Black Panther In Five Seasons, Season 3: Stormfronts

If Black Panther isn't the Marvel movie you're most amped up to see, you're probably either a bigot or you have terrible taste in movies. The trailers are amazeballs. And, finally, after years of there not being very many Black Panther collections available, now most of his solo adventures are in circulation. So I'm cobbling together a five season Netflixization of a Black Panther chronology.

I'm sorry about season two. Really. Unless you loved it, in which case, I'm glad everything has an audience somewhere. Season three starts with a bit of a cheat. This is the only time I can think of that the collection of comics I'm going to talk about actually HAS been adapted panel for panel in a motion comic series. If you want to check it out, it's $1.99 an episode for 12 episodes (even though there were actually just six episodes, and they've cut them in half for...reasons). This season was so much more fun to put together than the last one, even though it treads some of the same territory as the first two seasons, it feels better fleshed out, and like a tight story.

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Season Three: Stormfronts
(showrunner, Reginald Hudlin)

Episode 1: Rogue Nation
(collected in Black Panther By Reginald Hudlin Vol 1)
written by Reginald Hudlin, art by John Romita JR and Klaus Janson

Sorry, sugah, no appearances by everyone's favorite Bonnie Raitt impersonating mutant. This story focuses on the origin of The Black Panther, as well as how a US Government might act if they learned a technologically advanced African nation existed, and wasn't interested in any real diplomatic relationship. 

Episode 2: Wild Kingdom
(collected in Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin Vol 1)
written by Peter Milligan and Reginald Hudlin, art by Salvador Larocca and David Yardin)

After a brief foray into House Of M (a mutant creates an alternate reality where mutants are in charge, and non-mutated humans  are the hunted minority, etc.), we return to the real world where a reporter is eaten live on TV. The X-Men (wait, NOW Rogue is involved? That last title feels wasted) journey to Africa to investigate, as does T'Challa. Things...escalate.

Serial 1: The Oncoming Storm
(collected in Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin Vol 1)
written by Reginald Hudlin, art by Gary Frank and Scott Eaton

After a team up with Luke Cage, T'Challa realizes he needs to get married, and debates a series of the Marvel Universe's most powerful women. Try not to let the title of this episode spoil the ending for you. 

2 episodes.

Serial 2: World Tour
(collected in Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin Vol 2)
written by Reginald Hudlin, art by Scot Eaton and Manuel Garcia

The honeymoon is over quickly for T'Challa and Storm. An international mission of diplomacy brings the involvement of Dr. Doom, The Inhumans, and Namor building up to their involvement in Civil War. Hudlin does a really good job at having multi-dimensional characters, particularly  Doom being kind an inviting to the new couple but also institutionally racist. While there is quite a bit of time spent explaining the minutiae of the events leading up to Civil War, they're told really well.

2 episodes

Serial 3: Civil War
(collected in Civil War and Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin Vol 2)
written by Mark Millar and Reginald Hudlin, art by Steve Mcniven, Koi Turnbull, and Marcus To

The huge Marvel war over registration between Iron Man and Captain America pulls Black Panther and Storm into a brief membership with The Secret Avengers as they are decidedly anti-registration. This is followed by how Storm, Black Panther, and Sue Storm deal with the deaths and fallouts from Civil War. There's a balance of politics, grief, and relationship issues that holds this ugly portion of the book (Turnball's art is atrocious) together.


Serial 4: Fantastic
(collected in Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin Vol 2)
wrtieen by Reginald Hudlin, art by Francis Portela, Andrea diVito, Cafu, Larry Stroman, and Ken Lashley

Storm and T'Challa team up with The Human Torch and The Thing to form an all new Fantastic Four team! There's Negative Zone bugs, Skrulls, Marvel Friggen Zombies, and even the possibility that all four of them die and are in the afterlife. This is a fun little sorbet after the Civil War stories.

Episode 11: Back To Africa
(collected in Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin Vol 3)
written by Reginald Hudland, art by Francis Portela

Storm and T'Challa return to Wakanda where T'Challa must fight to regain his place int he kingdom. We've seen this happen in both of the previous seasons, but I enjoy Hudlin's version more than the previous two.

Serial 5: Secret Invasion
(collected in Secret Invasion, and in Black Panther by Reginald Hudlin Vol 3)
written by Jason Aaron and Brian Michael Bendis, art by Jefte Palo and Leinil Francis Yu

Skrulls!  Skrulls! So many Skrulls have been pretending to be marvel heroes. See heores die! See heroes you thought were dead turn out to have been impostors, which means the real heroes were alive the whole time! Watch T'Challa and the Wakandan military really take it to the green bastards.

2 episodes

Season 3 is thirteen episodes of universe expanding fun told in a completely simple-to-follow and engaging way.