• Written by: Bryan Hill
• Art by: Stefano Caselli
• Colors by: David Curiel
• Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
• Cover art by: Stefano Caselli, David Curiel
• Cover price: $5.99
• Release date: February 7, 2024

Ultimate Black Panther #1 catches up with the King of Wakanda in the Maker’s version of Earth to find out how the Black Panther is dealing with the new status quo.

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Is Ultimate Black Panther #1 Good?

Ultimate Black Panther #1 by Brian Hill is fine. That’s a positive and a negative for different and very valid reasons. In this issue, Hill delivers a tried and true, solid Black Panther issue. On the flip side, there’s very little to differentiate the Ultimate version of Black Panther from any other version.

Hill’s script centers on the combined forces of Ra and Khonshu invading portions of Africa to claim land, people, and resources. When T’Challa receives word of the incursions, he chooses reconnaissance and planning over rash action, much to his sister’s (Shuri) chagrin. When a suicide bomber unleashes chaos in the heart of Wakanda, Black Panther is spurred into action by sacrificing Wakanda’s secrecy to avenge his father’s death.

“Hey! Wait a minute! That sounds a lot like what happened in Captain America: Civil War (2016),” you might recall. You’d be correct. But for a few incidental tweaks, Hill gives the Ultimate Black Panther almost the same introduction to the reader as the film. Conclude what you will.

Is there anything that’s a unique twist or an Ultimates-style differentiator? Killmonger fights the incursion forces with his girlfriend (Ororo aka Storm) by his side, the diametric opposite of T’Challa’s calm, methodical approach to the situation. How Killmonger and Storm became a couple is not explained, but they make a formidable pair.

What’s great about Ultimate Black Panther #1? If you’ve been starving for a solid, dramatic, artistically excellent Black Panther story, you’re in luck. Hill’s take on the character is miles better than Eve Ewing’s soon-to-be-cancelled run on the main title. To be clear, Stefano Caselli’s art isn’t just excellent. It’s phenomenal, and the Ultimates costume looks great.

What’s not so great about Ultimate Black Panther #1? It feels like Hill didn’t understand the homework assignment. I’ll explain.

The entire premise of this new Ultimates Universe (Earth-6160) is that the Maker created the world to be his Utopia, starting with preventing the origins of the Avengers to prevent any challenge to his authority. Why wouldn’t the Maker destroy or at least inhibit the formation of Wakanda and everything associated with Vibranium? Why is an omega-level mutant (Storm) running around unchecked? But for a few costume tweaks, why is everything about Hill’s Ultimate Black Panther almost identical to the Earth-616 Black Panther?

Don’t get me wrong. Hill’s Black Panther is still the best Black Panther on the LCS shelves right now. But if the point of the Ultimates was to give readers a unique spin on a familiar character, Hill barely gives Ultimate Black Panther a quarter turn.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Ultimate Black Panther #1 is the first introduction of the Ultimates version of the character to longtime Ultimates fans. Hill’s script is tight, dramatic, and fueled by the onset of war, and Caselli’s art, including the new suit, looks fantastic. That said, the point of Ultimates is to create a fresh spin on an old character. On that point, Hill doesn’t deliver.

7/10