Black Panther, Vol. 3: A Nation Under Our Feet, Book Three

Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates

by Ta-Nehisi Coates (Writer), Brian Stelfreeze (Artist), Chris Sprouse

The full truth of the People's revolution - and the power players supporting it - has been revealed! Now, T'Challa must fight like never before for the fate of his nation - and one of his most trusted allies is back to stand by his side. As the final battle begins, the entirety of Wakanda's glorious history may be their most potent weapon. But even if the People fall, can the monarchy still stand? The pieces are all in position, now it's time for Ta-Nehisi Coates and Brian Stelfreeze to knock over the board as their revitalization of Black Panther continues!

Collecting: Black Panther #9-12 and material from New Avengers (2013) #18, 21, 24

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 12, 2017

About the author

Ta-Nehisi Coates is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Between the World and Me, a finalist for the National Book Award. A MacArthur "Genius Grant" fellow, Coates has received the National Magazine Award, the Hillman Prize for Opinion and Analysis Journalism, and the George Polk Award for his Atlantic cover story "The Case for Reparations." He lives in New York with his wife and son.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coates finishes up his intolerable Black Panther run with a whimper. The civil war ends and then everyone sits around talking about what a new government should entail but nothing gets established. A meandering end for a book that was nothing but insufferable dialogue. The book was only 4 new issues followed by 3 issues of New Avengers that are only like 2 years old.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually start off with the introductory quote, but this volume that wraps-up the first story-arc of Ta-Nehisi Coates on Black Panther is a book tailor-made to pander to your local HBCU's social sciences department...and I cannot be happier for it:

Changamire: "If you studied you would find that your dilemma is not an original one. That book chronicles the attempt to raise an entire race of kings. And every year...[they] were charged with keeping thousands more underfoot.
Can you imagine it? Whole generations brought up with the daily weight of turning their fellow man into slaves. It drove them mad, you understand. They slaughtered each other by the score. Whole generations turned into dust. All for the right to live as kings."

T'Challa: "What happened to the slaves?"

Changamire: "The slaves? It was they who started the war. Their country merely joined in."

T'Challa: "But the slaves are free now, are they not?"

Changamire: "It is too soon to tell, my king."

That was King T'Challa and his intellectual antagonist at a very tense point of the story discussing American Slavery, American Freedom by Edmund S. Morgan...Your not getting that in Amazing Spider-Man right now.

This volume was a very good ending to a first-time comic writer's debut. I was very skeptical of Coates' writing in the previous two volumes, but he seems to finally get the hang of it all in this volume and I enjoyed every moment of it. We see the eternal conflict of king vs. hero reach its conclusion and the new order that now has to result because of it. This book is like closure to the last decade or so of T'Challa's ups-and-downs as King of Wakanda. He is re-united with a very valuable ally who is stronger and wiser than last time we saw her. And we see that while Wakanda has survived as an absolute monarchy for a long time, the appeal to heaven is too strong now. Brian Stelfreeze and Chris Sprouse are the great meta-heroes of this series as their artwork has been the glue holding this story together, especially in the beginning.

If you are looking for classic bang-pow superhero story, you may want to skip this series, but if you want a book that examines what it means to rule and be a hero....while doing classic bang-pow stuff then this book is for you.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started strong in regards to the Golden City and the turmoil in Wakanda but then it unraveled in the latter part of the novel.

Still interesting in topic so I will finish the series.

OVERALL GRADE: B minus to B.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Here's the problem I'm having with the first three trades (or as I've read them digital floppies), and its that I feel like I'm supposed to like this series. Coates is big time award winning author, right? Political correctness says I'm supposed to like this, because it's the second time, that I know of, that an African-America writer has taken on this series.

Except, at best it's a middling read. It took more than two thirds of the first season, as even Marvel is calling the run now, for Coates to seem to understand that just because you're a writer that doesn't mean that you don't have to adjust to the medium that you're writing in. Its different writing requirements whether its magazines, novels, movies, television or comics.

There is a germ of good political story/thriller here, but Coates never hits House of Cards level (more Scandal level). People are probably tired of hearing me say this, but Christopher Priest did political thrill better with T'Challa, and that because we were never allowed to forget that T'Challa is a very smart man.

Whereas here for most of the run T'Challa is not so smart. As comic book kings go he is a dumb as Namor or Arthur Curry.

The conflict is essentially over, and so is much of the curiosity about Coates. Apparently a big series shift is on the way, so I could return.

[Saif Saeed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mixed feelings here.

On the one hand Coates captures the ideological and philosophical elements of Wakanda very well. Black Panther and especially Wakanda stories are complex, bordering and dipping into convoluted sometimes. Coates Wakanda walks that line.

The action shots in these last few issues are terrible. I can't believe something like this could get published. Coates writes of armies and at no point were there ever more than five Wakandans in one panel or on one page. At no point is there a spread to show you any kind of scale. It's difficult to imagine Wakanda or armies or revolutions without some kind of idea of the numbers you're talking about and it's actually just tragic when Wakanda looks like it's being invaded by an army of seven people. Its unforgivable.

Another knock on this story is that's its derailed by the New Avengers plots and then the whole world got a reboot after Secret Wars so.. end of story. The genesis of the story is the hardships of Black Panther during New Avengers but it faces the same fate of every Marvel comic in that the next event means this resolution doesn't matter. Frustrating.

It's a good BP story, and we're short on those. Read Christopher Priest if you want the best Black Panther run, read this one if you want a good one (with a shit final third).

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you didn't like vol.1 because there was too much talk there's little chance you'll like this one better. Revolutions are talking affairs.

Coates somehow managed to cram a political novel into 12 comic books so of course it's laden with dialogues. His talent is to make them resounding and not annoying.
The stakes and motives are clear, as well as the schematic of a revolution turning into terror. The allegiances and their evolution are clearly exposed. The personal conflicts and desires of the characters are taken into account. It makes for a good novel-actually-turned-into-a-comic-book.

The resolution of conflict is of course a bit idealized, but that's what revolutions are for, arent't they?

Ta-Nehisi Coates also brings depth to the wakandan lore. Mixing ancient characters and dynasties, parables and a bit of mystic it's a rich and interesting addition to the story of the country. Of course the parables add even more captions to the book but I was drawn into them and didn't find them bothersome.

I have spoilery interrogations, maybe doubts, about the fate of Shuri. That was maybe a bit too much. We'll see in next volume I reckon.

What's good with this book is that the art is on par with the plot. Chris Sprouse illustrates most of it, one issue being done by Brian Stelfreeze. Both are great pencillers so, with the beautiful colors of Laura Martin, it makes for a gorgeous volume.

1 like

[Michael Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some issues of pacing and there is still a surfeit of 'talking head' scenes, but this book has grown on me. It continues being an intelligent, introspective, personally and politically insightful examination of a superhero who is also the leader of his own nation. The large cast of characters feels more better managed in these issues and I find myself more invested in the events as I find my bearings in the complex landscape presented here.

[Malum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept reading this plotline hoping that it would get better, or at least that something interesting would happen, but it was just sub-par the whole way through.

The worst part is that they have been building up to this huge battle for ages now, and when it finally happens we don't get cool looking armies, we get like five guys duking it out, and with people in the background like "oh no, what a huge clash this is!". This is a comic, so there is not special FX budget. If there is supposed to be hundreds or thousands of people fighting a huge battle, then show us! It's hilarious when the best warriors of Wakanda are all like "Fall back!" and they are being chased by three dudes. It was like a low budget, direct to video movie put into a comic book.

Besides that hilarity, this book was just massive amounts of talking and exposition. Oh, and Shuri went to Hogwarts and learned magic now, I guess.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good, nuanced, THOUGHTFUL ending to a really good, complex, inexorable arc. I am tempted to take off a star for the huge weakness of the older (not written by Ta-Nehisi Coates) excerpts at the back, but old arcs at the back are rarely germaine to the actual book, so I will just sweep them aside.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume didn't do anything for me (except Shuri kicking butt which was grand) but this one was everything I was hoping for and more.

[Petergiaquinta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, that’s over with...

The third part of Ta-Nehesi Coates’ foray into the graphic novel form is only mildly better than the first two...characters seem to finally come more into their own and the dialogue feels a little stronger, although no less stilted, as the resolution to Wakanda’s civil strife leads to a discussion about how to move forward into a better, more just society.

I get it, Mr. Coates: Wakanda is the Africa of the Twenty-First Century looking for a way forward while seeking to hold onto its honored past and tradition. But next time, although I doubt that there will be a next time, try to be a little less boring about it all.

You can be political; you can teach all of us schnooks something powerful about the world that we live in and still write a compelling story that draws us in and keeps us wanting more...remember what Horace said about teaching and delighting? You’ve lost half the equation here, and fifty percent is failure.

And it’s unfortunate because Marvel has nearly always balanced these two essential factors so well in their comics...Stan Lee and Chris Claremont’s X-Men come to mind as the best of the best when it comes to that perfect blend of teaching and entertaining. Scott Lobdell kept the ball rolling with Legion Quest and the Age of Apocalypse.

I’d like to think my world view owes a lot to the work of Martin and Malcolm back in the ‘60s, and it does, it does, make no mistake about that. But it just might owe a little bit more to the efforts of Stan and Jack in that same decade...Ta-Nahesi Coates had the chance to carry on that tradition, but sadly he seems to have mucked it up.

If there is a next time, I hope one of Marvel’s better editors will give a little more guidance to Coates to help him find his way in the Marvel universe.

[Michael O'Brien · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first part of this was mildly entertaining, but then it goes into a mess of a plot that I couldn't even follow or relate to the first part or to Book 2 in this series --- unexpectedly throwing in superheroes (?) I've never heard of ---- and trying to tie Black Panther in with the Fantastic Four franchise. It was really baffling. It just didn't seem to make any sense to me. I can only guess that this book has references to back stories in the Black Panther canon that only a devoted hardcore super hero fan in this genre would get. It would have been best if the author had put in some sort of a prologue to bring less familiar readers up to speed.

In addition, I found the dialogue between characters to be contrived, unoriginal, and stilted. In the first part of the novel, I did like how Black Panther was portrayed --- as resolute, diplomatic, and noble. But then in the disastrous second part, they show Black Panther taking charge in a situation where all the other superheroes were reluctant ---- only for him also to back down at the last minute and lose his nerve. It just didn't seem to fit in with my conception of him as a strong, decisive, formidable leader.

So this was a disappointing read, and I hope that those in charge of the Black Panther genre do better in the future with stories on this most intriguing of super heroes.

[Matt Quann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seen from the end of this 12-issue opening arc, A Nation Under Our Feet feels like not only progress forward for T'Challa, but for all of Wakanda. With a much needed shot in the arm, provided by the return of Shuri, T'Challa is finally ready to take on The People and the rogue Dora Milaje. What's both refreshing and frustrating is how much of this comic ends up being talking heads deciding the fate of Wakanda.

This is mostly due to my conflicting desires for a Black Panther comic: I want it to be grand in scope as befitting a monarch of the world's most advanced country, but I also want to see T'Challa lay the smack-down in some cool action scenes. As it turns out, the action scenes are just okay. If you're looking for the culmination of these twelve issues then it is the establishment of a new, uncertain alliance that makes Wakanda interesting in and of itself.

Now that the turmoil in Wakanda has been quelled, I'm hoping to see T'Challa move on an international level and interact with the Marvel Universe at large. Latveria gets a mention, and stokes my hopes for a T'Challa v Dr Doom rematch.

So, this is good, but perhaps more cerebral than you'd expect from a mainstream comic book. In that sense, it's good for the genre of superhero comics, but maybe not what you're expecting to find after seeing Wakanda and the Black Panther on screen.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the revolutions threatening T'Challa's rule is disposed of after a very short skirmish. The other sits down with T'Challa and they talk for most of the comic, and then T'Challa decides the people will be allowed to vote for representatives and they'll share power with the king. I am not clear on what changed his mind. This series is ambitious but frustrating. I'm rarely clear on what's going on or why.

Stelfreeze is back doing the art, and luckily this time the art is focused on talking heads, which he excels at, rather than letting him indulge in drawing perky boobs on every female character. (He still manages to sneak some in there, naturally, but is overall very restrained.)

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess the really interesting thing about this storyline is that not only is it not a good entrypoint to Black Panther because of the sheer density of its worldbuilding, but it's also not a good entrypoint because what it really is, is an epilogue to a number of storylines that have come before it. Vol. 1 begins on a sort of funereal note -- Wakanda is not the nation it once was. But this just feels like the standard 'It is a time of war' opening that lays the foundation for many action stories. Vol. 2 gets lost in setting up some spin-off books, but also reinforces the idea that something important is dying. In Vol 3, we realize that Wakanda is dead, and perhaps has been dead, for a long time. It is a book about mourning a way of life, and not being able to recover because there's nothing really worth recovering.

I don't know what Coates was thinking when he wrote it, but it's a story that feels prescient today. And I guess that's what I want to say about it.

[Cameron H · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of this run, I think this - Book 3 - is probably the best. Of course, this isn't too surprising considering this is the culmination of the previous two volumes. The storytelling is more economical here, and the stakes are clear.

However, I believe that every story - in its own way - is an argument. Every word and every scene should be making a case for why it matters - essentially, why should you care and why should you continue. And unfortunately, I don't feel like Coates ever successfully wins this argument. So, while it was nice to get some closure, and the narrative was tighter, I will - regrettably - not be continuing with this series. Which really is a shame. I had such hopes.

[Joe Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ta-Nehisi Coates - writer
Brian Stelfreeze & Chris Sprouse - illustrators

Another very solid effort from Coates & co. that somehow falls just short of the mark. The art by Stelfreeze and Sprouse is excellent, the two artists meld their styles seamlessly. The writing has all the elements of a triumphant conclusion, but somehow the sum of the parts is less than the whole. I am still confident that Coates will evolve into a good-to-great writer of comic books, but he's not there yet and his progress has been rather slow to this point.

3/5

[Alasondro Alegré · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

the entire series is great, really subversive and thought-provoking; the second and third one were my favorites.

also, the visuals are goddamn STUNNING

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ta-Nehisi Coates is absolutely brilliant with his writing. The art is a bit pulp-like but it works well enough. But seriously, the writing, well done.

The mini collection after the main story was sub par and I didn't understand why it was added. I won't let it hurt the rating of the original trade paperback though.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read the first arc of Coates' first foray into comics and fiction I feel like I can safely suss out my feelings on Black Panther. That is, I have no real feelings about it. I spent too much time just trying to figure out this series that I never felt emotionally invested in the story. I don't NOT like it; it’s interesting and complex and even the parts of this series I find iffy are still worthwhile. It’s just I never feel all that compelled to read more?

I find Coates’ Black Panther similar to Greg Rucka’s current run on Wonder Woman in a lot of ways; they’re both from writers whose other work I have really liked previously and are smart and interesting books that I still can’t really into. Maybe it’s that they’re too dense in continuity even though I've been reading comics since I was a baby. Despite being meant to attract new readers in theory, neither series tries too hard and instead tries to a defining story of their title character that's rooted in their history as a character over decades.

I’ll probably read the second arc of Black Panther, and I’m definitely going to give Roxane Gay's World of Wakanda a shot. Hell, I'll probably even finish Rucka’s Wonder Woman, but deep down I feel more entertained by any given panel of Squirrel Girl than I do anything in either series.

[Leo McBride · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading through quite a lot of Black Panther collections before and after watching the movie - and man, the work by Ta-Nehisi Coates is both tantalising and frustrating.
This is the third collection from his Black Panther run, and while I enjoyed a great deal about the ideas and philosophies explored within the book... man, it just didn't hold up as a comic story.
I honestly grew very, very tired of seeing the characters either sitting around or standing around talking. There's a dearth of action in here - Brian Stelfreeze is a smashing artist, but you've got to give him more to do than drawing conference room tables.
The Black Panther movie clearly draws on some of the ideas from this run - questions about Wakanda's role as a nation and what path its future will take, and T'Challa's dual position as both king and hero - but the movie wrapped that all up in a bundle of action, threat and purpose that this third book rarely manages. There is one superb section in here - but that issue is written by Jonathan Hickman.
The ideas that Coates showcases will make a great comic book one day, an awesome one - but this isn't there yet.

[Esme Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book that originally made me pick up the series. The cover art was so striking, it caught my attention. I enjoyed the series as a whole, but looking at other reviews I see I'm not alone in thinking that this graphic novel was written like a straight up novel. The story itself was great, thought-provoking and challenging, but it felt somewhat poorly executed with in a graphic novel setting. Ta-Nehisi Coates seems like a wonderful writer, and I would be interested in picking up one of his novels, but I am not so sure on his graphic novels. I was also rather surprised when the ending came around. It felt a little underwhelming. Given that there was one pivotal moment of action at the Golden City, and then afterwards more discussion of the knights of the round table, it kind of felt like a big, deflating balloon that just sort of petered out.

The art has always been the saving grace. I struggle to read graphic novels as a whole if I do not like the art, but that was never a problem here. Once again the pages were filled with gorgeous colours and settings. Overall, I feel like it was still worth a read, even if it didn't quite live up to expectations.

[Chris Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times thoughtful, at times too talky and clunky with philosophy. Where its intellectualism serves as a strength, the lack of any magnetic characters and the weakness of the action sequences, which lack any weight or power, makes this a mixed bag. Mostly, Coates strikes a good balance between entertainment and intriguing ideas, but there is a lack of emotional heft in this series.

I know T'Challa is supposed to be a flawed ruler, but I have yet to feel any sort of emotional connection with his struggles. He is cold, smugly humble. The supporting characters are stronger, especially with Shuri appearing. I keep hearing that Coates's writing is getting stronger, but my own experience hasn't quite made that connection. The writing has been mostly good, not great, and occasionally awful, with an art style that doesn't quite help cover the flaws.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This continues to be a slow, talky comic, but Coates makes good use of that talkiness in this final volume of "Nation Under Our Feet" to investigate the nature of kingship and what it means for Wakanda. It's an interesting conclusion that allows Coates to correct what he obviously finds as a flaw in Wakanda's perfect society.

Overall, this is an interesting book that does a good job of bringing together the plots of the previous volumes, but the tension is pretty low. I hope to see things shaken up more next time around.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally felt that this was the best volume yet. T'Challa is finally the man that he should be, Queen Shuri is some sort of mystical, ancient Wakanda badass with a great outfit, plus there is plenty of war AND exposition. This seemed more thoughtfully put together and the reader learned more about Wakanda (nation & people) than I think came across the previous volumes.

[Owen Townend · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sensible ending to the political drama. With so many elements of Wakanda disenfranchised with the current kingship, compromise is truly the only way forward. Though the extremist faction isn't so easily appeased, Coates opts for the next best scenario.

Above all else I'm relieved that forgiveness proved more vital than vengeance to this tale. While T'Challa and Shuri could have exacted punishment, they opted to be better and take proper care of their people. Then again you wouldn't want superheroes acting any other way.

Now that I have finished this run, I am astounded at how much sociopolitical rhetoric Coates gets away with in a Marvel comic. It just goes to show how much those in charge trusted him. He re-framed Black Panther for a new generation whilst also ensuring that the ongoing story could continue without too many obstructions.

Still it could be said that he didn't quite leave as significant a mark on the character and setting as the hype suggested. To that I say Marvel is notorious for its ret-cons overtime and a unique plot arc like this is better appreciated in isolation. With so many creators yet to be involved with the character, it seems likely that some part of this resolution will come undone to create new jeopardy. This is unfortunate but nevertheless the nature of Marvel Comics.

Issues with modern superhero continuity aside, I found Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet, Volume 3 a reliable ending to a taut trade paperback trilogy. As with Volumes 1 and 2, I recommend Volume 3 to Black Panther fans and those interested in what Coates has to say about national identity.

[Alex Sarll]

The revolution/insurgency/civil war in Wakanda reaches its climax, and Coates has plenty to say about the uneasy alliances such times bring, the messy compromises, and the need still to know when and where you really can’t compromise: “A philosopher brandishes an impractical morality, while a king preaches an immoral practicality.” In the first volume I was uneasy with the way his take on Wakanda seemed to be playing into cliches of Africa, but if that was ever the case it’s far less so now: with its talk of Wakandan exceptionalism, it becomes increasingly clear that Coates is using the richest, most secure, most technologically advanced nation of Marvel’s Earth to talk about its analogue on our planet. As it was a year ago, at least – ruled by a good man, a man who meant well, but still rife with inequality and violence. If only America had been able to reach such a promising conclusion to those troubles as Wakanda does here.

[Alex E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This volume felt very much like an epilogue of sorts to the previous two volumes. Where in the last one, we had pretty much a civil war going on, this one we see the dust settling, but everyone trying to make sure they get the upper hand when it does.

What's interesting about this is the politics that go hand in hand with wars and battles. We really get to see the back room meetings of the different players of the conflict and how and more importantly - why they align with who they do. Everyone group has their own agendas and have to form uneasy alliances, even with those who may have instigated rebellion to begin with.

Now because this was a wrap up volume and an epilogue - it was light on action. Which made the book drag a bit. I mean, internal politics can be interesting, but 4 issues of it did make the book feel longer than 4 issues.

However, if you've been enjoying this run, this one kind of wraps things up nicely.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay work, I feel as though I'm losing parts of the story even though I am reading them in sequence. I feel as though I need to go back and read more about what happened prior to Coates' run in order to fully understand what is happening now. Also the continued use of Wakandan terms without a handy translation guide is tiring to me.

All of the above is frustrating to me because I usually love political thrillers and this is working through the coup of a country, with multiple factions trying to achieve their aims at the same time. Based on the description on the back of the book I should be in love with this and rating it 4 or even 5 stars. I don't know if I need to reread with proper context, or if Coates is trying to tell too much and not show enough. I suspect it is the latter.