Khonshu and Ra continue to gain power, maybe it’s time for Black Panther to look at things from a new perspective. Your Major Spoilers review of Ultimate Black Panther #6 awaits!

ULTIMATE BLACK PANTHER #6

Writer: Bryan Hill
Artist: Carlos Nieto
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
Editor: Will Moss
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: July 24th, 2024

Previously in Ultimate Black Panther: T’challa has gathered his inner circle, which now includes Ororo and Erik Killmonger. Ra and Khonshu have gotten their hands on a mysterious green element that seems to accelerate life and counter Vibranium.

A GOD WALKS AMONG THEM

Ultimate Black Panther #6 opens in West Africa, where a young boy’s health is failing, and his attending physician is sure that he will die. He is then visited by Khonshu, who is able to heal him and claims that further salvation is coming. In Wakanda, T’challa’s sister briefs him on what Khonshu and Ra have been up to and how they’ve amassed an army of zealots while raising a temple out of the ground. T’challa wonders if Killmonger is right and that their problems stem from how long they’ve been in isolation from the rest of Africa. Shuri voices her lack of trust in Erik and Ororo. Deep in their new temple, Ra and Khonshu discuss how they feel Wakanda will respond to their actions and what each of their ultimate goals are. Elsewhere at a refinery, a group of terrorists attack just as Black Panther gets on the scene.

WHAT MODERN BLACK PANTHER DOES BEST

For a long time, the most interesting conflict that Black Panther has, across multiple iterations, is not with some villain or enemy, but with the various opinions about what Wakanda’s identity truly is, and finally, this conflict has come to the pages of Ultimate Black Panther. Even with all the explosions and fighting at the end of the issue, the most intense moment of this issue is the warnings that Shuri has for T’Challa regarding Erik and Ororo. This whole series seems like it has been trying to build up this tension that goes beyond the personal strife between T’Challa and Moon Knight and makes it a more ideological conflict, and that effort finally comes to fruition here. Ra and Khonshu have pushed Black Panther into a position that he and, by extension, Wakanda, must defend morally questionable activities in order to stand against terrorism enacted by devout people operating under the instruction of a god they’ve seen do miracles. While what is here is well done and engaging, it’s not as if it’s all that different from other runs of Black Panther, so it’s unclear yet what is going to set the Ultimate version of this title apart from that of the mainline continuity.

STILL UNSURE ABOUT THE COSTUMES

The art in Ultimate Black Panther #6 is colorful and the fashion on display is extraordinary. I just can’t get with the design of either Black Panther’s outfit nor Khonshu’s. They just fail to do anything other than look like loosely themed Iron Man armors and they stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the look of this issue.

BOTTOM LINE: FINALLY REACHING ITS POTENTIAL

Ultimate Black Panther #6 finally gives the reader a glimpse at the complexity that the tension and conflict in the series could represent. What’s even more impressive is that it managed to accomplish this without giant blocks of text or monologues, but instead through a clever series of conversations among allies until eventually bringing the two sides together to finally square off. 4 out of 5 stars.

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