The mantle of Black Panther has been passed down from one leader of Wakanda to the next for generations. As a superhero, political leader, and even a religious figure, the bearer of the Black Panther title has continually faced power-hungry enemies.
T'Challa, Marvel's contemporary Black Panther, has enemies who often mirror one of these aspects of his identity. Some reflect the superheroic condoning of violence, while others explore what it means to be a king. Others reflect real-life issues the fictional ruler must navigate. Whatever the case, T'Challa's enemies are fearsome and numerous.
Updated on February 2, 2023, by Scoot Allan: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever recently arrived on Disney+ and started streaming into living rooms everywhere. Fans are getting another chance to experience a battle between Black Panther and Namor, one of the Marvel hero's greatest enemies. Of course, Black Panther has quite a few iconic comic villains who have threatened Wakanda.
13 American Panther
First Appearance: Black Panther: The Man Without Fear (Vol. 1) #521, by writer David Liss, penciler/inker/colorist Francesco Francavilla, and letterer Joe Caramagna
An isolationist foreign policy was the stance of the Wakandan government for decades, but T'Challa worked to change this. For a time, T'Challa was an immigrant himself, guarding Hell's Kitchen when Daredevil could not. It was there he fought the xenophobic American Panther, a former police officer who sought to oust T'Challa from the neighborhood.
The non-powered American Panther was a self-styled protector of his country like T'Challa. Unlike his previous interactions with foes, T'Challa battled the American Panther as an immigrant, not a long-rooted resident. His fight against the American Panther made T'Challa reexamine his country's isolationism.
12 Reverend Achebe
First Appearance: Black Panther (Vol. 3) #3, by writer Christopher Priest, penciler/inker Mark Texeira, colorist Brian Haberlin, and letterers Richard Starkings & Siobhan Hanna
Part of Wakanda's notability comes from its escaping colonization. The twentieth century saw much of this colonization leave behind unstable geopolitical entities that became beset by violent dictators. Marvel's Reverend Achebe, a smooth-talking politician who made a literal deal with the devil, represents these bad actors in post-colonial African politics.
After leading a successful coup and enacting his violent decrees in Wakanda, Achebe's power ebbed. This was partially due to T'Challa severing Achebe's connection with one of Marvel's most important villains, Mephisto. Although T'Challa deposed Achebe, Achebe's terrible legacy left its scars on the people.
11 Jakarra
First Appearance: Black Panther (Vol. 1) #6, by writer/penciler Jack Kirby, inker Mike Royer, colorist Sam Kato, and letterer Mike Royer
Shuri isn't T'Challa's only sibling, as Black Panther found out soon after he claimed the throne of Wakanda. Jakarra was the son of T'Chaka and a spy who raised their son outside of Wakanda. After the death of their father, Jakarra returned to Wakanda and joined the Hyena Clan.
He became a Wakanda general and challenged T'Challa for the throne, but lost the fight. When Jakarra attacked again, he was transformed by an experimental vibranium dagger into a deadly energy-absorbing monster. Jakarra's new form proved to be incredibly deadly, though he appeared to perish after falling into a volcano during a pitched battle with Black Panther and Storm.
10 Kraven The Hunter
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1) #15, by writer Stan Lee, penciler/inker Steve Ditko, and letterer Artie Simek
While fans know him best as one of Spider-Man's most iconic villains, Kraven the Hunter has threatened a few other Marvel heroes over the years as well. Kraven had a few adventures over the years in Wakanda as both a hunter and a member of one of Nick Fury's covert ops squad in the '50s that became known as the Avengers.
His rivalry with Black Panther intensified after he sought out T'Challa's help to learn the ways of the Panther Cult to better improve as a hunter. When Black Panther refused to take Kraven on as his disciple, the Hunter attacked T'Challa and tried to convince him he was worthy.
9 Zenzi
First Appearance: Black Panther (Vol. 6) #1, by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, penciler/inker Brian Stelfreeze, colorist Laura Martin, and letterer Joe Sabino
The nature of superherodom is to achieve peace through violence, but violence often perpetuates itself. Nigandan refugee Zenzi provides further proof of this. She first used her emotion-enhancing powers to make Killmonger's soldiers kill each other before they could kill her.
As the survivor of a massacre, Zenzi portrayed the effects of intergenerational trauma and the self-replicating capacity of violence. Her quest to topple the Wakandan monarchy brought her into conflict with Black Panther, whose diplomacy involved as much punching as it did statecraft. This forced T'Challa to explore his own role in perpetuating violence, even when used "righteously."
8 Tetu
First Appearance: Black Panther (Vol. 6) #1, by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, penciler/inker Brian Stelfreeze, colorist Laura Martin, and letterer Joe Sabino
Like Zenzi, Tetu was a leader of the People, a Wakandan rebel group who sought to overthrow the monarchy. However, whereas Zenzi embodied violence's nature to repeat itself, Tetu invoked the dangers of starting down a violent path.
The nature-controlling Tetu began with good intentions, seeking to help those he viewed as oppressed to overthrow their masters. However, his adoption of violence led Tetu to forge alliances ever more dangerous, starting from some of Iron Man's greatest enemies to organizations like Hydra with Baron Zemo.
7 White Wolf
First Appearance: Black Panther (Vol. 3) #4, by writer Christopher Priest, penciler/inker Mark Texeira, colorist Brian Haberlin, and letterers Richard Starkings & Comicraft
While MCU fans may know Bucky Barnes as the White Wolf, the original comics character was Hunter, T'Challa's half-brother. A fervent patriot, Hunter was appointed head of the Hatut Zeraze, Wakanda's secret police and CIA-equivalent. Although Hunter possessed no superhuman abilities, he had access to a wide arsenal of weaponry.
Black Panther's violence was sanctioned by the nation of Wakanda; however, so was the White Wolf's own form of violence. T'Challa disproved of his half-brother's brutality and exiled him and the Hatut Zeraze from Wakanda. This led to a pitched battle in Hell's Kitchen, where T'Challa further disavowed Hunter's violence in an attempt to move Wakanda forward.
6 Doctor Doom
First Appearance: Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #5, by writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Joe Sinnott, colorist Stan Goldberg, and letterer Artie Simek
Black Panther and Doctor Doom share many similarities: each debuted as a Fantastic Four antagonist, each is a genius, and each rules a super-powered fictional country. However, the two men have incredibly different philosophies on what they should do with their power.
Part of what makes Doom and T'Challa's antagonism work well is their respect for each other. Each moves their pieces on the global chessboard, but where T'Challa seeks to keep the world and keep his nation stable, Doctor Doom seeks only to improve and grow his empire. The result is a fascinating clash between influential rulers that has cost both of them greatly.
5 Morlun
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2) #30, by writer J. Michael Straczynski, penciler John Romita Jr., inker Scott Hanna, colorists Dan Kemp & Avalon Studios, and letterer Richard Starkings & Wes Abbott
Another one of Spider-Man's foes who has threatened Wakanda is the powerful Inheritor known as Morlun. Originating in another dimension, Morlun came to the 616 reality on the search for totemic powered heroes like Spider-Man. He fed on other versions of Spider-Man across the multiverse to increase his power before he was ultimately killed in the mainstream Marvel reality.
However, Morlun was resurrected by Wakanda's Crocodile Cult, who attempted to use the Inheritor against Black Panther. Morlun first fed on the totemic energy of Man-Ape before he targeted Shuri during her time as the Black Panther. Shuri was able to banish Morlun to another realm with the help of a Wakandan witch doctor, ending his powerful threat for a short time.
4 Killmonger
First Appearance: Jungle Action (Vol. 2) #6, by writer Don McGregor, penciler Rich Buckler, inker Klaus Janson, colorist Glynis Wein, and letterer Tom Orzechowski
Erik Killmonger was born N'Jadaka, the son of a Wakandan traitor. After spending much of his life hearing of his lost homeland, Killmonger trained to become a warrior and eventually returned to it. He attempted to overthrow T'Challa before seeking to resurrect Wakanda's past.
T'Challa's opening of Wakanda to the world brought the nation to greater prominence on the world stage and facilitated both good and bad for the country. Killmonger's desire to return Wakanda to its roots echoed a belief that the way forward for any country is to look to its past. T'Challa rejected this for a synthesis of the past, present, and future.
3 M'Baku
First Appearance: Avengers (Vol. 1) #62, by writer Roy Thomas, penciler John Buscema, inker George Klein, and letterer Artie Simek
M'Baku's MCU depiction in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever reflected an anti-hero type of character. However, the former Man-Ape of the comics is much more of a standard supervillain. As the leader of Wakanda's White Gorilla Cult, M'Baku has challenged T'Challa for the throne numerous times. He even joined groups like the Lethal Legion to take down his old foe.
Wakanda's Jabari Tribe are followers of the Cult of the White Ape, leading to clashes with the followers of the dominant Panther Cult and T'Challa. This split caused division among the people who had to choose where to place their allegiance, and it presented T'Challa with an issue that required careful and wise leadership to navigate.
2 Klaw
First Appearance: Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #53, by writer Stan Lee, penciler Jack Kirby, inker Joe Sinnott, and letterer Artie Simek
One of Black Panther's best-known villains, Ulysses Klaw, invaded Wakanda for its famed vibranium. Klaw murdered T'Chaka in front of his young son T'Challa when he refused to give him access to vibranium. This act incited a rivalry between T'Challa and Klaw that never faded, especially after Klaw gained hard-light powers through the manipulation of sound and vibranium.
Continually assaulting Wakanda for its material resources, Klaw represents the ravages of colonization. The Black Panther must continually fight against Klaw's border-busting intrusions to protect his country from those who would exploit it. Devious and intelligent, Klaw remains a persistent and lethal threat to Black Panther and Wakanda.
1 Namor
First Appearance: Motion Picture Funnies Weekly (Vol. 1) #1, by writer/penciler/inker/letterer Bill Everett
Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, is one of Marvel's most compelling anti-heroes. Atlantean royalty with a strong sense of honor, Namor has complex relations with the nations of the surface world, including Wakanda. While T'Challa and Namor started out as allies, their animosity and increasingly violent acts toward each other have led to a vicious rivalry.
While empowered by the Phoenix Force, Namor brought a tidal wave into Wakanda. Sometime later, Shuri sent Wakandan soldiers to destroy Atlantis. T'Challa and Namor's relationship serves to illuminate the true dangers of war and the effect they have on those even nominally involved. This rivalry appeared in the MCU when Namor attacked Shuri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.