Marvel Knights: The World to Come Teases White Black Panther Twist

Marvel Comics has been making waves with its latest series, Marvel Knights: The World to Come, and now the fourth issue’s cover is turning even more heads. In this new story, T’Challa is back, but not as Black Panther. That title now belongs to someone else, someone very unexpected.

The big twist came in the very first issue, which dropped last week. The comic is written by Joe Quesada, a former Editor-in-Chief at Marvel, and Christopher Priest, who’s best known for his iconic work on Black Panther. The ending of issue #1 revealed that the new Black Panther is Ketema, T’Challa’s son with Monica Lynne. But here’s what shocked readers: Ketema is white and has blonde hair.

That surprise didn’t go unnoticed. Fans have compared the reaction to the time Captain America said “Hail HYDRA,” which ended up being explained as a reality rewrite by the Cosmic Cube. Right now, there’s no twist like that to explain Ketema’s background, but people are definitely wondering how and why this happened.

Marvel just gave fans a first look at the cover for Marvel Knights: The World to Come #4. The image shows T’Challa facing off with the Avengers, and it hints at even more trouble ahead. The story is building toward something huge as the full plan of Priest and Quesada comes together.

According to Marvel, T’Challa’s mysterious heir could change the future of Wakanda forever. T’Challa might still have a plan, but since we already know he dies in this timeline, maybe it’s not enough.

There’s also the cover for issue #3, which shows two young boys. That has led to fan theories that T’Challa may have switched his real son with Ketema, something similar to what happened in DC Comics when Darkseid and Highfather traded sons, a move that created Mister Miracle and Orion. Whether or not that’s what’s going on here, the mystery is getting deeper with each issue.

Christopher Priest spoke about returning to Black Panther and teaming up with Quesada for this story.

In an earlier comment shared by Marvel, he said, “I always assumed it would take a very special project (and perhaps a herd of Clydesdales to drag me off the sofa) for me to return to Black Panther, the Marvel character with which I am most closely identified.” He went on to say, “This Marvel Knights revisit, and Joe Quesada’s expansive vision for The World to Come, has created unique opportunities for me to say something new with and contribute to the Panther’s legacy while reviving the social and political complexity, pathos and humor, that made the Marvel Knights Panther so memorable. It’s nice to be home again.”

The story is definitely pushing boundaries and asking big questions. With more issues on the way, there’s no telling what else is coming, but it’s clear that The World to Come is going to be a bold and complicated chapter in Black Panther’s history.

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