Storytellers: Ta-Nehisi Coates & 

Daniel Acuna

Lettering: VC’s Joe Sabino

A Panther Symbiote covered N’Jadaka is now on Earth, and he is in T’Challa’s backyard no less. I don’t think he came to get in touch with his roots. With that reveal at the end of the last issue, I am hoping this book can finally grow some teeth. Let us see.

Well, I’m beginning to think Symbiote N’Jadaka can teleport. The reason I say that is, the last issue we had him mysteriously show up on T’Challa’s ship even though he was still on his own ship entering the atmosphere of a planet as it exploded. At that same moment, T’Challa and his comrades had already fled the scene knowing the planet was going critical. This issue starts with Symbiote N’Jadaka in Birnin Azzaria when T’Challa landed in Birnin Zana. That is across the country! If you don’t believe me here is the map.

The Symbiote, which is what I should just call it since it is obvious it doesn’t have the body of N’Jadaka in it anymore. We saw last issue the Symbiote possessing an unsuspecting security guard in the capital city. Now it seems to have walked all the way to Chanagamire’s house.

Now it is possible this symbiote studied the information and history that the empire stole from the memories of people like T’Challa or maybe it got the knowledge when it stole energy from Bast, but if that is the case tell us with some kind of narration otherwise it feels forced. Am I supposed to believe this symbiote just knows where it is going on this planet it has never been on before? Just so Ta-Nehisi Coates can somehow tie this story back to his work in volume 6 of this title. 

That is what is happening here, in a nutshell, is T’Challa needs to destroy the Djalia (a transcendent plane of Wakanda’s collective memory) in order to restore the memory of the nameless. I don’t understand how this works considering the nameless consists of like four galaxies of people that had nothing to do with Wakanda till T’Challa sent four people there. Those four people who got transported 2000 years into the past started a kingdom that T’Challa ended up in our present and is now trying to free. But now N’Jadka has possessed the philosopher that made the text that started a civil war. That symbiote possessed philosopher has now found the leaders of said civil war seemly to start the war again to rest power from T’Challa.

Final Thoughts:

You’re Boring Me To Death! With a plan to forfeit the Djalia to instill the memories of the nameless that I don’t understand mixed with some boring and utterly confusing fight scenes just to give Storm her time to shine. Plus some art and coloring I don’t particularly care for. All on top of a forced way to bring characters back from the beginning of Coates run for the failed cliffhanger. This comic yet again failed to excite and entertain.

4/10