In this feature we examine comic book stories and ideas that were not only abandoned, but also had the stories/plots specifically "overturned" by a later writer (as if they were a legal precedent). Click here for an archive of all the previous editions of The Abandoned An' Forsaked. Feel free to e-mail me at bcronin@comicbookresources.com if you have any suggestions for future editions of this feature.

Today, based on a suggestion from reader Omar Karindu, we look at the time that Black Panther temporarily gained mental powers...or did he?

In Black Panther #10 by Jack Kirby and Mike Royer, Black Panther was exposed to raw vibranium, which apparently can mutate you. It mutated Black Panther and gave him a variety of mental powers.

At the start of #11, he has a premonition in a dream about a bunch of bad guys...

Panther had not yet faced the bad guys but he does so later in the issue, clearly demonstrating precognitive abilities.

Later, he gets tested and the results are pretty damn clear...

Next, he shows the ability to tell when one of his aides is in danger...

In the following issue, Black Panther #12, Kirby and Royer now show Panther communicating with his captured aide through Panther's new mental abilities...

#12 was Kirby's last issue. Go to the next page to see how quickly they abandonded and forsaked this idea.

After Jim Shooter wrote #13, Ed Hannigan wrote #14, with art by Jerry Bingham and Gene Day. Hannigan quickly abandons and forsakes the expanded mental powers of the Panther, stating instead that the new powers are merely...

As you can see, he reduced the new powers to the point of basically non-existence.

I presume SOME later writer has dealt with Panther's retconned powers since then, I just can't think of who did (Christopher Priest brought the Jack Kirby-era Panther into his run on Black Panther in a sort of mocking way, but I mean a writer specifically addressing the fact that T'Challa once had ESPN and mental powers).

Thanks for the suggestion, Omar Karindu!

If YOU readers have a suggestion for a story that was abandoned and then retconned by a later writer, let me know at bcronin@comicbookresources.com!