10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Black Panther

10. Coal Tiger

Black Panther made his debut in an issue of Fantastic Four in 1966. His iconic look of a skin-tight tactical suit complete with cape was a sharp contrast from the Fantastic Four’s bright blue outfits, and made him stand out among his peers.

Even the name “Black Panther” seemed menacing yet regal, and was a name Stan Lee gave the character as homage to a pulp adventure hero who had an actual panther as this ally. Everything seemed to fit T’Challa like a glove, but that wasn’t always the case.

Originally, artist Jack Kirby’s concept art portrayed T’Challa wearing more traditional African garb. These sketches depicted the king of Wakanda, without any face covering at all, and wearing a mixture of grey, yellow, red and white. Kirby also came up with the concept name “Coal Tiger” and, while a "coal" or black tiger might resemble a black panther in terms of appearance, there's no doubt the latter sounds more intimidating.

Since deciding against it initially, Marvel has found many other uses for the Coal Tiger moniker. For instance, in the 355 universe, T'Challa choses the name as his super hero alias.