Black Panther - or T'Challa, King of Wakanda - is the first black superhero and one of Marvel's most interesting characters. Created in 1966 and debuting in the pages of Fantastic Four, the Panther rules and represents his hyper-advanced nation-state, but seeks justice all over the world. Though he's very much his own character, T'Challa's abilities were summed up succinctly in the tagline for his 2005 series relaunch: Reed's brain, Cap's brawn, Tony's bank. Black Panther's path to the big screen hasn't necessarily been a smooth one, though - fans have been clamoring to see T'Challa's story for years, but it was deemed "unrealistic" by the same studio that was working on Guardians of the Galaxy. Still, rumors swirled, and most assumed it was only a matter of time. To have these hopes realized is cause for celebration, as is Chadwick Boseman's casting - Boseman has gained fame and acclaim for starring roles in biopics 42 and Get On Up, and such a high-profile choice shows Marvel is serious about making Black Panther as important as any of their series. And if that's not enough, the Black Panther costume concept art Marvel released looks incredible. Like with the initial photos of the Iron Man armor, this art shows an outfit that's true to the books, but has also been (or will be) expertly transferred to real life. The movie's in good hands.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
