Black Panther, Vol. 8: The Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, Part Three

Black Panther by Ta-Nehisi Coates

by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Daniel Acuña (Illustrator), Chris Sprouse (Illustrator)

Has T'Challa learned what it means to be king just in time to lose his kingdom? Weeks ago, the Black Panther disappeared on a mission into deep space, leaving behind his country, his family and the woman he loves. Now, at last, find out what Wakanda Prime has done without its king! And light-years away, as the race against Emperor N'Jadaka's expansion continues, the goddess Bast makes a dramatic move and T'Challa reaches out for the life he left behind! The Maroons are looking to turn the tide, but when N'Jadaka comes for his revenge, will T'Challa's plan be enough to free those the Empire has enslaved and open his pathway home? And even if he can, can he truly rid himself of the Intergalactic Empire and its despotic ruler?

Collects Black Panther (2018) #13-18.

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

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2020

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

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cracking volume of Black Panther right up until the end. It was powerful stuff, moving, exciting, great action and adventure with absolutely stellar art by the always great Daniel Acuña...

...and then the final issue was an expositionary flashback issue with a fill-in artist that completely derailed the flow. Frustrating.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what it is about Black Panther, but I can never remember what happened in the previous volume when I pick up a new one. Complicated plots? Lots of characters to remember? Unconscious racism? Probably all of the above.

In any case, once I got into the swing of things, this third volume in the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda was just as satisfying as the previous two. I'll admit to being a little disappointed that the sci-fi and old-school Wakanda worlds have now merged, but at least the reasoning behind the resolution was satisfying-ish. And the new twists are superb: Ta-Nehisi Coates realistically deals with a Black Panther who's coming to terms with his new/old memories.

Of course, when N'Jadaka is defeated, he's not actually defeated because this is a comic book. His coming to Earth lends itself to a fast-paced, well-ploted narrative that offers numerous quiet character moments while also featuring a few big battles. Daniel Acuna's art is excellent, all purples and blacks and very well-suited to a space-based narrative. The coloring can occasionally make it hard to follow, but I'm still a fan. Very much looking forward to the next part in this series - and very hopeful I can remember what happened in this part.

[Lekeisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you aren't paying attention to Coates' brilliance in these panels, then why are you even reading this series? The art? Yes, it's flawless and it can definitely distract a reader. But seriously, this is one comic series that doesn't read like a comic.

Wakanda forever?

I don't know WTF is up with the ending, but Wakanda Unbound needs to hurry and release. More Ororo please!

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit too convoluted for its own good. Narration is kind of messy but good art from Daniel Acuna though.

[Lukas Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is, yet again, EVERYTHING that comic books and graphic novels can be. I still have no idea how Marvel got a writer of the level of Coates to do it, but it's simply incredible. This one was so well done, especially the really intimate discussion of why T'Challa didn't 'see' the slavery around him. Coates no only has finally captured the perfect character study of the 'Black Panther', but he gives us this unheard of look at American colonialism through the view of a king in a fictional land. While Storm flat out calls out America's sins, T'C gives us all the chance to see how we can be so blind to what our worlds are build upon.

I have no idea how long Coates is going to keep this epic masterpiece going, I just know we're lucky to be here while he's doing it.

[Scott Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coates continues to wonderful ambitious things with T'Challa worthy of the character's current prominent place in the MU, but better yet worthy of the character himself, his depth, his potential...etc.

T'Challa faces challenges both at home and abroad as the "Intergalactic Empire" story arc continues into its third volume. Coates in this arc pits T'Challa against a dark mirror image of not only what Wakanda is and could be as it becomes more active in the world, but against a dark version of himself in the dark Emperor of this accidentally spawned Intergalactic Empire. Coates keeps the plot moving without losing any of the thoughtfulness and depth his now 9-volume run on this title has been marked by.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three kicks off straight after the previous book! The Rebels conflict with the Intergalactic Empire of Empire is raging and the big is filled from the star with epic battles and the forces of the various sides facing off against each other! Characterisation is all up on the page from that start with both the Rebels and their own motivations mixing it up in the Rebellion and the Emperor N'Jadaka and his cronies of the Intergalactic Empire of Wakunda having their own machinations to boot! Examples of this can been seen with T'Challa's restoration of his memories T'Challa is trying to get in contact with Wakanda back on Earth! This is itself is a matter of tension among the rebels as T'Challa is requiring power that is needed elsewhere and this creates a great tone between the Commander and T'Challa as they get to know each other position conversely we also see Strom facing off politely of course with Naxia!

With the contact made though with Earth we again get to see the conflict between Wakunda and the Intergalactic Empire they accidentally spawned! This gives a look as T'Challa and Ororo delve into what makes Wakanda rack and At the same time what it means to rule it! We also get to see how Shuri and the Queen Mother Ramonda have been doing in Wakunda! Shuri herself though is obviously conflicted about these new development but has it reinforced that T'Challa is king and this adds a neat level of tension as all the characters have to adjust to the new situation that they find themselves in!

The arrival of the Emperor N'Jadaka via his upload to the symbiote is neatly handled and this moves the action to earth as well which neatly ties into Storms, T'Challa, Ramonda's belief that they are responsible for the actions of the Empire! T'Challa being put through trials again in order to prove himself king neatly ramps things up and is like the Kobayashi Maru, Jedi trials, facing off Kryptonians etc in that he has to confront his opponents in order to prove his worth! This makes for a razor edged character development and fights! Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three has a gripping bold feel to everything that happens and Coates really put his characters through the wringer!

Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three deals with epic issues from slavery to responsibility and this is all up on the page from the start! How Wakanda deals with the Empire it has spawned are brilliantly dealt with! T'Challa revelations about what it means to be King really shows the responsibility of his position as Ororo points out to him! T'Challa and Oruro as well as the others such as Okoye brilliant, fast etc as ever , Shuri dynamic, witty etc are all portrayed brilliantly here! The relationship between T'Challa and Ororo really reminds you of their backstory and what is coming!

Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three action comes thick and fast!
The battle of Agwe fills the page! Examples of this are Storms surprise appearance taking on the Empire is brilliantly done as it T'Challa's trials in a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat from blast off! The art is cinematic and neatly marries up with the script making for an epic book from the start! The positioning of the panes gives everything a cinematic quality that marries up perfectly in a story that dovetails events neatly in a story that never let up from the beginning!

Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three is epic from the start and will keep you on toes guessing which way things are going to go! The stakes are epic and Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three never shies away from the epic decisions and put its character through it! Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three deals with all sorts of issues as well facing T'Challa, Shuri, Okoye, and the gang and with clear parallels to be drawn but at the same time maintains its epic pace that will keep you up to see what happens! Black Panther Book 8: The Intergalactic Empire Of Wakanda Part Three is full of daring do as T'Challa, Shuri and the gang seek to win the war and bring justice, world building as we span across the Galaxy from Bast to Earth and beyond, brilliant epic empire building as the empire of Wakanda attempts to expand it's Empire and take Earth, three-dimensional character development as all the characters have their own motivations and are all three-dimensional, Epic stakes giving everything a brilliant edge to it, Adventure as T'Challa, Naxia, Okoye, the Commander, Storm etc jet around every travelling to the past and the future and Action! Brilliant Crisp High Five! Highly Recommended! Get it When You Can! :D

[Katlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is still great! acuña's space art is breathtaking (all the of art is beautiful, but the space panels are like almost too good. i just want to stop reading and stare). and the artist who filled in for the last issue had a similar enough style that it wasn't jarring, which is something i hate about artist changes.

great action and exposition in this one, some more answers about how this all happened. especially loved t'challa reflecting on how he didn't notice how the intergalactic empire was built on slavery because of past luxury and privilege. everything ororo says in that conversation is gold, especially her reflections about the united states. her appearances throughout coates' run have me wanting to pick up some x-men comics just for her.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, some explanation for how the empire came to be--a time distortion, similar to what happened to the astronauts in Planet of the Apes, but this sent Wakanda's explorers into the distant past, from which they gradually built this grand empire, 2000 years in the making. T'Challa finds a way home, but so does one of his most dangerous adversaries. Things are shaping up to get fairly intense in the next volume. Once again, we have some strong artwork from Daniel Acuna that runs through all but one of the issues collected here, and that one is taken by Chris Sprouse, who's no slouch. Looking forward to the next volume.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving towards the end game of this very ambitious story.

[Alex Sarll]

The first thing I've read from the huge tranche of Panther comics given away free to mark the passing of the king, which can't help but add a certain melancholy. The links between the oppressive space Wakanda and the African version are revealed at last, not that they're enormously surprising, and a confrontation between the two set in motion. The story definitely starts to feel more like a Black Panther story here, and the theme makes perfect sense - the corruption of a society founded on high ideals into a place of oppression and injustice. But it doesn't wholly stop the last two volumes of space opera feeling like a bit of a detour from the series' strengths.

[Stewart D. Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

And we are back…kind of.

So T’Challa is back from the depths of space and it didn’t seem that hard to get back. It turns out it was Wakanda all along…kind of.

I enjoyed this book for actual plot development and returning back from the space opera. I also always enjoy seeing Storm back in the mix.

It seems like every arc of Coates’ Black Panther though is T’Challa trying to understand what it means to be king. No matter what Wakanda or T’Challa does he learns that the opposite needs to be done for the good of the people. Maybe the last arc will actually put a bow on this story though…I’m thinking maybe it won’t though.

For these reasons, I give this trade a low 3 stars.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a really interesting idea explored here of T'Challa grappling with the fact that this empire is not an alternate vision of Wakanda, but an evolution of it, that he is seeing what his civilization will become if something is not changed. T'Challa also grapples with the fact that when he first came upon the empire, he did not see it for what it was- he saw the prosperity of the imperial core but not the brutal enslavement of the periphery. This is super interesting, but I wish Coates delved more deeply into this idea and showed us more what this society is like, not just the perspective of those fighting against it.

[Tony Nance · Rating 5 out of 5]

The THIRD part of the Intergalactic Wakanda saga! Brilliantly written, beautifully drawn and colored, and a truly epic story. However, the "comic book reality" of a story never REALLY being over pervades the ending. Still, Storm is BACK, (!!), fierce as ever, lets it be known with NO confusion that T'Challa is HER Mate, and a lot of the gaps IN the saga are filled in. The series should be collected not only for the beauty of the art and the story, but because events IN this series will definitely resonate in later Panther stories down the road.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first foray into Coates's Black Panther. It's very good. I want to read the whole run now. A multifaceted, complex storyline. Sometimes the story can be choppy...jumps around to all the different things happening. But he does do a good job of telling this large story of Wakandan politics and balancing out with the the arcs 9f the characters involved. But I'd say he leans more to the larger issues, often infused with social commentary.... I'd be disappointed if he didn't do the commentary!

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book rights itself as we get back to Wakanda Prime. Or maybe, everything is better with Storm. Here, she is her goddess-like self, both in battle and in conversation. She is great. I admire the ambition of Coates to tell a truly unique Black Panther story and with one more volume left, I hope it comes together. The gathering of foes is a good sign. The art, mostly by Daniel Acuna was very good. Overall, a step in the right direction and a better narrative help this book.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can feel the circle beginning to close for this story as we finally get to link our far-flung heroes back to Earth - or at least with what is called Wakanda Prime. But things aren't quite resolved because the Empire remains out there and much has changed back on Earth.

I thought this was the end of the arc and my mind was ready for that. So when I found out there's still more...frustration! It makes sense, but man, I was ready for this to end.

Upwards and onwards.

[Anthony Akoto · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

The third volume of this arc is a tad exposition-heavy and the loaded dialogue made things pretty tough to follow at times. Acuna's art does feature prominently once more, which has always a been major plus and Storm has some good moments. With the return to Wakanda Prime and the final volume promising a big battle, I've been left disappointed that the Empire is going to be left sparsely explored.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bast's facial expressions in Zenzi are so fucking priceless!!! And seriously made all the more perfect with the 2 afro puffs!! PERFECT!!!

"What I know now is that empires built on slavery are very good at concealing this fact. That the concealing, the lie is part of the enslaving. And there I was in a country that had four hundred years to perfect that lie."
Coates is really critiquing empire in his Black Panther comics and I fucking love it!!

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so glad that the explanatory interludes were finally removed - I really hated how they broke up the flow of the story. This volume started to grow on me towards the end, but that shouldn't be happening in the second-to-last volume. I think that this has a powerful story but it's not being told in the best way.

[Beththena Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tried another comic book...still isn't quite my thing because of the choppiness. It takes me forever to remember where we were in the book or volume before. The story evolves so quickly that by the time you are fully into it, it ends and gets ready to shift to the next book or volume. I enjoyed it but comic books really don't have the pacing to become a favorite.

[Vivek · Rating 3 out of 5]

“What I know is that empires built on slavery are very good at concealing this fact. That the concealing, the lie, is part of the enslaving.”

Not as good as the last volume, and there are some gender dynamics here that feel a sketchy, but I’m still enjoying this story and looking forward to the next part/seeing how it ends.

[Adan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“What I know now is that empires built on slavery are very good at concealing this fact. That the concealing, the lie, is part of the enslaving.”

There’s superhero zaniness, political intrigue, and soap opera… uh, soapiness, but that quote above is what really stuck with me. Ororo was talking about the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda, but she was also talking about the US.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of Coate's big ideas start to come to a head. Its a very bold the direction the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda takes.

Its also a very comic book style story. And I think Coates nails thr medium in this long 25 issue arc.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

T'Challa continues to struggle, only now across time and space. Figuring out how to make right what is happening in the intergalactic Wakanda. Having two loves as well. This might be favorite in the intergalactic series. I'm also partial to Shuri :)

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume spent more time connecting the intergalactic empire universe and the earthbound universe and at the very end possed interesting questions about seeing and yet not understanding especially when it comes to empire built on slavery.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, it feels like the story kind of peters out when it returns to Earth. It can't sustain the beautiful atmosphere of the space opera amid the more traditional Wakandan scenes. So all that's left is a Venom with dreadlocks prowling around.

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coates is kicking butt here. The sci fi ideas for Black Panther and Wakanda taking to the stars to build an empire... It's a storyline you don't think possible and didn't know you needed... Really takes T'Challa in new directions.

[Mark Sutherland · Rating 3 out of 5]

In theory, I should have loved this, there's action, politics and drama of all sorts, but it took me months to grind my way through it. I think I'll probably see how things resolve in the next volume but something isn't working for me which is a bit disappointing.

[Douglass Gaking · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read Vol. 7, I said that Coates needed to slow down and provide more exposition. Then I read Vol. 8, and that's exactly what he does, except he gets a bit into the weeds, and here the arc doesn't move along enough. I am still looking forward to how the arc resolves in Vol. 9.