Beware The Agents of Kiber, The Cruel!

 

Having spent some time recently on Kiber Island, a now-nonexistent locale off the coast of Kenya which became the focal point for a dispute between the Sub-Mariner and the Black Panther involving smugglers from their respective kingdoms, we now look back a bit to learn of its former occupants, as well as its sinister purpose--all coming from the mind and pencils of Jack Kirby, who in the fall of 1978 was unfortunately preparing to leave Marvel Comics once more and who was in the process of wrapping up his work on several titles, one of which was Black Panther. With the series published bimonthly for the entirety of its run, this three-part story would see Kirby depart the book prior to its final installment--probably one of the many times a two-month window between issues proved to be a godsend for writers and artists who had to pick up where others left off.

Kirby's story slows the pace a bit from a prior tale which saw Wakanda in crisis from an ambitious member of T'Challa's ruling family having mutated from overexposure to raw vibranium. In dealing with the situation, T'Challa's own exposure has resulted in him developing a sense of clairvoyance as well as telepathy; yet while he recovers, a new situation rears its head with the mysterious kidnapping of Khanata, another of the ruling family whose talent for Grand Prix racing brings him to the natural barrier of the Wakandan border, which no normal intruder should be able to breach.

The harsh encounter serves as Wakanda's, and our, first exposure to the agents of

As we've seen, Khanata has received a painful introduction to Frederick Kiber himself--a man who, like his strong-arm minions, defies any attempts of attack, or resistance.

But what is Kiber's goal here? Like most men who enforce their will, his prime goal is to acquire power--the purpose of which remains a mystery, until Khanata discovers the many potential victims alongside him who have had their lives upended and have been herded like cattle to fulfill Kiber's merciless desire for his continued existence, and, ultimately, control of the world.

Meanwhile, as we've glimpsed, T'Challa's investigation of Khanata's disappearance has led him to an inescapable conclusion--and thanks in part to Khanata's warning to Kiber of the Black Panther's retribution, Kiber sends his agents to retrieve this man in order to acquire his life force. In the meantime, Khanata and his fellow captives find there's no reprieve from death as captives of Kiber.

Upon T'Challa's arrival, Kiber once again demonstrates that, for his captives, there is no means of resisting his will. Unlike Khanata, however, T'Challa has deduced the secret of Kiber's "power," similar yet apart from the abilities of his agents--and when the Panther breaks away, his hunt for the real Kiber is on.

Cut to two months later, however, when Kirby has left the building--and writer Ed Hannigan, penciler Jerry Bingham, and inker Gene Day reveal what the Panther has discovered in a chamber which contains the last vestiges of a man whose experiments in matter transmission have led to a horrible state of existence.

Elsewhere in the complex, the breakout that Khanata (along with his fellow captives) has staged for the Panther's benefit is finally and brutally curtailed by Kiber's agents, with Khanata being the sole prisoner to avoid being recaptured. In doing so, he's able to prevent T'Challa from being telepathically deceived by their mutual enemy.

From that point, the Panther's activities within the complex become furtive and, in the end, productive, as he uses his various skills to whittle down Kiber's forces until he and Kiber face each other alone once more. We also see Bingham's depiction of Kiber Island, which is in stark contrast to that depicted in the Panther/Sub-Mariner tale that Hannigan returns us to a year and a half hence. (Though we could assume our smugglers could have conducted their business on an adjoining island.)

As we've sadly learned, all of Kiber's remaining captives have met their deaths as victims of his converter. Yet when the final confrontation comes, Kiber is denied his ghoulish prize--and T'Challa makes a choice as to his foe's final fate.

It's fair to note that the Panther's earlier allusion to the Vision--as well as the Avengers--would likely never have seen print had Kirby been able to complete this story, as he only rarely made such references to the bulk of Marvel's other heroes in the other titles he'd created and managed during this time. At any rate, his creation would continue to find readership when Black Panther resurfaced in a notable second act beginning in late 1998, followed by another in 2005, and so on--culminating in the character's popular cinematic appearances which, like the nuclear explosion which decimated Kiber Island, brought the nation of Wakanda to the attention of the entire world.