Black Panther vs. Morlun

The last day of Morlun week!   Today, the totem-vampire Morlun takes on Wakanda’s Black Panther! Since this is the first Black Panther article, I want to go briefly into the history and identity, but we should probably bring our antagonist back from the dead first.

There’s our psychopath.  Once he gets clothes, it’ll be time for his African invasion.  An army of one.

Y’see, real countries do exist in the Marvel universe.  They all do.  But when you have dictators or kings, fictional countries tend to be better to avoid angry letters and diplomatic situations.  That’s why we have Dr. Doom’s tiny eastern European country of Latveria, the Asian crime haven of Madripoor, the slave island nation of Genosha, and of course, Black Panther’s Wakanda.

A long time ago, a meteorite made of vibranium crashed into the tiny African country.  Vibranium, also known as the material that Captain America’s shield is made out of, is a lightweight metal that absorbs and nullifies all vibrations and force thrown at it.  As you can imagine, vibranium armor (or shields) can take hits from energy blasts, bullets, explosions, etc. with almost zero damage.  So it’s crazy valuable and fortunately, Wakanda holds almost the entire world’s supply, easily making the nation one of the wealthiest and most technologically advance countries on the planet.  When the nation’s leaders announce with pride that Wakanda has never been conquered by a foreign power, that’s no lie.

And at the top of the Wakanda political chain is Black Panther, the designated title of the king or queen.  To become the Black Panther, you still have to be born into the royal family, but you also have to earn the blessing of the Panther God.  Look, that’s just how it works.  T’Challa, the most widely known Black Panther, has been around since 1966, making him the first mainstream black superhero in American comics.  T’Challa happens to be a super genius naturally (confirmed as one of the eight smartest people on the planet), but with the Panther God’s blessing, he has superhuman strength, agility, and tracking abilities.  Also, he’s married to the X-Man Storm.

On to our story, we pick up with Black Panther #3-6, volume 5, written by Reginald Hudlin and drawn by Ken Lashley.  T’Challa got caught in an ambush and is currently in a coma fighting skeletons in some death limbo (read it yourself).  But Morlun’s on his way and it looks like the last line of defense resides in T’Challa’s sister, Shuri.  But she is the final trump card, so let’s see how the first few maneuvers go.

Okay, not well.  Though I think the Wakandan dude is way more shocked that Morlun’s skirt survived the explosions.  Look, we’ve seen Morlun’s toughness all week.  A few hundred missiles ain’t going to take him down.  Shuri, you’re up.  Bad time to mention this is her first time donning the costume?

Let’s not forget the reason for Morlun’s supervillainy.  To live, he needs to absorb the energy of animal “totems,” men or women chosen by animal avatars or something like that.  Black Panther totally qualifies since he’s a good half a planet away from our pal Spider-Man.  And while not a terribly angry guy, Morlun’s not going to let a spear through the torso go unpunished.  I mean, he has a reputation.

So the fight’s not going too well.  But Black Panther has a plan.  Keep in mind, she doesn’t even come close to Spider-Man’s strength, speed, and agility, and he got his butt handed to him.  If you wonder how she can take the brutal hits Morlun dishes, her costume’s made of vibranium mesh instead of Spider-Man’s costume, which is mainly the same stuff gymnasts use in their leotards.

I agree, that’s a really nice jet bike.  Vibrainium brings in a hefty profit, trust me.  And besides looking cool and flying, the bike has one more nifty feature perfect for capturing dangerous supervillains.

While it’s a net made of adamantium, will it hold Morlun’s crazy super strength?  No way.

She doesn’t.  I hate to spoil stuff for you, but I’m sure you could have figured that out on your own. Also, she’s really just going along with the secret plan we don’t know about yet.  Morlun’s like a Hulk. Because he’s so unbelievably strong, he can simply punch his way through any obstacles.  The quickest way to any place is a straight line, and Morlun will just kick down any walls that might make him go around.  But this is Wakanda, a nation that succeeded mainly because of their genius and ingenuity.  That and shamans.

Hey, remember that skeleton army death limbo side story that T’Challa and Storm are hanging out in? Well, guess which shaman has the key to that spiritual doorway?

And Morlun’s forever trapped.  Yay!  Since this is currently his last appearance in Marvel comics, we can just assume that he’s still there fighting the infinite amount of undead minions.  He deserves worse, but with his bad habit of being resurrected from the dead, maybe this’ll be the safest for our honorable crime fighters.  And Shuri?  Well, she gets to keep the Black Panther title and become queen.  You and I both agree she earned it, right?  Spider-Man certainly would.

Next week we’ll have some happy stories.  Well, at least one.

Spider-Man takes on Morlun, Pt. 3

Comic books are famous for a revolving door of death.  Characters and villains who get killed usually get resurrected after a few months/years.  It’s silly to whine about.  Peter Parker got his superpowers by getting bit by a radioactive spider and we choose to complain that the Green Goblin somehow returned from the dead?  So after Morlun’s demise in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #35, he somehow comes back five years later.  How?  No one knows, and really, that’s not important.

In The Other, a 12 issue crossover event, Spider-Man gets a blood test and finds out he’s dying.  No cure, no hope, nothing.  Ouch.  Written by Peter David, Reginald Hudlin, and J. Michael Straczynski throughout the pages of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1-4,  Marvel Knights: Spider-Man #19-22, and Amazing Spider-Man #525-528.  Spider-Man has to learn to accept his upcoming death.  Oh, and births himself.  It’s weird.  Anyway, Morlun’s story takes place mostly in the middle.  We’re going to read parts of it together.

Before they brawl, Morlun shows up a few times to warn Spider-Man of what’s ahead.  Like Spider-Man’s face getting caved in.

Rinse and repeat a few more times.  But despite his sociopathic tendencies, you can’t say Morlun’s not a man of his word.

Hoping for any new revelations or situations regarding their repeat fight?  Nope.  Morlun’s (probably) the toughest opponent Spider-Man has ever faced, and in the wake of his soon-to-be death, Parker must prove himself worthy to live his final few days.  Remember, Morlun’s after Spider-Man’s “life essence,” the energy he gives out by being the spider “totem.”  If that’s confusing, I covered it in my detail in parts one and two.

Notice that Spider-Man’s doing fairly better than last time.  Normally I use this opportunity to next show the opposite of what I just proclaimed.  Not this time.

Well, for a few more pages at least.  Now Spider-Man gets his butt handed to him.

Yup, this looks familiar.  So what’s next?  Where he musters up the last bit of his strength and courage to strike back at his tormentor?  Absolutely.  That’s why we read comics in the first place.

Poor Spider-Man.  This is the moment he swings from the scene victorious and into the loving arms of Mary Jane.  The Avengers all pat him on the back and life continues as normal, just with more wisdom and confidence.  But not this time.  He only won the first story with Ezekiel’s sudden assistance and a large injection of radiation.  Unfortunately, now he has neither.  Which means Morlun wins.

Well, at least he went out the proper superhero way instead of slowly succumbing to his mysterious illness.  Sadly for Morlun, his feasting time gets interrupting by New York’s finest.  But don’t worry, he’s a very patient man.

What now?  The cops have to remove his mask, breathing worries and such.  With his identity out in the public, how will that affect his widow and family?

Or not.  Ouch.  Well, he’s not exactly dead, but let’s be fair, there’s no coming back from that.

I’m going to spoil: the Avengers don’t make it in time.  Which leaves Parker’s defense up to only one warrior.  Who’s brave enough to fight the man who killed a superhero?  It would take tremendous balls to blindly attack the strongest supervillain in Spider-Man’s rogue gallery.  Or at least good looks.

Does she stand a chance?  Well, Mary Jane’s a supermodel, not a superhero.  Also, she has no idea who Morlun is or what he’s capable of.  But she’s about to find out.

That last panel remains super important.  Understanding the “totem” being a mix of man and animal, so while the man has been destroyed by Morlun, he’s not just a man.  Finally Morlun will truly understand who’s he up against and why he should never, ever have hurt the single most important person in Spider-Man’s life.

Remember when I mentioned briefly in part one that a major theme of the first half of the 2000s was whether Spider-Man’s power source was science or magic?  Here’s an argument for the latter.

Awesome, right?  Arm spikes!  Let me try to explain.  Besides being super cool, this was the start of a transformation for the comic book version of Spider-Man.  Y’see, comics are a business, and the movie version (with Toby McGuire) had just recently came out.  Well, what better time to get new fans into comics, right?  It’s good for the industry, and commonly, Marvel will adjustment their characters accordingly.  Since movie Spider-Man had organic web shooters, time for comic Spider-Man to get some too.  Except Parker can’t just wake up one day with some random evolution.

The Other event allowed Spider-Man to get some new neato powers, like the spikes, organic webs, night vision, among others.  Why?  Well, why not?  Though in 2007, during the deal he makes with the demon Mephisto to save Aunt May’s life at the expense of his and Mary Jane’s marriage, his extra powers all disappeared.  So now he’s back to how he was before The Other, though that’s how the comic book status quo always works.

Anyway, with Morlun perished once more and Mary Jane saved, the two embrace one final time.

He’s dead.  I’m not lying this time.  But with his passing, The Other still has five more issues to go. What happens to him and how does he come back to life?  Sorry, you have to go read and find out, because Morlun week isn’t over.

Tomorrow, witness Morlun’s last appearance in the Marvel universe (so far).  He goes toe-to-toe with Black Panther.  In Africa.  I’m excited too.