The story of T'Challa, also known as Black Panther, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Early Life[]
T'Challa was born in Wakanda, an isolationist country located in Africa, to the reigning monarch T'Chaka and his wife Ramonda. He eventually had a younger sister named Shuri. Training for all of his life to take his father's place as the next Black Panther, T'Challa grew into a man with a highly active mind and despite T'Chaka's best efforts, a great dislike for politics. In 2009, his father would pass the mantle of Black Panther to T'Challa after reaching a certain age.
One week after becoming the protector of Wakanda, T'Challa, as the Black Panther, was sent with Okoye to save Wakandan hostages from Zanda and Douglas Scott. Black Panther took on Zanda as Okoye retrieved the hostages, and was shot in the shoulder by her vibranium bullets. Before she could kill him, however, Zanda moved to shoot the fleeing hostages, giving Black Panther the chance to overpower her and ensure the hostages escaped. Once the police stormed the building, the mercenaries fled, with Black Panther deciding to pursue them in his aircraft.
Following them to a yacht, Black Panther and Okoye took out the mercenaries and then confronted Zanda and Scott, with Black Panther killing Zanda by igniting one of her grenades and saving Okoye by dropping a metal bar on Scott's hands.
Captain America: Civil War[]
When the United Nations decided to approve the Sokovia Accords in order to control and monitor the Avengers in the wake of the devastating battle between the Avengers and Crossbones, during which several Wakandan citizens were killed among other innocents. The Wakandan government chose to support the Accords as they felt the Avengers could become a true risk to the safety of Wakanda and the rest of the world considering their involvement in Ultron's creation.
Prince T'Challa is first seen visiting a United Nations summit with his father, King T'Chaka. T'Chaka represents the nation of Wakanda, a small country located in central Africa. T'Chaka is assassinated though, initial investigation begins to implicate the Winter Soldier. While the authorities, including the Avengers, struggle to track down the Winter Soldier, T'Challa makes up his mind to kill his father's assassin, by donning the mantle of Black Panther, an originally religious title passed down through Wakanda royalty that vests the bearer with the prowess of their Panther Goddess, but currently is largely symbolic in appearance but backed-up with cutting edge technology specifically made for the position.
During the Avengers Civil War, there is a divide in the Avengers lead between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. The United Nations demands state that the Avengers must either conform to United Nations regulation or be dismantled. While Tony Stark feels the Avengers need to be held accountable for their actions by registering with the United Nations, Steve Rogers does not trust international authorities with enhanced humans and the divide causes strife between the Avengers, as T'Challa is only concerned with avenging his father. Black Panther starts hunting down the Winter Soldier, Steve Rogers' former friend, James "Bucky" Barnes. Bucky has undergone brainwashing and Rogers wants to get him help, while Iron Man aims to capture him for T'Challa and the United Nations, thus the capture of Bucky became the central issue of the war. Naturally, T'Challa is on Iron Man's side for the divide, but T'Challa is less concerned with the precedent and more with exacting vengeance for his father's murder. When the involvement of a man named Helmut Zemo becomes known in the affair, T'Challa refocus his efforts from the death of Bucky to investigating the circumstances behind his father's death. After the Civil War, T'Challa returns to Wakanda.
Wakanda[]
Wakanda has Vibranium, a rare metal unlike any others on Earth due to an ancient meteorite which crashed into Central Africa in a land that would later be titled Wakanda. The stores of the meteor were massive and in addition to the miracle metal extracted, the plant-life around the meteor was mutated and took on specific psycho-tropic properties. Wakanda mined Vibranium, which developed both their technology and economy around it. The Vibranium saw to it that Wakanda developed a society a century ahead of the rest of the world.
Ancient Wakanda worshiped the panther as their central god, later due to trade with northern Africa, they would associate this with the Egyptian Goddess Bast. The worship of Bast is Wakanda's primary religion. More important than Bast herself, is the honoring of one's ancestors. The Kings of Wakanda became supplicants of the Panther Goddess and later Bast, the head of the royal family was said to be a servant of the panther and wore a ceremonial panther outfit to battle. Ingesting the psychotropic plants, mutated by the Vibranium meteor would induce visions of past family members. When awakening from their vision quest to commune with their ancestors, a king would be gifted with superhuman strength, speed, and instincts. This individual is titled the Black Panther. As the Black Panther is a ceremonial title, inheritors of it are intrinsically tied to the fate of Wakanda. When technology advanced enough, Wakanda would fashion a Vibranium suit for the Black Panther, the properties of which become more advanced with each generation.
Black Panther[]
In Wakanda, T'Challa undergoes the rites to formally be declared king. As is tradition, he ingests a modified extract of the plant which gives the Black Panther his abilities, which takes them away and accepts all challenges before the tribal elders. Chief M'Baku, an isolationist tribe chief is the only one who challenges the claim to Black Panther. T'Challa beats M'Baku and spares his life, convincing M'Baku to yield so he need not kill him and rob his tribe of their leader. M'Baku releases his claim and retreats to the mountains, with no further opposition, T'Challa become the Black Panther properly and undergoes the rites to visit his father's spirit.
Ulysses Klaw, a smuggler has been illegally exporting vibranium from Wakanda and selling it around the world. While the U.S. government has been the one largely to hunt down and round up the vibranium, T'Challa aims to stop the problem at it's source by finding Klaw himself and bringing him in for his crimes, or killing him if need be. Klaw's partner, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens Stevens proves to be an exiled Wakandan American. Killmonger turns out to be T'Challa's cousin, with his father, N'Jobu, having been killed by the late King T'Chaka for exporting vibranium for weapon use. N'Jobu intentionally sold vibranium while undercover in the U.S. an witnessing a still marginalized African population. N'Jobu was willing to undermine Wakanda's control of the vibranium supply in order to arm revolutionaries. Upon becoming aware of the details surrounding N'Jobu's death, T'Challa visits his father's spirit to confront him, however Killmonger is not interested in empathy, only justice. After Klaw is dealt with, dealing with Killmonger becomes a priority, since, as the son of a Wakandan prince, Killmonger has right to challenge T'Challa for the throne.
The ritual combat begins with T'Challa relinquishing his powers once again. After killing Zuri, he defeats T'Challa and hurls him over a waterfall, where he is presumed dead. After ingesting the heart-shaped herb to gain the powers of the Black Panther, Killmonger orders the rest incinerated, but Nakia manages to steal one. Killmonger, supported by W'Kabi and his army, enacts his father's plan, preparing shipments of Wakandan weapons to be distributed to Wakandan operatives around the world, that of which includes New York City, London and Hong Kong. Nakia, Shuri, Ross, and T'Challa's mother Ramonda flee to seek the aid of the Jabari and learn M'Baku's men are caring for the comatose T'Challa, whom they had rescued in repayment for sparing M'Baku's life. They feed the heart-shaped herb brought by Nakia to T'Challa who returns to the Ancestral Plane again and meets the spirit of his father who tells his son its time to let go and join him and his ancestors.
T'Challa demands to know why Erik was left as an orphan in the US when he should have been brought home to his people. T'Chaka claims he did what he did for his people and Wakanda to allow them to remain in isolation, but T'Challa angrily rejects this and states that they cannot hide from the rest of the world forever. He then tells his father's spirit he will not join them but will return to stop the monster his people created from sitting on the throne. T'Challa wakes up and immediately returns to Wakanda to stop Killmonger's plan. T'Challa returns to Mount Bashenga to challenge Killmonger for the throne, who is now wearing a Panther Habit of his own. While T'Challa and Killmonger vie for supremacy, sonic disruptors used in the transport of the metal in the mine incapacitate their vibranium armors. T'Challa uses this to his advantage, and overpowers Killmonger, impaling him with a dagger. T'Challa, victorious, shows mercy to Killmonger and fulfills his childhood wish to witness the sunset of Wakanda. Killmonger refuses T'Challa's offer to be healed and pulls the dagger out of his chest, choosing to die a free man rather than be incarcerated.
Rejecting the isolationism of past Wakandan kings, T'Challa establishes an embassy in Oakland, California, purchasing the apartment complex where N'Jobu was murdered. T'Challa appoints Shuri and Nakia to run the embassy. Soon after, T'Challa appears before the United Nations in the rebuilt Vienna International Centre to reveal Wakanda's resources to the world, and to come out of isolation.
Avengers: Infinity War[]
The Avengers take Vision to Wakanda, where they are greeted by T'Challa and Barnes. They ask Shuri if she can safely extract the Mind Stone from Vision and she confirms that she can, but that it will take some time. Maximoff is ordered to stand by at the operation table, ready to destroy the stone once it's free. Moments later, massive drop ships land outside of Wakanda's protective energy dome. Meanwhile, Thor and Rocket successfully revive the star core of Nidavellir, but due to the mechanisms of the forge being damaged, Thor is forced to risk his life, using his own body to hold the forge's iris open.
As massive armies of Outriders led by Proxima Midnight and Cull Obsidian arrive in Wakanda, T'Challa gathers Dora Milaje, Wakandan Royal Guard, the Border Tribe and the Jabari Tribe led by M'Baku, accompanied by Rogers, Barnes, Wilson, Rhodes, Romanoff and Banner using a suit of Hulkbuster armor, to meet them, hoping to buy Shuri enough time to complete her work. At first, the Outriders blindly throw themselves against the protective energy dome surrounding Wakanda, with many perishing against the dome's surface and only a few actually making it through. While Thor and Rocket are able to break the ice that immobilizes the rings of Nidavellir's forge, the mechanism that focuses the neutron star's power are damaged. Thor exposes himself to the full power of the star, giving the forge enough time to melt the special metal needed to craft Stormbreaker. Thor is left near death, and while Eitri successfully molded the metal, the axe's handle cannot be found. Groot sacrifices his left arm for the weapon's handle, activating its powers and reviving Thor.
In Wakanda, the Black Order launches Threshers, massive siege weapons which lay waste on the battlefield, prompting Maximoff to join and save Romanoff and Okoye. However, what no one has realized is that Corvus Glaive has successfully infiltrated the lab where he knocks out Shuri and her guards before the extraction of the Mind Stone can be completed. Glaive then attempts to take the Mind Stone from Vision who flees on to the battlefield and attempts to fight back, but Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian overpower him. Banner arrives and manages to kill Cull Obsidian despite still being unable to turn into the Hulk while Rogers fights against Corvus Glaive. Meanwhile, despite holding her own against the combined forces of Maximoff, Romanoff and Okoye, Proxima Midnight is killed as well when Maximoff forces her into the path of a Thresher. Rogers is defeated, but Vision stabs Corvus Glaive with his own weapon from behind, killing him. With the Black Order defeated and the Outriders routed by Thor, the Avengers seem victorious. Banner arrives and manages to kill Cull Obsidian despite still being unable to turn into the Hulk while Rogers fights against Corvus Glaive. Meanwhile, despite holding her own against the combined forces of Maximoff, Romanoff and Okoye, Proxima Midnight is killed as well when Maximoff forces her into the path of a Thresher. Rogers is defeated, but Vision stabs Corvus Glaive with his own weapon from behind, killing him. With the Black Order defeated and the Outriders routed by Thor, the Avengers seem victorious.
However, Thanos teleports to Wakanda as well to obtain the Mind Stone. All the Avengers, Okoye, T'Challa, and Groot gather to defend Vision, but Thanos effortlessly defeats them one by one, including Rogers, who is briefly able to hold back Thanos, much to the Titan's surprise. Realizing that they have no other choice, Vision asks Maximoff to destroy the Mind Stone herself, which will likely kill Vision. She reluctantly agrees and successfully shatters the Mind Stone moments before Thanos can get it, vaporizing both it and Vision. However, Thanos uses the power of the Time Stone to reverse time and restores both Vision and the Mind Stone, which he rips off the Mind Stone from Vision's skull, killing him for good. Having finally gathered all six Infinity Stones, Thanos prepares to execute his plan, but Thor arrives and catches Thanos off guard, unleashing his full power and the full might of Stormbreaker upon the Titan in a last-minute attempt to stop him, severely wounding Thanos as Stormbreaker buries itself in his chest. However, Thanos survives the attack. He mocks Thor for not having hit him in the head and snaps his fingers in the Gauntlet, completing his plan. Thanos is momentarily transported into the Soulworld, where he sees a younger Gamora, who asks what the cost of achieving his goal was. Sadly, Thanos admits that it has cost him "everything".
Thanos then returns to the real world, with the Gauntlet now mangled from the massive amount of energy used, and Thor furiously questions Thanos about what he did as a rumble can be heard throughout the universe. Thanos simply smirks at him and teleports away. As Thor is left to wonder what the outcome will be, Barnes suddenly turns to ash in front of Rogers. The effects of the snap manifest: half of the Wakandan army disintegrates as does T'Challa, Groot, Maximoff, and Wilson, leaving the survivors, regrouping around Vision's body, to look in horror and unable to do anything but accept defeat.
Avengers: Endgame[]
After Banner revived the previously fallen heroes, T'Challa included, they return from Sling Ring portals to defeat Thanos and his army in the Battle of Earth. These heroes lead the forces of the Masters of the Mystic Arts, Dora Milaje, the Wakandan Army, Ravagers, and the Asgardians in the Battle of Earth. Rogers, with a cry of "Avengers, Assemble!", starts the Battle of Earth and the team tries to keep the Nano Gauntlet away from Thanos and his forces with the objective of sending the Infinity Stones back to their proper timelines. After Tony snaps his fingers and sacrifices himself to defeat Thanos' forces and restore the universe, the heroes reunite with their families and friends. The group attend Tony's funeral at his lake cabin as they all recognize the sacrifice that Stark made to save them and the universe.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever[]
Death[]
In 2024, after the events of Endgame, T'Challa faced a terminal illness. He traveled to Haiti to tell Nakia about his condition so she and their son could get ready for his passing. He asked her to remain there and not come to his funeral. Back in Wakanda, Shuri tried her best to recreate the Heart-Shaped Herb and its healing powers, which had been destroyed by Erik Killmonger, but she ran out of time, leading to his death.
The decision to kill off T'Challa was made by MCU writing staff after Chadwick Boseman, the actor who portrayed T'Challa, suddenly died after a private battle with colon cancer in August 2020.
Legacy[]
After King T'Challa's sudden death, some nations viewed Wakanda as vulnerable without its protector. This led to attempts to forcibly take vibranium, but Queen Ramonda and the Dora Milaje successfully stopped them.
A year after T'Challa died, Namor and the Talokanil captured Shuri and Riri Williams. They planned to start a war against the surface world with Wakanda's help. When Wakanda refused, Nakia killed a Talokanil to help Shuri and Riri escape. In response, Namor attacked Wakanda, leading to Queen Ramonda's death. Shuri later recreated the heart-shaped herb and became the new Black Panther to seek revenge on Namor for her mother's death. However, she chose to spare his life and continued T'Challa's legacy of honor and the Black Panther.