Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive! by David Liss, Shawn Martinbrough, et al.

Black Panther: The Man without Fear! continued directly into another series, Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive!, furthering the adventures of T'Challa substituting for Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen. This series even continued the numbering, though its very first issue was numbered #523.1. (I think these "point one" issues are supposed to be jumping-on points for new readers, but I can't imagine something more alienating to a casual comics buyer than seeing a decimal in an issue number!) The series lasted just six issues; after this, Black Panther would lie fallow for four years.*

David Liss continues on as writer, and the idea of T'Challa as a sort of substitute Daredevil also continues, with him coming up against the Kingpin, who has taken over the ninja clan the Hand. But Most Dangerous Man Alive brings in more elements of Black Panther than Man without Fear did; it turns out the Kingpin is trying to seize the assets of the Bank of Wakanda, and eventually, T'Challa summons his sister Shuri to help stop him.

from Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive! #525

I was pretty into it at first. The first story in #523.1 is a nice one-and-done showing off the series at its best. The second story, in #524, is part of the Spider Island crossover, so Black Panther has six arms for some reason, but you can pretty much ignore this and enjoy a great action story about T'Challa teaming up with a petty criminal to rescue a kidnapped girl.

But though I liked the Kingpin of Wakanda story that runs through the rest of the title at first, I quickly grew tired of it. It's a neat idea for Kingpin to be threatening T'Challa where it really hits, but you start to realize it's contrived. Why would the Kingpin just happen to make this move shortly after T'Challa moves into his neighborhood? Why do four members of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Wakanda happen to live in New York City within striking distance of the Kingpin? It turns out there's not really four issues of story, either; I felt like this one went in circles. How many times can T'Challa one-up Typhoid Mary and Lady Bullseye? The guest appearances of Luke Cage and the Falcon seemed kind of pointless. And though it was good to bring in Wakanda more, I found myself missing some of the elements of this series, like T'Challa's diner and recurring characters other than Sofija.

from Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive! #529

Probably the art is partially responsible, too. #523.1 and 524 are by Jefte Palo and Francesco Francavilla, respectively, carrying over from the previous run. Jefte Palo is good, and Francesco Francavilla is great, of course; that the somewhat goofy premise of a spider-armed T'Challa works at all is surely down to how well Francavilla draws it. But the rest of the issues are mostly by Shawn Martinbrough and Michael Avon Oeming, neither of whom, in my opinion, really have the right style for this series, especially Oeming, who is a bit more cartoony. (Francavilla does provide some great covers throughout the run, though.)

I also found the very ending of the series disappointing; I spoke in my write-up of Man without Fear about how I found the initial set-up of the series contrived, but once you get over that, it's a good read. Unfortunately, the end of the series brings that back into view. Guess what T'Challa learned from this experience... that Wakanda is where he belongs! No dip.

Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive! originally appeared in issues numbered #523.1 and 524 to 529 (Nov. 2011–Apr. 2012). The series was written by David Liss; illustrated by Jefte Palo (#523.1, 529), Francesco Francavilla (#524), Shawn Martinbrough (#525-26, 529), and Michael Avon Oeming (#527-28); colored by Jean-Francois Beaulieu (#523.1, 529), Felix Serrano (#525-29), and Jesus Aburto (#529); lettered by Joe Caramagna; and edited by Bill Rosemann.

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* These two series are both included in the reckoning of Black Panther volume 1's "legacy numbering"... but given their numbering is based on Daredevil volume 1's, are they also included in its legacy numbering? Inquiring minds need to know!