Is Black Panther Gay, Bisex, or Straight?

Black Panther is one of Marvel’s most famous superheroes. T’Challa is the King of Wakanda who dons the panther costume to protect his nation and the world at large from threats. One thing the writers of the comics excelled at was adding an element of humanity to the character, which made the fandom all the more curious about his personal life and romances. This would, therefore, evoke the question is Black Panther gay, bisexual, or straight?

Black Panther is straight. In all his history, he was only ever involved with ladies. In the comics, he was actually married to Orora Munroe, aka Storm, and he also had relationships with Monica Lynne, Monica Rambeau, Malaika, and more. In the MCU, Black Panther’s main love interest is Nakia, with whom he had a child in secret.

This article will dig through Black Panther’s history in the comics and the MCU to see who he was romantically involved with through the years. This is guaranteed to be an enlightening and exciting read, so be sure to stick around till the end!

Black Panther’s Love Interests in the Comics

Black Panther’s first appearance in the comics was in Fantastic Four #52. His real name is T’Challa. He’s the king and protector of the fictional nation of Wakanda and an important member of the Avengers.

Despite being a king, warrior, and superhero, T’Challa is also a handsome young man with a knack for being a sweet talker. It, therefore, is no surprise that he has been involved in several romances in the comics.

Contrary to what most people think, Black Panther hasn’t had too many lovers in the comics. This is because, firstly, as the king of Wakanda, he has a duty to uphold the morals and family beliefs of the nation. Because of this, he isn’t usually involved with flings, as it paints a bad picture of him.

Additionally, between being an Avenger and the leader of an entire nation, he rarely gets time to maintain romantic relationships. Most importantly, though, Black Panther doesn’t have that many loves in the comics because some of his relationships were long-term and took up large patches of his comic book history.

In the comics, Black Panther is portrayed as a straight character. While he didn’t have so many lady friends, there were several ladies in the comics that had the honor of winning his heart. Some were regular people, while others were superheroes. Among his most notable love interests include:

Orora Munroe, aka Storm- T’Challa, and Storm met as teenagers in Egypt after she saved him from kidnappers. Years later, the two would reconnect and begin dating giving rise to one of the most memorable Marvel power couples of all time. They actually got married, but this didn’t last long due to the events of Avengers Vs. X-Men, which led to them splitting up.

Malaika- Before T’Challa left Wakanda for college in America, he was involved with a young lady by the name of Malaika. Their relationship ended when he relocated, but they would reconnect for one steamy night after T’Challa and Monica Lynne had broken up.

Monica Lynne- Black Panther had an extensive relationship with singer Monica Lynne, but despite them being in love, things didn’t end well as Wakandans weren’t so inviting of their king dating an American. This drove a wedge between them, and even though they continued dating and were even engaged, they’d break things off eventually.

Nakia- She is T’Challa’s femme fatale, thanks to the unrequited feelings she bears for the King of Wakanda. Unlike her on-screen counterpart, Nakia from the comics is a bit deranged, having once tried to kill one of T’Challa’s love interests.

Sue Storm- Black Panther is an ally of the Fantastic Four and briefly has a moment of flirtatious exchanges with Sue Storm. There’s a clear attraction between the two of them as she visits Wakanda. Sue is quick to extinguish any sparks between them as she’s still married to Reed Richards.

These are Black Panther’s most notable love interests, and while few were long-standing, they still had a significant impact on his life and, by extension, the comics. Some of his other romances include Monica Rambeau and Nikki Adams. All in all, evidence in the comics points to the fact that Black Panther, aka T’Challa, is straight.

Black Panther’s Love Interests in the MCU

The MCU is famous for placing a mild interest in the romantic relationships of characters, and these are usually some of the films’ weaker components. Still, romance usually plays the role of developing the characters. Where the producers feel a romantic pairing would give a character more depth, they don’t shy away from creating some iconic romances.

Such is the case with Black Panther in the MCU. In all his appearances in the movies, T’Challa has only been depicted as a straight character.

Black Panther’s main and only love interest in the MCU is none other than Nakia. Nakia is a member of the Dora Milaje and first appears in the 2018 film Black Panther. We first see these two on screen as T’Challa enlists the help of Okoye to extract Nakia from an undercover assignment in Nigeria.

We learn that Nakia is T’Challa’s ex, but they still maintain a cordial relationship. He invites her to his coronation as king, and she agrees. From then on, we see sparks flying between them every time they interact. The fact that Chadwick Boseman and Lupita Nyong’o have incredible on-screen chemistry is also all the more enchanting.

There’s no one in Wakanda or anywhere in the world who can make royalty such as T’Challa freeze in admiration the way he does when he lays his eyes on Nakia. While T’Challa’s attraction to Nakia is more evident, Nakia plays down her feelings for T’Challa, which makes their relationship quite intense.

Nakia and T’Challa are incredibly loyal to each other, and this makes for an important recipe in their relationship. She helps T’Challa recover in Jabari Land so he can reclaim his throne from Killmonger. They also trust each other, which is seen as Nakia embarks on a mission of diplomacy to introduce the Kingdom of Wakanda as a technological wonder and a world power.

What makes their relationship even more special is the fact that T’Challa can be open and vulnerable with Nakia. For example, T’Challa lets Nakia in on the secret of what his father did to his uncle and Killmonger, which wasn’t easy for him to admit. T’Challa is basically an open book to Nakia, and this says a lot about the depth of their relationship.

In the recent film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we learn that somewhere between the events of Infinity War and Endgame, Nakia and T’Challa actually had a child together in secret by the name of Toussaint. Nakia raised Toussaint in Haiti after Thanos’ Snap.

All in all, the romance between T’Challa and Nakia is one of the best in the MCU. So, even in the MCU, Black Panther is confirmed to be straight.

The Bottom Line: Is Black Panther Gay, Bisex, or Straight?

Black Panther is straight. In his entire history, he was only ever in relationships with women. In the comics, his most notable loves include Storm, Monica Lynne, Malaika, Sue Storm, and more. He was actually married to Storm in the comics for a while. In the MCU, Black Panther was involved with just one lady, Nakia. The two ended up having a child in secret.

So, while Black Panther’s love life isn’t so extensive, what we know for certain is that he’s straight, given the women he dated in the comics and MCU.