently the Black Panther and Iron Man, is a joy to read. The story is sort of an Avengers-style version of Marvel Team-Up. Bingham's storytelling skills are above average as are the overall quality of his pencils. While his depictions of the techno-jungle and other Wakandan landmarks are uninspired, his action sequences are top notch as is his characterization. Iron Man Annual #5 is an entertaining read and well worth picking up. Seen in the context of past and future battles with Killmonger, "War and Remembrance" is an important part of T'Challa's personal history.