The following contains major spoilers for Black Panther #9, available now from Marvel Comics.
Life for the Black Panther has never been particularly easy, yet the past few months have seen things take a more devastating downward spiral than ever before. In the wake of his darkest secrets coming to light, T'Challa has lost his throne, his friends, and even his home. Thankfully, there is still one place that the former king of Wakanda can go to for solace, as well as a second chance. He may not be the most popular Avenger, but just because the Black Panther isn't a ruler anymore doesn't mean he can't continue to lead.
Black Panther #9 (by John Ridley, German Peralta, Jesus Aburtov, and VC's Joe Carmagna) finds the titular hero reminiscing about his failed search for meaning amidst the backdrop of the cold and uncaring cosmos. After everything he has lost or given up, it is hard for T'Challa to come to terms with what greater purpose he or his fellow superheroes could serve, or whether there ever was one to begin with. He might not mention it, but the betrayals he has suffered in his lifetime are only a fraction as painful as the guilt of those he has doled out to those closest to him. All of these things have culminated in a Black Panther who is uncertain at best and woefully nihilistic at worst, yet somehow none of it has cost him the undying faith Captain America has in him, even if it does beg some uncomfortable questions.
T'Challa's abrupt turn towards such a depressing outlook is understandably concerning for Steve, especially when he is about to hand Black Panther the keys to the Avengers so to speak. This isn't to say that Captain America doesn't still have faith in T'Challa, nor that he isn't willing to let his longtime ally take the reins of the Avengers. Rather, it is that his absence the past few months has made Cap and the others wonder just what was so important that it would have pulled him away from running the show at Avengers Mountain, as well as how it affected him.
Just as understandable as Steve's concerns are, it's also understandable that T'Challa isn't so forthright with the truth. Besides the fact that no one else seems privy to the fact that T'Challa lost his throne and home in Wakanda, the Avengers are similarly unaware that it was Black Panther's secret sleeper agent program that led to his downfall as king. The need for secrecy regarding those drastic precautions wasn't just to protect Wakanda from the rest of the world, but to protect its champion from his own allies. If Steve or the others discover what T'Challa has done, they probably wouldn't be so eager to let him lead, although that doesn't mean he shouldn't.
Even if what T'Challa did was in itself a betrayal of all the Avengers' trust and good will towards him and Wakanda, he has more than atoned for those sins already. More importantly, T'Challa has taken it upon himself to give up his places in Wakanda, all without judgment of those who judged him. T'Challa is more than willing to accept the consequences of his actions, so long as it means his country can move forward as a resilient, united Wakanda rather than a fractured and flailing attempt at democracy.
Being able to see that his continued presence would only make things worse is one thing, but removing himself from the picture is proof that the Black Panther has genuinely recognized the worst of himself and moved on from it. Previously, so much of his identity was tied to the pre-established mythos of the Black Panther, and not for no good reason, yet it still made it all the more difficult for T'Challa to grow as both a person and a hero. In coming to terms with all the damage he has caused, he has finally let go of the anguish and anxiety that was holding him back, even if his teammates don't know it yet. Hopefully, for T'Challa, none of them will before he can prove that he's made up for everything.