10 Things Marvel Wants You To Forget About Black Panther
6. Making Him Overly Powerful For No Reason
Do you know why the climax of Avengers: Endgame was so epic? Because we love to see a superhero defeat a supervillain that's WAY out of their league. Even though we want the good guy to win, it's all the more satisfying when the odds are stacked against him or her.
But there are times where comics ask way too much from us. On a number of occasions, Black Panther defeated someone that was so strong, his victory should've been impossible. In Fantastic Four #545, T'Challa incapacitates the Silver Surfer... with an arm lock. For the record, the Surfer is stronger than Thor, and yet, a low-level superhuman beat him with a rudimentary wrestling move.
Despite the fact Namor is strong enough to knock out Savage Hulk (the strongest incarnation of Hulk), BP bested him in battle by... just... hitting him.
However, T'Challa's most famous (and most ridiculous) battle is when he fought Mephisto (Marvel's equivalent of the Devil) and won! Sure, T'Challa has heightened strength and reflexes, but that doesn't give you an edge when you're fighting the literal Devil!
Despite the fact these victories were meant to make Black Panther look like the be-all-and-end-all, they came across as forced and cringey.