In his first appearance, Black Panther took on — and took DOWN — each of the Fantastic Four. That’s why, nearly 10 years ago, I complained that one of my favorite Marvel heroes, Black Panther, had never gotten a complete dial.

All this time later, I still find myself complaining about BP figs lacking at least one of the following must-haves:

• SMARTS:  Outwit is his signature power.
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership is a must.
• SPEED: Needs IM:Elevated and good values
• STEALTH: ‘Nuff said.
• STRENGTH: Can he hit for 3-6 clicks after/through reducers on top dial without Outwitting first?
• SURVIVABILITY: Damage reducers and good values.

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Infinity Challenge 085 Black Panther (2002)

• SMARTS: Outwit is his signature power. A-
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: Avengers TA gave Autonomous for MOVE actions, so he could get into position without burning actions. C grade then; F now
• STEALTH: The black speed power Stealth was VERY hard to crack in the early years of the game. A
• STRENGTH: Low AV and damage. No powers. F
• SURVIVABILITY: Low DV and no defense but Stealth and big maps. D then; F now

THE KING’S VERDICT: This first pass at the king of the Wakandas was a meta staple back then, as Outwit was oppressive with default 10 range. But he was not remotely accurate and today with the black damage power’s range only 4, he’s embarrassingly bad.

Infinity Challenge 086 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: No Avengers TA kept him out of the fight a lot. F
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: Blades/Claws/Fangs was a major upgrade from the Rookie. Just lowish AV and only one click of the power. C-
• SURVIVABILITY: Stealth is all that protects him. F

THE KING’S VERDICT: As was so often the case in these pre-card years, the Experienced version improved on the Rookie in some way. This BP can actually fight thanks to BCF. But not well with 9 AV.

Infinity Challenge 087 Black Panther

• SMARTS: A
• SOVEREIGNTY: F
• SPEED: Leap/Climb gives this version unprecedented mobility. B-
• STEALTH: Unfortunately … he loses the signature power. F
• STRENGTH: Having 3 clicks of Blades enabled him to push to attack … C
• SURVIVABILITY: …assuming he ever got to, lacking both Stealth or any defense at all. F

THE KING’S VERDICT: Usually the Veteran of the REV was the best and strongest version, but Black Panther’s was the worst.

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Avengers 024 Black Panther (2007)

• SMARTS:  This one starts with Perplex, the other “smart” power. It’s a slight downgrade from Outwit, but he was only one push away from it if needed. B
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership at all, though he could play well on a wild card team. D-
• SPEED:  A dial of mostly Leap/Climb was great for mobility (L/C had auto-breakaway back then). B
• STEALTH: As a wild card, he could get Stealth by copying a Batman Ally. But he should just have the power. D
• STRENGTH: Despite a good 11 AV and fair amount of BCF, not having both at once rates this grade. C
• SURVIVABILITY: Toughness is a first. And Super Senses helps down the line. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: This was a decently strong dial at the time, but lacking moving attack (unless you added Feat Cards to him) and, being a wild card at the time, he was VERY dependent on what other team abilities you built around him. Now that the Spider-Man TA is Super Senses-centric, he doesn’t even have that option.

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Captain America 037 Black Panther (2011)

• SMARTS: Not only can he Outwit, but his SP version can’t be Outwitted in turn. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Despite standing on his throne, he’s got no Leadership. His Storm teamup trait is the only keeping this from a total fail. D
• SPEED:  His Charge is only sporadic and he’s got no Improved Movement. B-
• STEALTH: This power only shows when he’s near death. C
• STRENGTH:  Blades and Exploit Weakness (though rarely at the same time, so not a stellar rating here). B-
• SURVIVABILITY: Toughness and Super Senses are both OK. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT:  He needs a Storm on the team to work best, and for 128 points that’s not acceptable.

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Avengers Vs. X-Men 007 Black Panther (2014)

• SMARTS:  Starts with Outwit and also had the then-new Empower. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: SP Leadership that also works on himself on a 6. A
• SPEED: Has some freedom of movement (IM:Characters) but Charge is buried. C
• STEALTH: Starts and ends with it. Not bad. B+
• STRENGTH: 11 AV Blades is strong on top. But 9 AV on click 2 is a helluva comedown. In fact, more 9 AV (and below) than 10+ is problematic. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: Especially with a weak-ish 17 DV Senses to start and 16-under most of the rest of the way down. Toughness (which shows too late) keeps him from failing completely. D

THE KING’S VERDICT: At the time this was another immobile wild card who needed teammates to best work. Worst aspect: He gave Willpower to allies but not himself. And now he’s not a wild card anymore but still needing teammates to not waste his 100 points. That’s not acceptable.

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Age of Ultron 045 Black Panther (2015)

• SMARTS: Starts with Outwit, later gets some Perplex. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Although he starts with SP Leadership, it’s only for a scant 2 clicks. B
• SPEED: Not only did he get the signature IM:Elevated, but also Sidestep from hindering and next to blocking — which paired well with Charge. A+
• STEALTH:  Traited, along with invisibility when next to blocking. Perfection. A+
• STRENGTH: Despite Precision Strike, his damage potential was way low for his high cost. At least he finally gets a starting 3 damage for his range (also 3). C+
• SURVIVABILITY: Traited Toughness bolstered his defenses a lot. B+

THE KING’S VERDICT: The first complete Panther, he was still kinda grossly overcosted at 140 points yet often unable to tangle with characters in his weight class. And the Panther should always be able to tangle ABOVE his weight class.

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Captain America: Civil War 006 Black Panther (2016)

• SMARTS: Though missing the usual Outwit, he had an awesome SP that allows him to either limit a target to one FREE —or— keep their stats from being boosted. It was limited to his poor 4 range, though. B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: Not a shred of Leadership or anything like it. F
• SPEED: Has the requisite IM (Elevated, Characters) to facilitate his moving attack. No notes. A+
• STEALTH: None. F
• STRENGTH:  Finally, with Running Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast and starting 3 damage, his range is actually useful, though his AV is a bit too average to make it very good. B-
• SURVIVABILITY:  Traited ESD used to be lot better because it couldn’t be Outwitted. But at least he had a good run of opening Toughness. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: This movie-based model can move and attack and act without needing a lot of support. But the lack of Leadership or Stealth means it’s a 95-point (or 100 with his optional 5-point Plasticity trait) Panther that’s still very incomplete.

Captain America: Civil War 006E Black Panther (2016)

This low dial version (45 or 50 points) is only 3 clicks long. But he still has some of the goods …

• SMARTS: … such as that SP. B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: F
• SPEED: A
• STEALTH: F
• STRENGTH: Charge + BCF to start is actually a bit better than the range focus of the top dial. B
• SURVIVABILITY: 16 DV Combat Reflexes is not good enough. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Still inadequate. But not bad.

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Captain America: Civil War 013 Black Panther (2016)

• SMARTS: Starts with the signature Outwit power and shifts to Perplex (which used to work on damage, so that was good). A-
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: SP gives Sidestep. Later dial, Leap/Climb. B-
• STEALTH: No actual Stealth, but he has a nifty “can’t be seen beyond 3 squares” SP that used to be better back then. B-
• STRENGTH:  …or at least it WOULD HAVE been good if his actual range weren’t just 3. He also lacks starting BCF. C+
• SURVIVABILITY: Also lack any armor at all. Only Senses to help him. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Traited Precision Strike notwithstanding, for 80 points, he’s really kind of terrible

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Civil War Storyline 109 Black Panther (2016)

• SMARTS:  Starting with a couple clicks of Outwit is always good for T’Challa. A
• SOVEREIGNTY:  But no Leadership is not. F
• SPEED: IM:Elevated with Charge and a trait to dip back into Stealth 2 squares away at end of turn. A
• STEALTH: The above trait pushes this grade to the max. A+
• STRENGTH: 10 AV keeps this from an A grade. B
• SURVIVABILITY: 17 Combat Reflexes to start is OK. Toughness later is a tad better. B

THE KING’S VERDICT: He has all the pieces he needs to take care of himself. But still not the real BP.

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You can read this nice HCRealms write-up on these figures from several years ago here.

Next installment will be the first of a couple of looks at Panthers in Silver Age — starting with Avengers Defenders War, a set with a heavily Wakandan sub-theme.