Review: Marvel Action Black Panther #5

The Marvel Action (MA) series of titles published through IDW is designed for younger fans of Marvel (and Disney“s) expansive collection of intellectual properties. But MA“s Black Panther #5, written by Vita Ayala, with beautiful art drawn by Arianna Florean, is one of the most sophisticated takes on the Black Panther world. On the surface, it“s a mundane story about Shuri“s disrespect for an elder in the community. But beneath the surface, Vita Ayala excavates an undeniable tension in the world of Wakanda ”“ a tension that most other Black Panther writers either do not understand or simply tend to avoid.

Wakanda is a utopian society ”“ for the most part. Utopian societies can“t really exist, in the sense that no world, nation, state, city, or town can be perfect. But Wakanda is as about a perfect society as there is in comics. Again, this is for the most part. Ta Nehisi Coates and others have explored the inherent flaws in Jack Kirby“s original vision of a technologically advance Black nation that somehow insulated itself from colonial interruptions. These explorations have been vital to our understanding of the worlds of Black Panther and for the character“s enduring legacy as the premier Black hero of the Marvel universe.

Ayala“s plot in MA Black Panther #5 is concerned more with the quotidian experiences of Wakanda“s heroes than it is with the cosmos. It opens in Wakanda“s Great Market and moves to the interior of a medical facility. These scenes and settings suggest a simple story that may or may not involve too much action. There is action in this issue, but the action is not the issue. What“s at issue in MA Black Panther #5 is the immutable tension that underwrites the world of Wakanda. That tension ”“ the conflict between traditional, non-Western, African culture and the tech-based advanced culture of Wakanda ”“ is obvious. But it is rarely explored in the ways that Ayala and Florean do here.

The key to Wakanda“s utopian aspirations has been the vibranium source that generates its technological advancements and thereby its capacity to determine its own national destiny. This sense of self-determination is vital for the sense of Blackness that animates all Black Panther books. But this kind of technological advancement also comes at a cost. How are traditional African healers supposed to remain valuable and valued in a culture that can cure people with “healing tubes?”“ For all of Shuri“s extraordinary intellectual abilities, it is unclear if she appreciates the simple ”“ but often overlooked ”“ conflict between traditional African culture and Wakandan innovation. Good thing the creative team on MA Black Panther is looking right at it.

SCORE: 4.5/5

(W) Vita Ayala (A/CA) Arianna Florean