In his better showings, Black Panther takes on any challenge solo. 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 Black Panther 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.
In Part 2, I reviewed the first couple years of Silver Age BPs, to mostly disappointment. But maybe 2019 would change things
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Earth X 014 Black Panther
- SMARTS: Outwit then Perplex later. A.
- SOVEREIGNTY: SP Leadership that’s juiced on 6 roll. A
- SPEED: Good Charge with IM:Elevated. A
- STEALTH: A.
- STRENGTH: Traited Blades! Only the lack of range is kinda missing. But that’s more a perk than a necessity for BP. This is an almost perfect Panther. A
- SURVIVABILITY: Whoops. though he has SP Combat Reflexes+Super Senses+Willpower, there’s that total lack of armor. C
THE KING’S VERDICT: Alternate future (Earth X) T’Challa is so close to a practically perfect Panther but for that last detail. Not for 90 points.
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Earth X 061 Venom Black Panther
- SMARTS: Outwit to start first half of dial. A
- SOVEREIGNTY: His Leadership comes late, so B-
- SPEED: Good Charge with IM:Elevated. A
- STEALTH: A
- STRENGTH: Starts with BCF, then SP Quake+BCF+Poison+Steal Energy. A
- SURVIVABILITY: No reducers, though Shape Change helps. C
THE KING’S VERDICT: Symbiote-fused BP here is another one that comes kinda close but chokes.
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Earth X Fast Forces 102 Black Panther
- SMARTS: Outwit then Perplex then Probability Control. A
- SOVEREIGNTY: Constant Leadership and he spawns bystanders to use it on. A
- SPEED: No moving attack at all. Only late Leap/Climb keeps this from a fail. D+
- STEALTH: A
- STRENGTH: Starting with Flurry is OK, even though he has no movement. Later BCF. B
- SURVIVABILITY: Early Toughness means he might land on those BCF clicks. C+
THE KING’S VERDICT: He’s really mid for 75 points.
Earth X Fast Forces 102E Black Panther
- SMARTS: Loses Outwit from above. B+
- SOVEREIGNTY: A
- SPEED: Leap/Climb is available immediately this time. C-
- STEALTH: A
- STRENGTH: Starting with BCF is better, but AV is suspect. B
- SURVIVABILITY: No armor, swift KO if Senses fail. C-
THE KING’S VERDICT: 25 points cheaper, just as middling.
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Avengers Black Panther Illuminati Fast Forces 005 Black Panther
- SMARTS: No Outwit, but he offers a conditional +1 AV for Wakanda on his side of the map. D
- SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership, plus that Wakanda thing. A
- SPEED: He has the needed IM:Elevated, but speed value’s low. B
- STEALTH: End of dial only, when it’s mostly too late to use. D
- STRENGTH: Charge BCF to start and finish is better than OK. Losing it in the middle, even with Exploit Weakness, is somewhat less than. B
- SURVIVABILITY: Not only a lack of armor, but range-only Super Senses. C-
THE KING’S VERDICT: 75 points. Not exceptional. And of course nowhere near definitive.
Avengers Black Panther Illuminati Fast Forces 005E Black Panther
- SMARTS: See above. D
- SOVEREIGNTY: See above but no Leadership. D
- SPEED: See above. B
- STEALTH: End of dial only, when it’s mostly too late to use. D
- STRENGTH: Exploit Weakness, then adds BCF later. B
- SURVIVABILITY: See above. C
THE KING’S VERDICT: Nope, not even for just 50.
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Avengers Black Panther Illuminati Fast Forces 009 Black Panther
- SMARTS: Early clicks of Perplex. B-.
- SOVEREIGNTY: Not a king. Which is accurate. It’s complicated. F
- SPEED: Gets Leap/Climb eventually. D+.
- STEALTH: A lone opening click. B+
- STRENGTH: Was better when Perplex worked on damage. Ranged Combat Expert on his back half is OK. C+
- SURVIVABILITY: No armor is NOT IT. C-
THE KING’S VERDICT: This BP is actually Kasper Cole, an American NYC cop who found a damaged uniform the king had to abandon during an ambush. So this actually shouldn’t be a definitive Panther. And isn’t.
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Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 029A Black Panther
- SMARTS: Starting Perplex is not as good as starting Outwit for a proper BP dial, but we’ll take it (esp. since Perplex was better at the time when damage could be Perplexed up.) B+
- SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership is a miss. F
- SPEED: Started with Charge + IM:Elevated. A-
- STEALTH: He needs his wildcard status to maybe get it. D-
- STRENGTH: Perplexed damage made him OK here, as did his optional trait to start equipped with Gems (like the ABPI Power Gem for a possible +3 to damage). But was neither quite him nor quite good enough for the cost. Late Flurry BCF was undermined by anemic 9 AV. B.
- SURVIVABILITY: Invincible is a first! Then he has Toughness. A-
THE KING’S VERDICT: He also packed FREE Quake when he got hit. In a lot of ways, this was a great Panther. But in a lot of ways, it also wasn’t.
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Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 029B Black Panther
- SMARTS: Starts with traited Probability Control, and early Perplex. Late Outwit makes it in. B.
- SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. But him getting to generate pogs nudges this score a tad. D.
- SPEED: No Improved Movement. C
- STEALTH: No Stealth. F
- STRENGTH: Charge BCF with Prob is strong. A SP with Mind Control gives Improved Targeting:Hindering+Blocking. B
- SURVIVABILITY: 18 DV Toughness. B-
THE KING’S VERDICT: This is loud “Happy-Pants” Panther as seen in the 1970s Jack Kirby run and, later, in Christopher Priest’s early 2000s take. (It’s complicated.) Neither an excellent Panther nor a great prime.
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Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 072 Black Panther
- SMARTS: No Outwit or Perplex or ANYTHING. F
- SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
- SPEED: Hypersonic Speed with IM:Elevated. A
- STEALTH: It even works vs. Pulse Wave if he’s in printed hindering! A
- STRENGTH: HyperSpeed with Battle Fury and traited Blades to start — later with Exploit Weakness and finally, Flurry. B+
- SURVIVABILITY: Zero armor, again (which is actually comic accurate). C-
THE KING’S VERDICT: Part of the 1 Million B.C. Avengers, he’s a bit awkward. He requires being played with another BP to truly be 100%, and for 85 fragile points, that’s not good enough.
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Despite his headlining a whole set, Black Panther did not have a single definitive version. It would be the turn of the decade to maybe give him his due.