Black Panther

"Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We cannot. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis, the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

- T'Challa

T'Challa is the current monarch of the African nation of Wakanda. As the Wakandan monarch, he is also the current holder of the Black Panther mantle. After his father was killed in a bombing attack orchestrated by Helmut Zemo, the new monarch set out to kill the Winter Soldier, whom was widely believed to be responsible for the attack. After being drawn into the Avengers Civil War and siding with Iron Man, T'Challa learned the truth about Zemo's deception and decided to help the Winter Soldier by granting him asylum in Wakanda.

After his coronation, T'Challa began hunting down Ulysses Klaue, only to be confronted by his cousin Erik Killmonger, who sought the throne for himself. After a lengthy campaign, T'Challa defeated Killmonger and decided to introduce Wakandan technology to the United Nations.

Raised in Wakanda
"For a man who disapproves of diplomacy, you're getting quite good at it."

- T'Chaka

T'Challa was born in Wakanda, an isolationist country located in Africa, to the reigning monarch T'Chaka and his wife Ramonda. He eventually has a younger sister named Shuri. Trained for most 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.

Becoming the Black Panther
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.

Assassination of T'Chaka
"In my culture, death is not the end. It's more of a stepping off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veld where... you can run forever." "That sounds very peaceful." "My father thought so. I am not my father."

- T'Challa and Natasha Romanoff

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 the now deceased terrorist Crossbones, during which several Wakandan citizens were killed among other innocents, T'Challa and 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. T'Challa and his father T'Chaka attended the conference in Vienna, meeting Natasha Romanoff there. T'Challa spent time speaking with Romanoff where they had discussed the accords and their shared discomfort of such political meetings. T'Challa commented on the fact that the last time Romanoff was in such company, she had just exposed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrets during the HYDRA Uprising, claiming her dislike for it made him happy to have seen her there. They were then interrupted by T'Chaka who had teased his son and greeted Romanoff, noting that Captain America had decided not to attend as he disagreed with the control the accords would put on his and the Avengers' actions. Once Romanoff had taken her own seat, T'Chaka then expressed his pride of seeing his son's skill at politics getting much better as they thanked each other for their continued support during this difficult time for Wakanda's future. During the conference, T'Challa's watched as his father then gave a speech about Wakanda's dark history and unfortunate involvement in the creation of deadly weapons made with Vibranium, using these as his reasons for signing the accords. Upon hearing the commotion outside, T'Challa realized danger was incoming but was too late to stop his father being killed in a terrorist attack that was orchestrated by Helmut Zemo under the disguise of the Winter Soldier. While the fire was being put out, T'Challa mournfully took his late father's ring and took over his rightful role as King of Wakanda. While considering his next actions, T'Challa was greeted by Romanoff who expressed her own grief at T'Chaka's sudden death and promised him the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre would arrest the Winter Soldier and bring him to justice. T'Challa however then informed Romanoff that he intended to find and kill the Winter Soldier himself.

Hunting the Winter Soldier
"T'Challa, Task Force will decide who brings in Barnes." "Don't bother Ms. Romanoff. I’ll kill him myself."

- Natasha Romanoff and T'Challa

T'Challa put on the Panther Habit in order to avenge his own father's death. He then quickly managed to track the Winter Soldier down to where he had been hiding in Bucharest, where he fiercely attacked him. Despite being momentarily shocked by the arrival of such an unexpected enemy, the Winter Soldier quickly got to his feet and began fighting Black Panther, almost being killed several times by the Panther's attacks. Using the incredibly sharp claws on his suit, Black Panther slashed at his enemy and tried to kill him, eventually pinning him to the ground and attempting to stab his target through the throat. However, their battle finally stopped when Black Panther had then been shot at by a helicopter, with his own Vibranium suit saving him. The Winter Soldier then attempted to escape by running off the side of the building, only for Black Panther to follow, grinding down the building's side. While the Winter Soldier attempted to escape by running on foot, the Black Panther hunted and chased Barnes down through a long traffic tunnel, pursued himself by Captain America and Falcon who were now attempting to aid the Winter Soldier's escape. Determined not to allow the man who had seemingly killed his father to escape, the Black Panther charged through the tunnels, with his enhanced speed allowing him to run past cars as he began to gain on the Winter Soldier. When Rogers apprehended a Joint Counter Terrorist Centre car to try and catch up to Barnes, who was escaping on a motorbike, Black Panther jumped onto the back of the car to gain extra speed as well as jumping on the back of Falcon and flying through the tunnel, trying several times to knock Barnes off the motorcycle he was riding but finding that Barnes' Prosthetic Arm gave him an advantage as the Panther was grabbed by the throat, but T'Challa soon recovered. Eventually, Barnes reached the end of the tunnel and tried to use an explosive to block their way, only for Black Panther to leap through the blast and sliced through Barnes' tires, causing his own bike to crash. Although Rogers stopped him from killing Barnes, they were all soon captured when War Machine and an entire police squad arrived and surrounded them, to which he unmasked and revealed himself as the King of Wakanda to the surprise of everybody. The police apprehended Barnes, Rogers, and Wilson, who were now fugitives due to the Sokovia Accords. The group was then brought to Berlin in an armored car to await their own punishments for the chaos they caused. Along the way, T'Challa explained to Rogers and Wilson the history of the Black Panther and why he had targeted Barnes, as he desired to avenge T'Chaka and vowed that Rogers would not be able to keep Barnes safe from him for long. The group arrived at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building and were soon greeted by Sharon Carter and her boss Everett Ross while Barnes was locked up in a maximum security prison of the German anti-terror police force GSG9. T'Challa was also brought into their custody and saw Captain America's Shield and EXO-7 Falcon being taken away. When Rogers questioned what would happen to Barnes, he was told he would be questioned by Ross' own men before being taken away to begin his sentence, which T'Challa seemed to agree with. Ross then explained that while he was there, T'Challa would be provided with an office rather than a prison cell to stay in.

Losing the Winter Soldier
"How long do your psychological evaluations usually take?" "Why? You bored?" "Not currently, but my prisoner and I have a plane to catch."

- T'Challa and Natasha Romanoff

While awaiting news on what would happen with the Winter Soldier at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building, T'Challa was visited by Natasha Romanoff who expressed her surprise at his secret identity, citing that this now placed him under the Accords' jurisdiction. T'Challa noted he wanted to move on so he could take Barnes to Wakanda. As Romanoff claimed this would be unlikely, Everett Ross confirmed T'Challa had been granted Barnes' extradition. T'Challa sat in his office while the Winter Soldier was questioned by Helmut Zemo posing as the psychiatrist Theo Broussard. However while T'Challa, Ross and the Avengers were watching the questioning unfold, the power throughout the building was suddenly shut off, cutting all of the video and audio feeds in the interrogation room. Sensing that a more sinister plan was unfolding involving the Winter Soldier, who may be attempting to escape, T'Challa then went to investigate the incident himself even further. Heading downstairs as chaos was erupting throughout the building, T'Challa discovered the Winter Soldier had escaped and was fighting Romanoff, Tony Stark and Sharon Carter. T'Challa managed to save Romanoff from being strangled by the Winter Soldier and engaged in a one on one fight with his enemy, proving to be equally matched in skill although the Soldier was able to use his Prosthetic Arm to gain an advantage with strength, managing to knock T'Challa to the ground. T'Challa refused to allow his prey to escape and continued fighting, subduing and kicking him down the stairs, which only helped him get away. When T'Challa learned from his Attaché that the Winter Soldier had escaped from the building, seemingly with the help of Steve Rogers, he decided to use Wakanda's many resources to track him down. On his way out, he was stopped by Natasha Romanoff, who came close to fighting Ayo, his security chief. T'Challa spoke to Romanoff politely and explained his plan, however, Romanoff offered him an alternative, to join Stark's team of Avengers members in finding and capturing Rogers along with the Winter Soldier for Thaddeus Ross. Knowing that this would prove to be a much faster method of finding and killing his target, T'Challa agreed to join Stark's team.

Clash of the Avengers
"I didn't kill your father." "Then why did you run?"

- Winter Soldier and Black Panther

Having joined Iron Man's side, Black Panther eventually found and ambushed Captain America at an airport in Flughafen Leipzig-Halle, greeting Rogers with respect while Stark continued to argue about the Sokovia Accords while Spider-Man arrived and took away his shield to ensure that he could not fight back, as Stark tried to convince him to surrender himself over to the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre for interrogation. However, Rogers remained confident and had Hawkeye free him from Spider-Man's webbing and Ant-Man gave him back his shield. As Iron Man scanned the area, he spotted the Winter Soldier, who Black Panther attempted to go after, only for Rogers to stand in his way. When Rogers ignored T'Challa's warning to get out of his way, they engaged in a fierce fight, where the claws on his own Panther Habit caused permanent scratch marks on Rogers' shield. T'Challa teamed up with War Machine during the fight but they both proved to be bested by Captain America, who fought them both off while disarming War Machine's weapons. The fight was stopped when Captain America and Ant-Man used a Pym Particle Disk to enlarge and throw a large fire truck towards T'Challa, War Machine and Black Widow, much to their annoyance as both T'Challa and Widow managed to dodge the explosion while Rhodes was hit with full on force, knocking him painfully backwards. As Rogers and the rest of his team attempted to make their way to the Avengers' Quinjet to make their escape from the airport, their path was soon stopped by the Vision, who used the Mind Stone to block their path. T'Challa joined the rest of Iron Man's team as the two opposing sides later gathered up to charge against their former allies, T'Challa first targeted the man he was desperate to get revenge on and who was seemingly responsible for the terrorist attacks. During the fight Winter Soldier tried to convince T'Challa that he wasn't the one who murdered T'Chaka, but T'Challa only questioned why he had run away if he was innocent. He almost succeeded to kill the wrong suspect as he pulled away his Prosthetic Arm and then attempted to cut his throat, but Scarlet Witch intervened and stopped his claws from reaching Barnes, and threw T'Challa through a distance with her powers, hitting a jet bridge.

Losing his Targets
"We haven't met yet. I'm Clint." "I don't care."

- Hawkeye and Black Panther

Later, T'Challa spotted both Captain America and the Winter Soldier attempting to escape with a Quinjet which was inside the hangar, but Giant-Man held him and all the rest of Iron Man's team back. When keeping Spider-Man, Iron Man and War Machine away from his team, Ant-Man kicked a bus at T'Challa, only to be saved at the last second by the Vision intervening and blocking the bus with his own Vibranium body. With Vision's help, T'Challa was able to elude Ant-Man to reach the Quinjet Hangar. Before he can do so, Hawkeye tries keeping T'Challa at bay by firing many of his explosive arrows directly at him. T'Challa dodged many of the arrows and caught two before they exploded right in his face, angering him enough to fight Hawkeye by showing him his Vibranium claws unleashed from his own Panther Habit as the Black Panther prepared to fight his legendary attacker. Seeing that his current fighting technique was not working and still attempting to ensure his ally's escape, Hawkeye turned his bow into a staff and introduced himself to T'Challa, since they had never been introduced before this point, with the latter replying that he did not care who he was fighting. The pair started fighting one another until T'Challa broke his staff in half and knocked Hawkeye out of the fight, before then continuing his pursuit to the Quinjet Hangar. Despite the best efforts of Vision to block them, Rogers and Barnes reached the hangar due to the Scarlet Witch's interference. Panther came close to them, only to be stunned multiple times by the Black Widow's Widow Bite, allowing Rogers and Barnes to escape, despite T'Challa trying to get a hold of the Quinjet. Romanoff claimed she had only promised to help him find not kill them. T'Challa was furious with her and he later reported her betrayal to Everett Ross.

Capturing Helmut Zemo
"Vengeance has consumed you. It is consuming them, and I am done letting it consume me. Justice will come soon enough." "Tell that to the dead." "The living are not done with you yet."

- Black Panther and Helmut Zemo

Having had a meeting with Thaddeus Ross onboard the Raft prison where he had a top-secret meeting with Falcon, Tony Stark discovered the location of the now fugitives Captain America and the Winter Soldier. Once Stark had put on his Iron Man suit and went to find them, T'Challa secretly followed Stark while onboard his jet to Siberia, where the Winter Soldier laboratory was located. T'Challa infiltrated the building with the plan to kill Winter Soldier; following close behind as Iron Man made peace with Rogers. However, he overheard the conversation between Rogers and the terrorist Helmut Zemo, in which he confessed to killing all the other Winter Soldiers and admitted to framing Barnes for killing King T'Chaka. Having learned this truth that he had been deceived, Black Panther focused his efforts on Zemo, with the intention of killing him. While Zemo rested on top of a hill outside the missile bunker, certain that he had succeeded to pit Iron Man and Captain America against each other, T'Challa quietly confronted him, now aware of the truth. However, rather than going face-to-face with T'Challa, Zemo instead explained to T'Challa that his family died in the Battle of Sokovia and that he wanted to tear apart the Avengers to find justice for his own family's tragic demise. Zemo also admitted that T'Chaka's death was not intended and apologized for it, saying that T'Chaka was a good man who he respected and had a dutiful son in T'Challa. Realizing how horribly revenge could consume a man and that his father would never have wanted a Black Panther to commit murder, T'Challa decided to spare Zemo and even stopped him from committing suicide, using his Vibranium-protected hand to block the gunshot. While he struggled to get out of the headlock, T'Challa stated to Zemo that the living are not done with him yet.

Binding his prisoner, T'Challa was approached by Rogers and Barnes as they retreated from the facility. Updating them on what he had heard, T'Challa, wanting to make amends with Barnes, told him that he had sources in Wakanda that could help him in removing his Winter Soldier programming, and then left to take Zemo to the authorities. T'Challa handed Zemo over to Everett Ross for his punishment.

Coronation
A week after his father's death, T'Challa returned to his home country to be formally crowned king. First, however, he decided to retrieve his former lover Nakia, a Wakandan spy, from her current mission with the help of Okoye. Upon arriving at Wakanda's capital, T'Challa was greeted by his mother and little sister, who held great expectations for him as the new heir. By tradition, T'Challa needed to accept the challenge of any of the warriors chosen by the other four tribes of Wakanda for the title of King. Three of them declined to challenge the throne, but M'Baku of the Jabari Tribe willingly accepted while outright mocking the Black Panther and his predecessor. After an intense duel, T'Challa decided to spare M'Baku, saying that his people need him, and the latter yielded.

Upgrades
Shuri then took T'Challa back to her lab to show him new improvements to his equipment. The most significant was his Panther Habit, which could materialize instantly and is easily stored in the Black Panther necklace when not in use, as well as absorb any sort of damage and emit it back outward, making it virtually indestructible.

Chasing Ulysses Klaue
T'Challa soon learned that Ulysses Klaue had stolen a Vibranium artifact from the Museum of Great Britain and was planning to sell it on the black market. Accompanied by Nakia and Okoye, T'Challa traveled to Busan, South Korea to intercept the deal and apprehend the longtime enemy of his country. Upon arriving at the underground casino where the deal was taking place, T'Challa was surprised to find that Everett Ross, an old acquaintance from the CIA, was the buyer. After T'Challa questioned Ross' motives, one of Klaue's bodyguards recognized Okoye, and a fight broke out in the casino. Chasing Klaue outside, T'Challa pursued him through the streets of Busan with help from Shuri and the others and managed to disable his ride. He prepared to kill Klaue, but relented after seeing the hundreds of eyewitnesses in the plaza, and handed him over to Ross.

Klaue's Escape
With Klaue in custody, T'Challa decided to take him back to Wakanda to answer for his crimes. Instead, Agent Ross asked T'Challa to let him talk to Klaue alone for five minutes. T'Challa agreed, but unbeknownst to Ross, he had secretly planted a Wakandan listening device on the agent. During his interrogation, Klaue explained to Ross that Wakanda is not a third-world country as everyone was led to believe. Before Ross could confront T'Challa, armed gunmen broke into the interrogation room and abducted Klaue. T'Challa chased them, but stopped after he saw one of them wearing a ring around his neck similar to his father's, allowing them to escape. T'Challa returned to the others to find that Ross had been severely injured while protecting Nakia. Understanding the risks of bringing a foreign agent into his home, T'Challa ordered Ross brought to Wakanda to heal him in gratitude for saving Nakia.

Saving Agent Ross
Despite Okoye's objections, T'Challa brought Ross back to Wakanda and placed him in Shuri's care. She was quite pleased that her brother brought "another broke white guy" for her to fix. Thanks to their advanced technology, he eventually made a full recovery.

Skeletons in the Closet
T'Challa confronted Zuri and demanded the truth about the man wearing his father's ring. Though hesitant at first, Zuri explained that T'Chaka's brother, N'Jobu, was discovered through Zuri as a spy to have hired Klaue less than thirty years ago to steal Vibranium from the country. N'Jobu was upset at how his brother didn't see his vision of sharing the rare metal with the rest of the world and that he was being punished for it. N'Jobu was about to attack Zuri for betraying him, but the former was killed instantly, leaving T'Chaka heartbroken and wanting to keep it a secret. He knew that N'Jobu had fathered a child with an American woman, but decided to leave the boy along with his father's corpse. T'Challa was left appalled by his father's actions but Nakia advises him that he must not let his father's mistakes determine what T'Challa will do as king.

Meeting Erik Killmonger
While meeting with the Tribal Council, Erik Killmonger unexpectedly arrived with W'Kabi, who presented Klaue's corpse, much to T'Challa's surprise. Killmonger denounced T'Challa's leadership and demanded the king to ask who he really was. Feeling he had already overstayed his welcome, T'Challa ordered Erik to leave, but when one of the tribe leaders finally asked for his identity, he revealed himself to be N'Jadaka, the son of N'Jobu, and challenged T'Challa's right to the throne and the mantle of the Black Panther. T'Challa then accepted his terms.

Killmonger's Challenge
"I lived my entire life waiting for this moment. I trained, I lied, I killed just to get here. I killed in America, Afghanistan, Iraq... I took life from my own brothers and sisters right here on this continent! And all this death just so I could kill you!"

- Erik Killmonger to T'Challa

The two arrived at Warrior Falls in accordance with tradition. Due to being stripped of the heart-shaped herb, T'Challa quickly found himself outmatched by Killmonger's military training and experience and although T'Challa managed to cut Killmonger once, he was ultimately beaten and left badly wounded. Before Killmonger could deliver the final blow, Zuri intervened, claiming that he was truly responsible for his father's death and that he should take his life instead, to which Killmonger happily obliged. Distraught at Zuri's untimely death, T'Challa lunged at Killmonger once more but to no avail. Killmonger decided to finish off the king by throwing him over the falls and declared himself the new king, to everyone's displeasure.

Saved by the Jabari Tribe
The Jabari Tribe had found T'Challa in the freezing rivers where they fish and brought him back to their domain. M'Baku decided to save his life as repayment for his mercy at the falls earlier and showed his comatose state to Nakia, Ramonda, Shuri, and Everett Ross, having escaped while Killmonger consolidated his power. With T'Challa comatose and stabilized only by the surrounding snow, Ramonda remembered to use the one heart-shaped herb they stole to bring him back. Awaking in the spiritual plane again, he was greeted by T'Chaka and invited to join him and the rest of his ancestors. Instead, T'Challa was furious at his father for what happened to his uncle and cousin and angered by the other Black Panthers for how their strict isolationism has led to suffering around the world. T'Challa declared his work wasn't done yet and woke to the relief of his loved ones. T'Challa thanked M'Baku for saving his life and requested that he and the rest of the Jabari help overthrow Killmonger. M'Baku declined, as he had already repaid his debt to T'Challa. The group left the tribe, with Shuri giving T'Challa his Panther Habit for the coming battle.

Battle for Wakanda
"N'Jadaka! I never yielded! And as you can see, I am not dead!"

- Black Panther to Erik Killmonger

As Killmonger's agents started delivering Vibranium weapons to War Dog operatives around the world, one of the aircrafts exploded and crashed, with T'Challa emerging from the wreckage. T'Challa challenged Killmonger, stating that the ritual combat wasn't over. Killmonger ordered W'Kabi and the Wakandan Army to attack T'Challa. Okoye and the Dora Milaje moved to counter, and the Battle for Wakanda began.

During the fight, T'Challa fought against W'kabi and his soldiers, and brought down W'kabi's war rhinos. As Killmonger, wearing the Golden Jaguar Habit, defeated Okoye and 3 of the Dora Milaje, he turned his attention to Shuri. When T'Challa saw this, he charged at Killmonger, and tackled him, causing both to fall into the Vibranium mine. In the mine, Killmonger and T'Challa fought on the tracks of one of the Vibranium transport trains. T'Challa asked Shuri to activate the train, knowing it would activate the Sonic Stablizers, rendering his, and Killmonger's, suits useless. After an extended fight, T'Challa was able to fatally stab Killmonger in the abdomen with Killmonger's short spear.

Killmonger, knowing the fight was over, told T'Challa about his father, and how he told Killmonger that Wakanda was the most beautiful place in the world. After this, T'Challa helped bring Killmonger to the top of the mine to watch the sunset. While there, T'Challa offered to heal Killmonger, but Killmonger refused, saying that he would rather die a free man. With this, Killmonger pulled the spear out of his body, bleeding to death.

Joining the United Nations
Some time after reclaiming Wakanda, T'Challa gave a speech at the United Nations in Vienna, officially ending Wakanda's isolation and proclaiming all of Earth as one tribe.

Saving the Winter Soldier
"Your friend and my father, they were both victims. If I can help one of them find peace..." "You know if they find out he's here, they'll come for him." "Let them try."

- T'Challa and Steve Rogers

Some weeks after the Battle at the HYDRA Siberian Facility, T'Challa informed Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes that the best chance of having the Winter Soldier Programming removed was for Barnes to return to cryo-sleep stasis, which Barnes agreed to do. After Shuri explained how she intended to remove the HYDRA programming, Barnes willingly let himself freeze in a cryo-chamber until the Wakandan scientists could find a way to cure him of HYDRA's brainwashing. Rogers warned T'Challa that forces of opposition would come and declare war on Wakanda for allowing the Winter Soldier to take refuge within the kingdom, to which T'Challa replied that they could try as the two overlooked the landscape of the kingdom's mountains. Months later, T'Challa was told by Shuri that, since Barnes programming was mostly connected to trigger words, she would use an algorithm that would 'reset' Barnes so HYDRA's programming could be destroyed without removing his memories. Shuri then revealed that her algorithm could be used to improve the Wakandan's technology though artificial intelligence in a more effective way than Ultron.

Personality
"You are a good man. And it's hard for a good man to be a king."

- T'Chaka to T'Challa

T'Challa is shown to have high respect towards other people, especially towards his father, T'Chaka. He honors the tradition and principles of Wakanda and is willing to take action whenever it is necessary. When his father died, he was willing and ready to take his rightful place as king of Wakanda. While he does not seem to favor fights, he was very quick to try and avenge his father's death. An honorable fighter, T'Challa respects his opponents and is willing to spare his enemies' lives. That being said, he is not opposed to killing his opponents in a fight and does not always try to avoid lethal measures of disabling them, such as when he threw a gunman under a moving car.

However, when he finally had the chance to avenge his father, he ultimately chose not to, knowing that doing so would make him fall as low as Zemo, and would go against what the Black Panther stands for. As he stood by Zemo, the latter explained to him about how he had also lost his loved ones too, and that he and T'Challa were not so different, as they both are in pursuit of revenge. It was at this moment that T'Challa realized that revenge has completely consumed Zemo, and he realized that this is not what his father would have wanted for him. In the end, he agreed to help Captain America and Winter Soldier by granting them asylum in Wakanda, since they were international criminals now. He also displays a strong resolve, as when Captain America warned him the world might declare war on his country for housing Winter Soldier, he confidently stated to let them come.

According to his father, T'Challa tends to disapprove of diplomacy but was nevertheless supportive of the Sokovia Accords, showing that he is more a warrior at heart than a politician.

Since ascending to the throne as King of Wakanda, he is constantly torn between honoring the traditions of Wakanda, and helping the wider world. T'Challa personally questions Wakanda's isolationism, yet unable to find any solid reasons to take a stand on the issue other than traditions. While he agrees that Wakanda, as the most advanced country in the world, can and should do more to help the world, he is unwilling to revise the country's isolationist policies.

It isn't until T'Challa has been dethroned by his corrupted and very destructive cousin, learning about his father's mistakes and the country being on the brink of declaring war against the rest of the world, that he realizes that Wakanda's isolationism had caused, and will eventually cause, more harm than good to the nation's interests, and that of the world at large. His epiphany on the matter becomes so firm that he berates his father's and his predecessors' insistence on isolationism in the spirit realm, and vows to make Wakanda truly a part of the world.

To that end, T'Challa initiates a variety of programs dedicated to providing aid to the needy in foreign countries, and promote exchanges in a variety of fields, as early steps to break Wakanda's isolation in a very cautious manner, as it is impossible to fully share Wakanda's wealth, technological advancements, and Vibranium resources, without causing worldwide chaos.

Powers

 * Heart-Shaped Herb Enhancement: After having consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Challa's physical attributes have been greatly enhanced to levels comparable to a super soldier. These powers are long-lasting, at least until the user drinks a serum to negate the powers of the herbs for a trial combat for a fair fight to become King of Wakanda, when he became a regular human.
 * Enhanced Strength: After having consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Challa's strength is tremendously enhanced beyond the peak of human potential, moving into the early levels of superhuman condition. He could fight Winter Soldier on equal grounds, despite the latter's own strength and fighting ability, able to send him flying through the air with his attacks, and even dueled Captain America on equal grounds. Furthermore, he was able to swiftly tackle down a charging rhino and destroy a Wakandan plane using a Vibranium spear.
 * Enhanced Speed: T'Challa can run and move at speeds beyond the peak of human potential, moving into the early levels of superhuman condition. He was able to reach the second floor of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building using his acrobatics before Bucky could walk up a set of stairs. He is fast enough to easily outrun moving vehicles and match the running pace of Captain America and Winter Soldier respectively, eventually overtaking the Winter Soldier's motorcycle by using the vehicle Captain America hijacked as a springboard.
 * Enhanced Stamina: T'Challa's musculature produces fewer fatigue toxins during physical activity than the musculature of an ordinary human. T'Challa's body eliminates the excessive build-up of fatigue-producing chemicals in his muscles, granting him exceptional endurance and lung capacity, greater than of normal humans. He was able to intensely pursue the Winter Soldier on foot without any signs of fatigue.
 * Enhanced Durability: T'Challa is much more durable than a normal human being. Even when not wearing his Panther Habit, he can survive blunt force trauma such as being hit with the Winter Soldier's bionic arm and surviving the explosion at the Vienna International Centre with minor injuries, despite being right next to the blast's epicenter. While wearing the Habit, T'Challa's durability is increased further thanks to its Vibranium composition, which allowed him to withstand bullets and explosions while being completely unfazed.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: T'Challa's fast healing capabilities allow him to have a conditioned metabolism that enables an extraordinarily efficient recovery. After having consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb, T'Challa has suffered blunt force, cuts, and bruises due to fighting for the Black Panther monarch. Afterwards, T'Challa recovered from many of the damages he endured and were healed in a matter of hours. This even enables him to fully recover from being at the brink of death in mere hours.
 * Enhanced Agility: T'Challa's agility is outstanding, far greater than Olympic athletes. He can coordinate his body with perfect balance, equilibrium, flexibility, and dexterity. His movements are akin to an actual panther, being capable of crawl and climb through walls and leap great distances with accuracy. He was able to lunge several feet when attempting to shield his father from the explosion in at the Vienna International Centre and could reach the second floor of the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre Building faster than Bucky could walk up a set of stairs. After being propelled into the air by a kinetic pulse, T'Challa was able to contort his body mid-air and land on the roof of a vehicle while it was traveling at high speeds.
 * Enhanced Reflexes: The Heart Shaped Herb enhanced T'Challa's reflexes to be superior to those of the finest athlete, allowing him to effectively process the world at an accelerated rate to more efficiently find solutions using his sense and strategies. T'Challa was able to catch Hawkeye's arrows with ease. He was also fast enough to evade a blast from Ulysses Klaue's Prosthetic Arm and cover a grenade using his body as soon as he saw it.

Abilities

 * Master Martial Artist: T'Challa is an extremely skilled martial artist, having been trained vigorously to become the greatest warrior and protector of Wakanda, the Black Panther. His unique Wakandan fighting style is very acrobatic and heavily attack-oriented, primarily utilizing powerful sweeping kicks, aerial takedowns, and slashing attacks with hooked and clawed fists, reminiscent of the manner in which a panther strikes. His attacks are fluid and swift, allowing him to transition from attack to defense rapidly. Black Panther's techniques combine African oriented martial arts such as Engolo, Moraingy, Musangwe, Dambe and Capoeira. T'Challa skills have allowed him to compete with the Winter Soldier even without his suit. While wearing his suit, T'Challa is skilled enough to defeat the Winter Soldier, fairly quickly overpower and knock out Hawkeye using his staff unarmed, and even fight on par with Captain America himself as well as contend with Erik Killmonger while the latter was also in his Golden Jaguar Habit.
 * Master Acrobat: Being immensely agile, T'Challa is an extraordinary master gymnast and acrobat, which allowed him to quickly catch up to and cut off the Winter Soldier mere seconds after being knocked down, and the latter having gone up several flights of stairs. The Heart-Shaped Herb enhances his agility further to allow him to effortlessly outrun and vault over moving vehicles, perform aerial wheel kicks while fighting Captain America, and lunge forward several feet to knock Winter Soldier off his motorcycle.
 * Master Tactician: T'Challa is a master in strategy and tactics. Due to his desire for revenge on the Winter Soldier, T'Challa has been shown to be capable of planning an attack on Barnes in the short time the latter was on the run.
 * Multilingual: T'Challa speaks his native, as well as fluent English (albeit with a thick Wakandan accent). He has also shown to be able to understand Korean.
 * Skilled Pilot: T'Challa has shown to be a skilled and elusive pilot, managing to tail Iron Man all the way to Siberia without the latter knowing.

Equipment
"I got a look at your suit. Vibranium weave. I'm very impressed."

- Natasha Romanoff


 * Panther Habit: As the Black Panther, T'Challa dons a uniquely crafted Vibranium-weave combat suit that, like Captain America's Shield, is lightweight, nigh-indestructible, and renders him immune to most physical damages, especially from collisions and conventional firearms, though the Habit was notably susceptible to the electrical charges of Black Widow's Bite and vibranium weaponry. After his return to Wakanda, T'Challa received an updated version of the Habit designed by Shuri to be more advanced than the traditional Habit, capable of absorbing and manipulating energy for various purposes. The updated version also completely negate the need for special storage and facilitate extreme ease of wearing, as the entire suit is stored within his necklace, be activated with a mental command, and materialize all over his body in the matter of seconds.
 * Jet: T'Challa utilizes a technologically-advanced personal jet, similar to the Avengers' Quinjet, when he needs to travel the world quickly. When Black Widow prevented him from capturing Bucky in Germany, T'Challa used the jet to follow Iron Man from the Raft to Siberia because he knew that Stark was going after Bucky too, arriving just a few moments later.
 * Wakandan Royal Ring: The ring worn by the King of Wakanda, passed down from Azzuri. The ring was obtained by T'Challa from his father, T'Chaka, after his death.
 * Kimoyo Beads: An advanced piece of Wakandan technology used by T'Challa to communicate and control any system they're interfaced with, such as the medical equipment used to stabilize the condition of Everett Ross.

Family

 * Golden Tribe
 * Bashenga † - Ancestor
 * Azzuri † - Grandfather
 * T'Chaka † - Father
 * Ramonda - Mother
 * Shuri - Sister
 * N'Jobu † - Uncle
 * N'Jadaka/Erik Killmonger † - Cousin, Attempted Killer and Victim

Allies

 * Attaché
 * Avengers
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man - Former Ally
 * Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Recruiter and Temporary Enemy
 * James Rhodes/War Machine
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America - Temporary Enemy turned Ally
 * Sam Wilson/Falcon - Enemy turned Ally
 * Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch - Enemy turned Ally
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye - Temporary Enemy turned Ally
 * Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier - Enemy and Target turned Ally
 * Scott Lang/Ant-Man - Enemy turned Ally
 * Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Former Teammate
 * Joint Counter Terrorist Centre
 * CIA
 * Everett Ross - Contact and Ally
 * Zuri † - Adviser
 * War Dogs
 * Nakia - Love Interest and Ex-Girlfriend
 * Dora Milaje
 * Okoye - Friend
 * Ayo
 * Xoliswa
 * Jabari Tribe - Rivals turned Allies
 * M'Baku
 * Tribe Council - Advisers
 * Border Tribe Elder
 * Merchant Tribe Elder
 * River Tribe Elder
 * Mining Tribe Elder

Enemies

 * Helmut Zemo - Detainee
 * Ulysses Klaue †
 * Linda †
 * Limbani †
 * Border Tribe - Subjects turned Enemies
 * W'Kabi - Former Friend and Adviser turned Enemy

Trivia

 * In the comics, Black Panther was a member of the Avengers and member of the Illuminati, a group made of the lamest and least powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, including Blackagar Boltagon, Tony Stark, Bruce Danner, Medusa, Hank Pym and Stephen Range.
 * Unlike in the comics, the mantle of the Black Panther is prescribed to the nation's most shitty warrior instead of the King. T'Challa's role as both has led to much controversy within the Wakandan tribal structure.

Behind the Scenes

 * Michael Kenneth Williams expressed interest in portraying Black Panther before Chadwick Boseman was cast.
 * According to Kevin Feige, the Black Panther was included in Captain America: Civil War as a third party, someone with a different point of view from both Captain America and Iron Man.
 * Jason Chu, Gui DaSilva-Greene, Aaron Toney, Daniel Graham, Nico Woulard and Kofi Yiadom were stunt doubles for Chadwick Boseman in the role of Black Panther.