The King is dead. But who really was the leader of Wakanda? And who, in the midst of a changed world, will rise up to be the next? Your Major Spoilers review of Marvel Knights: The World To Come #1 awaits!

MARVEL KNIGHTS: THE WORLD TO COME #1

Writer: Christopher Priest
Artist: Joe Quesada
Colorist: Richard Isanove
Letterers: Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith
Editors: Nick Loew and Nanci Dakesian
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $5.99
Release Date: June 4th, 2025

Previously in Marvel Knights: The World To Come: The King of Wakanda is Dead, leaving unguarded the world’s most advanced technology, most precious metal, and a cryptic vault of dark secrets.

THE STORY THUS FAR

Marvel Knights: The World to Come starts off 16 years in the future as what appears to be T’Challa passes away while speaking cryptically on his throne. Elsewhere, in Oklahoma, a water smuggling operation is interrupted by the Dora Milaje. The leader of the group is approached by one of the attackers and he is informed that the king has passed, and he is to return home. He rejects the orders and begins to tell the story of how it came to happen. The time frames jump around a little bit, but the main events that are depicted focus on T’Challa re-marrying, the shift away from a true monarchy in Wakanda, the birth of his son, and a fateful showdown at Warrior Falls to determine the true leader of Wakanda. During the fight, T’Challa gains the upper hand but is not willing to kill his opponent even though he won’t yield.

AN INTRIGUING PLOT WITH A QUESTIONABLE TONE

The story in Marvel Knights: The World To Come #1 has a grandiose feel to it. Maybe not quite Shakespearean in quality, but it seems to be reaching for the same sort of tragic gravitas. In part this is accomplished through the use of large spans of time and in part by establishing the familial tension that carries across these spans of time, quickly. Sometimes, non-linear storytelling involving multiple time periods can be more gimmicky than impactful, but here it’s well utilized to create intrigue as there are actual narrative reasons why some details are shared, and some aren’t. All of this intrigue is then unfortunately capped off with a really uninspired cliffhanger. I won’t say that this cliffhanger spoils the whole issue, but it was definitely enough to cause some eyerolls. The problem is that it comes off as very cheap, like it’s designed more to cause buzz than actually do anything beneficial to the story. This cliffhanger along with a couple earlier moments that are strangely sarcastic about the cultural practices of the main character and his people, create an uncomfortable scenario, not for the characters in the book, but for the reader. Now, for the titular “World To Come”, it’s one of the highlights of this issue. Where it succeeds is in its restraint. There are clear indications and hints that the world is not in a great shape, but the reader doesn’t get to see a lot of it, it’s so far, left to the imagination, but whatever it’s actually like is enough to weigh heavy on the characters. It’s an effective depiction.

BOLD DESIGN CHOICES

Often times when a comic is considered “bold” in its visuals, its due to many artistic choices, but here the most striking element is in one particular area, Every time the story jumps to a different time period, its visually announced via big blocky white letters that fill up a good chunk of the page. It’s very in your face and reminded me of when a movie cuts to a new location and you get that location stated in big text across the screen. It’s a small detail, but it was enough to really up the cinematic feel of this story. Otherwise, the art looks great on its own. The action is easy to follow and feels fluid and there’s strong effects used when depicting multiple locations and climates that help create a sense of place in each locale.

BOTTOM LINE: SOME UNCOMFORTABLENESS, BUT A SOLID FOUNDATION

While there are definitely some things that I didn’t care for in this issue, Marvel Knights: The World To Come #1 does almost everything else right. It feels large in scope, even though right now it’s primarily a family drama. The character interactions feel natural and poignant and create a strong bridge between the more interpersonal tension and the political schemes going on in the background. Visually it’s on-point with some key choices in design elevating it. 4 out of 5 stars.

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