Kantu's Rage!

It's time to finally polish off the series of PPC posts which have dealt with the 1973-75 story arc known as "Panther's Rage," a tale which somehow hung onto the readers of Jungle Action who at the time had to wait two months (or even longer) for a new story installment to be published. At the center of this conflict are the Black Panther, who headlines the book and who has returned to Wakanda to find it has come under attack by forces that are wiping out whole villages--and Erik Killmonger, the one who has launched a "revolution" against T'Challa's rule and is intent on taking down both the Panther and his legacy. Throughout his assault on Wakanda, Killmonger has made use of a number of operatives who are committed to his goal, some of whom have been altered or otherwise enhanced by rays emanating from a fallen stellar fragment; others are augmented by special weaponry, backed up by cadres of "death regiments" who specialize in their obvious vocation; while some, like Venomm, have certain talents that appeal to Killmonger's modus operandi in conquering Wakanda.

Over the course of this series, we've seen Killmonger move his forces around methodically, taking advantage of Wakanda's own weapons caches while also mining its Vibranium--always building toward a final power play that, with the conscription of the prehistoric beasts that roam Serpent Valley, is now at hand.

For those readers who picked up this series in the '70s, this climactic issue was no doubt long-awaited (and literally so, certainly)--with both writer Don McGregor and artist Billy Graham seemingly taking their cue from that anticipation and plunging us right into the scene where Killmonger and his forces have begun their invasion of central Wakanda. That's part of the story's strength; after all, no one is likely going to complain about finally getting to this business after all this time. Yet in the ensuing chaos, that approach has also revealed its flaw, as we'll explore in a moment.

For now, amid the carnage, we find that the Black Panther has sprung to the attack, as well--presumed dead at one time or another by his opposition, but now demonstrating quite well to the contrary.

While in another segment, the boy, Kantu, whose father was killed by one of Killmonger's operatives (the gruesome Baron Macabre), continues to be something of a fixture in this series, with McGregor seeming to present him as the face of the suffering inflicted on the tribes of Wakanda in this war, though we'll learn in this story's epilogue that there are those readers who believe there are actually important parallels being presented here between Kantu and T'Challa. In hindsight, we know that Kantu will play a more integral role in "Panther's Rage" than what we've seen of him thus far--but for now, McGregor and Graham raise his profile considerably, with an entire page devoted to his reaction to Killmonger's advance.

To Kantu, it must seem now that death and destruction are all there is--all that's left to him because of this invader's onslaught. McGregor, in his pondering manner, notes that Kantu can't outrun his past--but perhaps this frightened boy is really trying to outdistance what he believes to be his future.

Meanwhile, the chaos in Wakanda central continues--and though the Panther and his forces are holding their own, there is enough of the Panther's ruling compound crashing down around them to render the point moot. If it's possible to be winning the war but losing the battle, that might be a correct assessment of the situation.

It's in these last few pages that it might occur to more than a few readers that, even though he's meeting this crisis head-on, the Panther has fallen short compared to the ruler we met in his debut in Fantastic Four--the capable, mindful leader who evolved from a boyhood tragedy and became embraced and respected by a proud people who looked to him for their future. It's hard to imagine that T'Challa waiting for a threat of this magnitude to arrive at his doorstep without having first prepared for it and even taking the battle to the enemy beforehand.

Consider what we've seen here: From the opening page on, it's clear that Killmonger has taken the Panther, his warriors, and his subjects completely by surprise. Killmonger has been training his men with these dinosaurs for two months, and yet no preparations have been made whatsoever by the Panther on the homefront. While in Serpent Valley, the Panther had seen with his own eyes what Killmonger was up to--what exactly has T'Challa been doing with his time since returning? Did he even consider, say, posting sentries in key locations throughout the perimeter of his kingdom, to at least be alerted to Killmonger when he made his move? No air patrols? No communications checkpoints? Nobody spotted a herd of dinosaurs on a slow passage toward central Wakanda? Look at how surprised Kantu was when Killmonger and his pack--in no hurry at all, judging by the narrative--arrived and trashed his village. A heads-up from Wakanda's patrols would have at least given the village's occupants time to evacuate.

The situation is no better in central Wakanda, where we have astonished and scared subjects running to and fro, who had awakened at dawn to go about their business and apparently heard no alarm warning them that there was a brontosaurus suddenly leering over them. It's a wonder why Killmonger didn't just charge into this place with his death regiments when he first arrived in Wakanda--all of the country's vaunted technology that could have normally detected a hostile force must be collecting dust in that underground jungle of T'Challa's. The fact that the hospital--the hospital, mind you--wasn't evacuated well before now defies reason or logic; and the fact that evacuation has apparently never been considered at all (even simply taking the precaution of relocating women and children weeks ago?) seems inexcusable. Remember the Black Panther, anyone? The man who, from day one, excelled at anticipating and laying traps for his foes?

So as Killmonger spots his enemy across the field of battle, and realizes that T'Challa yet lives despite his attempts to kill him, it wouldn't be surprising to hear him wonder, "How is it that a man so inept at planning has managed to safeguard these people from aggressors for this long?" Yet this story's purpose is clearly not to address any of these plot pitfalls; this is a battle issue designed to bring this tale to its conclusion, an issue of these two men meeting for the final time, an issue of confrontation and retribution. And the double-page spread by Graham that precedes that meeting does its job of letting us know the time is close at hand.

Yet there is still more to witness--scenes which drive home the degree of destruction that Wakanda suffers from this attack. In what seems an unrelated scene, we check in on W'Kabi, head of T'Challa's security, currently hospitalized after being critically injured by the escape of Venomm and still trying to navigate the rift between he and his wife; in another more pertinent scene, there's the escape of Killmonger's operatives, having been incarcerated in the palace prison cells but now running for their lives when the palace is brought down by the rampaging herd. Both scenes culminate in another two-page visual from Graham; yet the Panther himself can only spread himself so thin as far as saving lives and ending threats, and W'Kabi may become yet another casualty of this war--but not from the isolation of his hospital bed.

Elsewhere, King Cadaver, one of two operatives who was free to accompany Killmonger on this raid, now steps into the open and uses his power to incapacitate and begin to destroy Taku, the Panther's communications commander. Yet Cadaver is unaware of another of Killmonger's lieutenants in the immediate vicinity--Venomm, who, while imprisoned, formed with Taku a mutual friendship and respect that has carried over even to this day. It's an unexpected bond that stacks the deck against Cadaver's insidious power and, ultimately, puts an end to it.

With Malice down, that accounts for nearly all of Killmonger's enforcers, with the exception of Lord Karnaj and Salamander K'Ruel, both unaccounted for once the palace prison was reduced to rubble (though K'Ruel was likely a victim of the building's collapse). And so while the battle between Wakandan forces and Killmonger's regiments continues, that leaves the leaders of both sides to face each other in a confrontation that will decide the war--as well as the next ruler of Wakanda.

It's a fierce struggle between the two--the Panther's power and abilities vs. Killmonger's superior strength and ruthlessness. But though Killmonger's goal and disposition remain the same, of the two of them it's really the Panther who has come full circle, and not just in facing his personal demons where his rule of Wakanda was concerned--here, we find a much more confident Black Panther meeting Killmonger's threat than when they first fought. Yet Killmonger, who was never lacking in confidence, hasn't the slightest thought of the possibility of his own defeat--which makes this a far more interesting match, boiling down to one fought in terms of will rather than in power. And as we see, it's a contest that's witnessed by a young boy, who has seen first-hand what Killmonger is capable of and fears the worst.

(This may be the most these two have said to each other in a single encounter than they have in the entire series combined, which truly seems a waste of two perfectly good adversaries if accurate. Perhaps it's due to T'Challa having more to say, prompting Killmonger's rebuttal or, failing that, a fresh volley of taunts.)

It's a subtle and almost sly adjustment that Graham makes in this page's last few panels, yet it seems a notable one in the final stages of this pair's battle. As T'Challa goes over the cliff, the "weapon" that Killmonger has most used to inflict pain and serious injury on T'Challa--his spiked belt--is still firmly in his possession, yet suddenly disappears when T'Challa cheats death and returns to gain the upper hand. Such a little change on its face--yet its conspicuous absence serves to set up the climactic final scene where the mightier of these combatants hoists the other overhead in a move that will end T'Challa's life, a move we might not have seen if Killmonger retained and used that belt to force the Panther back in order to avoid its spikes and then continued using it against him. Nor would a young boy, enraged, have such a clear shot at charging into Killmonger unimpeded, bringing this fight to its unexpected end.

And speaking of the unexpected, reader reaction to this scene wasn't quite what McGregor and Co. expected, with the method of Killmonger's dispatch not sitting well with more than a few who put ink to paper to voice their displeasure. When we bring closure to this series through its epilogue, we'll touch on that as well as a few other interesting aspects to "Panther's Rage" that merit consideration.

Jungle Action #17 Script: Don McGregor Pencils and Inks: Billy Graham Letterer: Charlotte Jetter