The King of Wakanda, T’Challa is the Black Panther and protector of the most technologically advanced nation on the planet. A master of nearly every martial art and one of the smartest people to have ever lived, the Black Panther has been an Avenger, an Ultimate, and a member of the Illuminati. Black Panther receives his power from the Panther God Bastet, an ancient Egyptian deity. The manner in which T’Challa applies them is astonishing. He combines his intellect, technology, and fighting skills to devastating effect.
Black Panther is one of Earth’s noblest heroes and he’s also one of the greatest. When he puts his mind to a situation, there’s very little he cannot accomplish. He’s single-handedly taken on beings like Ulton, rode the Silver Surfer’s cosmic board, invented a new branch of science, controlled zombie armies, and even snuck up on heroes like Cable, Daredevil, and Spider-Man. T’Challa is so impressive that Bastet made him her personal Black Panther and gave him the knowledge and strength of every dead Wakanadan king before him. It’s never a question about what Black Panther can’t do, but rather what he forbids himself from doing. Today at CBR we’re looking at 15 yimes Black Panther was the most OP character!
15 WHEN HE WRECKED NAMOR TWICE
T’Challa isn’t all about relying on the power of the Panther God. A master combatant, strategist, and one of the smartest people on the planet, Black Panther has created technological armaments that would make Iron Man weep. After Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner, destroyed Wakanda, T’Challa swore vengeance on the Atlantean. Even though they teamed up when they joined the Illuminati to save the world from multiple incursions threatening to destroy the planet, T’Challa eventually has enough of Namor’s shenanigans.
One of Marvel’s strongest mutants, Namor has beaten the Hulk and battled heroes like Thor and the Fantastic Four. In New Avengers #22, Namor destroys a planet and taunts Black Panther. T’Challa snaps and beats Namor like a dog twice in the same issue. Oh, then he murdered Namor later in Avengers #40.
14 WHEN HE CONTROLLED AN ARMY OF ZOMBIES
Like every Black Panther before him, T’Challa not only gets his powers from the Panther God, but also gets the knowledge, wisdom, and abilities of every previous Black Panther. Additionally, T’Challa is able to commune with the spirits of dead Black Panthers, turning to them for guidance. Labeled the King of the Dead for that very reason, Black Panther has used this ability in creative and innovative ways. In Secret Wars #7, the Black Panther is getting read to attack God Doom.
Already equipped with the Infinity Gauntlet, he doesn’t even need the cosmic weapon for what comes next. T’Challa happens upon the Deadlands, an apocalyptic wasteland inhabited by zombies. Without hesitation, T’Challa uses his King of the Dead powers to control the zombies, turning them into his personal army. In Black Panther #11 he used the same ability to raise a ghost army of former dead Black Panther's and Wakandan Warriors.
13 WHEN HE WIELDED THE INFINITY GAUNTLET
Black Panther has been prone to many incredible feats over the years and not all of them involved punching strong dudes in the face. The Infinity Gauntlet is one of the most powerful weapons in the entirety of Marvel. Few beings can actually use the Gauntlet for fear of being corrupted and manipulated by it; the Gauntlet might also destroy them.
Towards the end of writer Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars, King T’Challa demonstrated that not only could be entrusted with an Infinity Gauntlet, but he could use it to overwhelming effect. The Gauntlet in question was saved from the remnants of a destroyed universe. Despite the threat of being consumed by the object, Black Panther enforced his will on the Gauntlet and used it to fight God Doom.
12 WHEN HE NEARLY KILLED MEPHISTO
Mephisto is Marvel’s version of the Devil. His power is frightening; nearly anything he can imagine, he can do. Black Panther laughs in the face of such a threat. In Black Panther #4, Mephisto has kidnapped a colleague of T’Challa and is hiding on Earth. T’Challa breaks into the apartment where Mephisto is and brutalizes him. While Mephisto is a god, Black Panther’s studied his powers and knows that even Mephisto needs a certain set of constants to utilize his might. Black Panther places a force field around Mephisto, throwing off those constants, and rips out the Devil’s heart.
The next issue, Mephisto drags Black Panther to his hellish domain, but bringing T’Challa’s soul also brought the spirit of the Panther God and the souls of every Wakandan before T’Challa. He overloads Mephisto’s soul-taking abilities, nearly destroying the Devil again. Mephisto can only beg for mercy.
11 WHEN HE CREATED A NEW BRANCH OF SCIENCE
Black Panther’s intelligence is second to none. Few can hope to challenge T’Challa’s smarts, and fewer still can claim to have created an entirely new branch of science. During the mini event Doom War, Doctor Doom is attacking Wakanda and trying to seize control of the Panther God’s power. Unable to find a way safe way to the villain, Black Panther decides to utilize Shadow Physics, an entirely new branch of science he created, along with inventing the Nowhere Room, using it to teleport Deadpool to Doom’s location by finding him on the Quantum level!
Black Panther’s prowess with electronics is phenomenal. Aside from inventing a new scientific field, he’s crafted a temporary X-Gene suppressant from local store parts, made a sonic fishing pole, and even once constructed a computer with internet capabilities, even though he was in a city with no internet connection and no electricity.
10 WHEN HE BEAT THE SILVER SURFER
After Galactus transformed Norrin Radd into the Silver Surfer by way of the Power Cosmic, Radd’s might became nearly unparalleled by mortals. The Silver Surfer has ridiculous superhuman strength he can boost to incalculable levels, he can travel through space with zero problem, exceeding light speed, time travel, and he can absorb and manipulate the universe’s ambient energy. He can fire energy blasts capable of destroying planets, heal living organisms from nearly any wound, look into the future and the past, and you get the idea. Unfazed, the Black Panther beat him senseless.
Though it is one of the most controversial fights in comic books, the fact is that the Black Panther defeated the Silver Surfer in hand-to-hand combat. In Fantastic Four #545, Black Panther gets the Silver Surfer into a specialized arm hold, incapacitating the cosmic herald of Galactus.
9 WHEN HE CREATED WORLDS
Creating entire worlds is an act usually reserved for the gods. The sheer power required to perform the deed is enough to drive most mortals insane. Black Panther is not most mortals. Before he’d go and prove he was worthy of wielding the Infinity Gauntlet on God Doom’s Battleworld, Black Panther was entrusted with using a Cosmic Cube. Similar to the Infinity Gauntlet, Cosmic Cubes have a nasty habit of either destroying their users or corrupting them.
Wielding a Cosmic Cube is not a simple act of point-and-shoot. It requires a sickening amount of concentration and willpower. The greater the action you will the Cube to do, the greater the risk is to you and everyone around you. A stray thought is enough to allow a Cosmic Cube to destroy a planet. In New Avengers #29, T’Challa proved fully capable, using a Cube to create multiple worlds.
8 WHEN HE DEFEATED THE FANTASTIC FOUR
When Black Panther first ran into the Fantastic Four, it wasn’t so much as friends as enemies. The first encounters between the FF and T’Challa featured the superhero team getting trounced by the King of Wakanda. In Fantastic Four #52, Black Panther demonstrates what he can do with a little prep time. Realizing he’s going to battle the Fantastic Four, Black Panther strategizes. Where foes like Galactus, Doctor Doom, Silver Surfer, the Inhumans, and countless others have failed in doing, Black Panther manages in one issue by utterly defeating the Fantastic Four.
Systematically incapacitating them one by one, he knocked out Invisible Woman with gas, locked the Human Torch away in a specially designed cage, fought Mr. Fantastic in the dark and trapped his arms, and used multiple mechanisms to defeat the Thing. With enough prep time, T’Challa can even defeat Marvel’s First Family.
7 WHEN HE BEAT GALACTUS IN A STANDOFF
Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, is one of Marvel’s longest-lasting and most dangerous cosmic entities. A survivor of the Big Bang, his power is incalculable and just gazing upon his form is enough to drive many insane. Known for feasting on entire planets, Galactus is more a force of nature, then supervillain. In Al Ewing’s Ultimates, the superhero team, made up of Captain Marvel, Ms. America, Blue Marvel, Spectrum, and Black Panther, decide to bring an end to the threat Galactus poses.
Their plan relies on Black Panther primarily and T’Challa is more than up for the challenge. After translocating into Galactus’ abode, a process that usually obliterates an individual’s mind, Black Panther proceeds to verbally outmaneuver the cosmic god. He stalls Galactus long enough for the rest of the Ultimates to arrive and shove the Devourer into the Birth Chamber, changing him into the Life Bringer.
6 WHEN HE DESTROYED THE GOD LOGOS
The Marvel Universe is chock full of powerful deities and godly beings. High on that list are the cosmic figures Lord Chaos and Master Order. They both are the embodiment of their respective names and they each have astonishing power. Together, the two “brothers” killed the Living Tribunal, the second most powerful being in all of Marvel. Taking his place so they could administer their rule throughout the multiverse, they then fused into the more powerful being Logos, who could also destroy Celestials.
Black Panther smacked Logos around and made it home in time for figurative lunch. Harnessing the power of the Tiger God, Black Panther ascended to a godly plane of existence where he took the fight to Logos. In the reality they now inhabited, their battle was made of metaphor, and T’Challa, a king, understood the power of symbolism and used said power to rip Logos apart.
5 WHEN HE DRAINED THE SILVER SURFER OF HIS POWER
Shortly after Black Panther manhandled the Silver Surfer, a being of immeasurable cosmic power, he decided to go one-step further. Rather than letting bygones be bygones, the Fantastic Four and the Black Panther are again at odds with the Silver Surfer just one issue later. Realizing a simple arm-lock isn’t going to quench the burning fire of battle, Black Panther breaks out a suit he created, modeled after Dr. Doom’s design, and uses it to drain the Silver Surfer of his Power Cosmic.
Removing the suit, T’Challa decides to continue the fight, stating that what comes next will be extremely satisfying. The Silver Surfer is flabbergasted, but refuses to back down. The action is futile. As the Surfer takes a swing at him, Black Panther dodges his attack and retaliates with a single blow that knocks the Silver Surfer out.
4 WHENEVER HE TRACKS SOULS
Black Panther has proven time and again that he’s one of the most accomplished fighters in the entire Marvel Universe. He’s gone hand-to-hand with nearly everyone out there, hurting the likes of Ultron, the Hulk, and even defeating the Devil in single combat. He’s held his own against Doctor Doom, thrashed Namor, and generally comes with an incredible list of abilities.
Perhaps the least well-known skill T’Challa possesses is his ability to track and hunt. While not a particularly showy power, he’s used it to track Ultron through rubble, and more notable, he can track a person based on their soul. That’s right, his panther power is so great that T’Challa can lock onto a person’s actual soul and hunt them down. When the Black Panther is after you, no matter who you are, there is no escape.
3 WHEN HE PREVENTS PSYCHICS FROM READING HIS MIND
Few superheroes can match Black Panther’s sheer physicality. It isn’t just his body that is strong however, but his mind as well. On multiple occasions T’Challa has demonstrated the ability to keep even Omega Level mutant psychics from reading his mind. Within the pages of Cable #54, the King of Wakanda sneaks up on the powerful telepath, much to the surprise of Nathan Summers. When Cable asks how Black Panther could hide his thoughts, T’Challa responds by explaining that he’s an expert in every aspect of stealth. So apparently he can hide his mind….
Emma Frost, one of the planet’s most powerful mutants, also tried reading his mind. She was violently pushed out, Black Panther’s mental blocks too strong and painful for her to endure. In the unlikely event his mind fails him, T’Challa has tech in his suit to block telepathic assaults.
2 WHEN HE BROKE A SUPER SKRULL BY HIMSELF
"Secret Invasion" saw the alien shapeshifting race known as the Skrulls bringing their years long plan of invasion to fruition. Inconspicuously replacing heroes in areas of power. Earth’s heroes learn about the plot and try to kick the Skrulls off the planet. The Skrulls have already planned for this and created a massive batch of Super Skrulls, members of their species augmented and given the powers of multiple superheroes. The Fantastic Four can barely defeat one.
When the Skrulls come to Wakanda, a Super Skrull leads the charge and is met by Black Panther. As they fight, it looks like the Super Skrull has the advantage, but that’s only because Black Panther let him think he was winning. In reality, Black Panther spends a few crucial seconds analyzing the Super Skrull’s weaknesses mid-fight, then uses that knowledge to systematically break his foe’s arm, legs, and rip his eyes out.
1 WHEN HE KNOCKED OUT THANOS IN SECONDS
Thanos, the Mad Titan, is one of the most feared and powerful villains in Marvel Comics. The mere utterance of his name typically sends entire civilizations scurrying in fear. For Black Panther, dealing with the Mad Titan is just another day at the office.
Right before Marvel’s "Civil War II", Thanos lands on Earth, kills War Machine, and puts She-Hulk in a coma before he’s subdued. Later, he escapes his prison and meets the superhero team the Ultimates, which Black Panther is a part of. While Ms. America and Captain Marvel keep Thanos busy, T’Challa literally invents a device on the spot out of a broken jail cell that once held Anti-Man. He then uses the device to project a field in Thanos’s brain, blocking his electrical synapses, knocking him out instantaneously.