- Written by: Eve L. Ewing
- Art by: Chris Allen, Mack Chater, Craig Yeung
- Colors by: Jesus Aburtov
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
- Cover art by: Taurin Clarke
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: February 14, 2024
Black Panther #9 finds Aliiya Nikisu discovering the true nature of her father’s dealings with Kivu’Ma while Black Panther and Beisa search for their missing friend.
Is Black Panther #9 Good?
Oh, the irony of ironies. Why is it that Eve Ewing’s tenure on Black Panther wandered, meandered, and bored the pants off readers for most of the run, but when it comes time for the penultimate issue in anticipation of the title’s cancellation next month, Ewing finally gets her act together? Black Panther #9 ain’t half bad, but it’s too little too late.
When last we left Black Panther, Aliiya Nikisu formed a tentative alliance with Kivu’Ma as the supernatural entity who aided her father in his secretive project. Elsewhere, Black Panther learned that Baba Nikisu and the people who disappeared from Birnin T’Chaka were somehow connected to the construction of a covert space station in orbit used for a secretive purpose.
Now, it all comes together. Kivu’Ma needs souls, but the souls stop feeding when the body dies, so Kivu’Ma influenced the corrupt elite of Birnin T’Chaka to fund and build the space station as an off-world storage facility to house the bodies tethered to the souls feeding Kivu’Ma. That doesn’t quite address the unanswered questions about the reason behind a simmering gang war, Deathlok’s involvement as a reprogrammed assassin, or what the Nikisu family gets out of partnering with Kivu-Ma, but it’s a big step in the right direction.
What’s great about Black Panther #9? Ewing finally… FINALLY… starts to make sense of the plot and put the pieces together. Heading into the finale, we understand the stakes, the motivations, and the scope of the challenge ahead of Black Panther. Again, it’s too little too late, but we’ll take it.
What’s not so great about Black Panther #9? Plot holes and unanswered questions abound, and there’s an impossibly small hope those plot holes will get addressed in the next and final issue. How did the Nikisu family kidnap so many people and get them off-world to a far-orbit space station? How were the Birnin T’Chaka elites able to build a massive space station without anyone noticing, particularly Shuri, the Avengers, SWORD, or anyone else with advanced technology?
In fairness, Kivu’Ma’s goal and the concept are pretty straightforward in retrospect, but you had to sort through a lot of complex world-building, go-nowhere character development, and general fluff to get to a very simple plot at the last minute. If Ewing had spent less time building her own corner of Wakanda into the African version of Gotham City, there likely would have been more time and space to create an adventure series worth reading.
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
Black Panther #9 serves up big answers to most of the major, lingering questions about Kivu’Ma and the disappearing citizens of Birnin T’Chaka. Ewing finally gets around to creating a clear plot with decent art, engaging reveals, and solid pacing, but the cancellation next month confirms why you can’t waste time at $3.99.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 