[Mod 54]: Little Sure Shot (Cosmic Justice 201)

Although the base Easy Company Soldier is one of the Black phenotype sculpts/characters I’ve vowed to collect, this LE version is not one of them. He’s a Native American.

So here’s what I did:

• Repainted skin to better match his Apache heritage
• Added signature feathers to his helmet

There. Now more Sure than ever.

NEXT MONDAY: A smol mod

———

I’ve spent several posts reviewing Panthers once and future on these metrics:

• SMARTS:  Outwit is his signature power.
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership is a must.
• SPEED: Needs IM:Elevated and good values
• STEALTH: ‘Nuff said.
• STRENGTH: Can he hit for 3-6 clicks on top dial?
• SURVIVABILITY: Damage reducers and good values.

— both the standards of back in the day to the present — giving THE KING’S VERDICT.

———

2023
Avengers 60th Anniversary 001 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit to start. A-
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership is missing, but when he rolls well on his Willpower, he also un-tokens a keyword pal within 4. Worth a grade of B
• SPEED: Traited Leap/Climb is key, but his 8 speed Charge is mid. B+
• STEALTH: Traited. A
• STRENGTH: 11 AV Charge + Blades on top, Precision Strike + Close Combat Expert in middle. No range. OK but not great. B+
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers, just Senses. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Middling all around for 60 points. But at 35…?

Avengers 60th Anniversary 001V Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit only on the bitter end. C
• SOVEREIGNTY: See above. B
• SPEED: Only has Sidestep until his last click. C
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: Not great at all. C+
• SURVIVABILITY: Just 3 clicks deep. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Normally a low dial like this would be all right if he supplied a key power like Leadership or Outwit. But he doesn’t reliably do either. So no.

———

2024 Starter Set M24002A Black Panther 50 points

• SMARTS: Outwit nearly all dial. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership on most clicks. A
• SPEED: 8 Charge, no Improved Movement. B-
• STEALTH: Only on back half of dial. C
• STRENGTH: 12 AV Blades is nice to start. But he’s got 0 range, despite his “throwing energy daggers” sculpt. B
• SURVIVABILITY: Bare defense on top, Reflexes on bottom. D+

THE KING’S VERDICT: What a way to start new players with a 50-point Panther who’s ALMOST good. Maybe the 75-point Advanced version below improves enough?

2024 Starter Set M24002B Black Panther @75 points

• SMARTS: Not only keeps the Outwit but adds a defense nerf to his targets. A+
• SOVEREIGNTY: See above. A
• SPEED: See above. Worse grade because he’s way more points. C+
• STEALTH: See above. Worse for the points. C-
• STRENGTH: See above. FREE Pulse Wave is nice, but he has to get hurt first, which isn’t nice. B
• SURVIVABILITY: But at least he has traited Toughness now. A-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Close yet still short by a mile. Same as ever, eh?

———

WizKids WKMV23-008 Black Panther

 

• SMARTS: No Outwit. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: Two clicks of Leadership to begin. He also gives Wakanda the Fantastic Four TA for the game. B+
• SPEED: 8 Speed Charge, 0 range, no Improved Movement. C
• STEALTH: Traited. A
• STRENGTH: Blades — with Flurry and Exploit later — that shred through STOP clicks. A+
• SURVIVABILITY: Zero armor. F

THE KING’S VERDICT: He does ONE GOOD THING but it’s not good enough.

———

Short installment. That’s because the next one might be long: Is 2024 the Year of the Panther, with a whole doggone set branded with his name?

[MOD 53]: THE THING (Fantastic Four 004)

Like other the set-title-character commons in 2020’s F4 set, he had a trait called “In The Beginning…” that indicated these were the FF at the start of their careers. And Ben Grimm’s soon-to-be iconic rocky epidermis hadn’t yet emerged:

It was more lumpy-looking. So decided to mod mine to match:

• Painted him in orange acrylic.
• then did it again
• and again and again, as thickly as possible.

The result was VERY pleasing! Original on the left, mod on the right:

It, too, got to the table in the mass Hulk vs. Thing matchup with Lenny.

NEXT MOD: Going native

 Legacy cards kinda fall into four overlapping categories:

Black Panther clix have generally been underwhelming in the game’s history, missing his:

• SMARTS: Outwit is his signature power, but he sometimes lacks it
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership is a must, but he often lacks it
• SPEED: Needs IM:Elevated and good values. Often missing at least one
• STEALTH: ‘Nuff said. He usually has it but it’s surprisingly absent from otherwise best dials
• STRENGTH: Can he hit for 3-6 clicks on top dial? Usually not
• SURVIVABILITY: Damage reducers and good values. The armor is too frequently the soft spot.

T’Challa is supposed to be exceptional, though, even when not the official Black Panther. So let us ponder the question … WHAT IF…?

… THERE WERE A DEFINITIVE PANTHER DIAL

 

Marvel Studios Disney Plus 013 T’Challa Star-Lord

• SMARTS: No Outwit. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: Plenty Leadership. A
• SPEED: Flight is the IM:Elevated he needs (though from rocket boots more than jungle agility). A
• STEALTH: Only on back end. B-
• STRENGTH: Running Shot Penetrating/Psychic Blast is good offense. A-
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers at all is bad defense. D

THE KING’S VERDICT: So this is from the Disney Plus “What if T’Challa got kidnapped instead of Peter Quill” some such or other. It’s not a bad rendition of Panther not being Panther. But it’s not Panther.

———

Marvel Studios Disney Plus 025 T’Challa Star-Lord

• SMARTS: This is more like it … he has lots of Outwit. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership, but he can cheat a few keywords onto a Guardians theme team. D+
• SPEED: Flight. A
• STEALTH: None at all. F
• STRENGTH: Running Shot Pulse Wave used to be better in solo combat. Formerly A, now B-
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers at all. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Nah. While this one is arguably a better piece than the 013, it’s somehow a worse rendition of T’Challa as he should be.

Marvel Studios Disney Plus 025e T’Challa Star-Lord

• SMARTS: Outwit for just first click. A-
• SOVEREIGNTY: D+
• SPEED: Only a single click of Running Shot dings him a bit. A-
• STEALTH: F
• STRENGTH: Just the single click of Running Shot dings him a lot in this metric — subsequent clicks of Precision and RCE notwithstanding. C+
• SURVIVABILITY: And it’s because with no reducers, he could EASILY be 40 points erased at once. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: He’s priced right compared to his 100-point line, but still misses way off on the must-have qualities.

———

Marvel Studios Disney Plus 103a T’Challa Star-Lord

• SMARTS: Nothing here. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership, though. A-
• SPEED: No Flight or Improved Movement? Bleh. C-
• STEALTH: Nothing. F
• STRENGTH: Running Shot  to start with Ranged Combat Expert later. OKish. C-
• SURVIVABILITY: Zero armor. F

THE KING’S VERDICT: This is a training dial so it’s no wonder it’s not good.

Marvel Studios Disney Plus 103b T’Challa Star-Lord

• SMARTS: None. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: Not leading. F
• SPEED: No Improved Movement. C-
• STEALTH: Nope. F
• STRENGTH: Running Shot into Hypersonic Speed is a plus. His damage is light, which is a minus. C
• SURVIVABILITY: Nothing will save him if hit. D

THE KING’S VERDICT: It’s better than the “A” version yet somehow a bit worse. Back to REAL Black Panthers, I guess…

———

Avengers Forever 012 Black Panther

• SMARTS: No Outwit. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership to start. A
• SPEED: Mediocre Charge range with no IM:Elevated. C+
• STEALTH: He’s got it in his special speed power. B+
• STRENGTH: The SP also gives Flurry. Blades comes with normal Flurry later. A-
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Not this Panther. Not at 75 points.

Avengers Forever 012V Black Panther

• SMARTS: See above. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: See above. A
• SPEED: Speed is even worse. C-
• STEALTH: See above. B
• STRENGTH: See above. A
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers and WAY shorter life. D

THE KING’S VERDICT: 25-point Leadership is his best and really only good quality.

———

Avengers Forever 060 Ghost Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit on click 1? Check. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership? At all? Nope. F
• SPEED: IM:Elevated makes up for the 8 speed. A
• STEALTH: SP gives Stealth — well, as long as the SP lasts. A-
• STRENGTH: It also gives Hypersonic Speed, which is great with Blades, which he has all dial long in some form. Later, Close Combat Expert Shows up. A-
• SURVIVABILITY: Invulnerability leads off, and then Toughness — though he gets a big soft spot in the middle. A SP gives Steal Energy which could potentially stretch that dial. B+

THE KING’S VERDICT: This WarpWorld version of BP crossed with Ghost Rider is OK, but clearly fails a big metric there to be a full 125 points. But maybe at 75…?

Avengers Forever 060V Ghost Panther

• SMARTS: Lost the Outwit! NAWWW. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: And still no Leadership. F
• SPEED: Just Charge now, until the end of his dial. B-
• STEALTH: Also gone until his SP shows up end-dial. D+
• STRENGTH: Charge+Blades. He’ll really need his trait and CCE to boost his AV. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: Just Toughness now, with that same soft underbelly. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Worse in every metric except cost.

———

Avengers Forever L024 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Starts with Perplex and can no longer simply push to Outwit. B-
• SOVEREIGNTY: Still no Leadership. And without wild card status now, even, to possibly be a boon to a team. F
• SPEED: His old dial full of Leap/Climb (which no longer gives auto-breakaway) is bolstered by a new trait poofing him into hindering 4 squares away. B
• STEALTH: Traited now; a great improvement. A
• STRENGTH: The continuing lack of actual moving attack makes it difficult to leverage his offense — which starts quite anemic at 2 damage. C
• SURVIVABILITY: Boosted by, first, his original Toughness and, second, by his new “Diplomatic Immunity” trait preventing enemy Outwit or range shots at him if he’s been attacked in a turn. And then there’s the new Spider-Man team ability. B+

THE KING’S VERDICT: The low damage more than anything nerfs his chance to be effective again. Mid all around for 60 points.

———

SIGH… another era of less than kingly Panthers. But a new era of card design beckons. Maybe a good BP would emerge…

Back to the ’80s and back to the Fantastic Four!

[MOD 52] The Thing (Deep Cuts 003)

Similarly, to a number of my other Deep Cuts purchases, I wanted to paint a costume for Ben Grimm we hadn’t gotten in clix yet.

His Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation outfit from the mid-1980s was my choice. Painted it like so:

But his feet looked … weird. Like he was wearing socks made of panty hose instead of boots. So at the advice and encouragement of Heroclixin’ board member emeritus Taylor, I got some Green Stuff epoxy and tried it for the first time.

Not bad.

All set for some clobberin’ time on a map! And I used him in this 2021 game.

NEXT WEEK: Another Thing coming

2020! It was the start of a whole new decade. 

———

Unlike the Golden Age, or years 2017-2018 or 2019, would it see Black Panther finally walk into having a piece with ALL his key attributes?

• SMARTS:  Outwit is his signature power.
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership is a must.
• SPEED: Needs IM:Elevated and good values
• STEALTH: ‘Nuff said.
• STRENGTH: Can he hit for 3-6 clicks on top dial?
• SURVIVABILITY: Damage reducers and good values.

What would THE KING’S VERDICT be?

———

Captain America and the Avengers 037A Black Panther

• SMARTS: He doesn’t start with Outwit but gets it later. Opening SP makes him immune to enemy stat nerfs, Incap and the like. He sees through Stealth! B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership at start and at end. A-
• SPEED: Great Charge speed and IM:Elevated. A 
• STEALTH: Trait. A. 
• STRENGTH: Blades that penetrates on doubles (which is too unreliable) but lasts most of dial. AV is steady 11s to start. B+.
  
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor at all. C. 

THE KING’S VERDICT: He’s a Team Player TA fig but with his own Stealth, he doesn’t NEED it like earlier wild card BPs. If only he started with Outwit or had any reducers, he’d be a model Panther even at 85 points.

Captain America and the Avengers 37AE Black Panther

• SMARTS: Actually starts with Outwit unlike the full cost. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: But loses the Leadership until he’s nearly out of the game. B-
• SPEED: A. 
• STEALTH: A. 
• STRENGTH: Loses some AV. B 
• SURVIVABILITY: Only 4 clicks with no armor means a likely swift end. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: See above but minus three clicks of life.

———

Captain America and the Avengers 037B Azzuri

• SMARTS: He has none of the relevant powers. But it’s a different character so not a totally failing grade here. D
• SOVEREIGNTY: Not only has Leadership, but a trait boosting friendly Wakandan offense on his side of the map AND his SP removing tokens from those allies when he KOs targets. A
• SPEED: Decent Charge value with IM:Elevated. But only one click of it. B+
• STEALTH: Only shows at end dial. C-
• STRENGTH: Blades/Claws/Fangs to start, Close Combat Expert to end. A
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor at all, so he’ll need to hit with those late Steal Energy clicks to stay alive. C+

THE KING’S VERDICT: This is T’Challa’s grandpa. He definitely scales when built on a proper Wakanda force, but he’s not really a great use of the prime slot. And of course not a “prime” Panther.

———

Fantastic Four 013a Black Panther

• SMARTS: A full dial of Outwit! A+
• SOVEREIGNTY:  SP Leadership. A
• SPEED:  No IM:Elevated, and his trait requires him to stay in the shadows anyway. Leap/Climb comes later. B
• STEALTH:  It’s traited. A
• STRENGTH: His AV is fine, but 3 damage Precision Strike is too weak for a high grade here. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: He starts with high DV Reflexes, then gets Toughness. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: This 60 points is so close to being a definitive BP with all the abilities — if a little weak at nearly all of them.

———

Fantastic Four 013b Black Leopard

• SMARTS: He thoroughly lacks Outwit, but has Perplex that scales to +2 if he’s faced with a higher stat value. And of course his stat-nerfing trait is peak. B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership in the first few clicks. And his trait helps a whole team a lot. A+
• SPEED: No Improved Movement at all that matters anymore. Charge is adequate, though, and his SP Perplex can potentially extend it a lot. B-
• STEALTH: Completely lacking. F
• STRENGTH: Charge BCF with a possible 12 AV against a max 17 DV for the defender? Yes please. A+
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers, though his stat nerfing keeps most within 6 from one-shooting him. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Though a distinctly meta version of BP, he’s far from definitive.

———

Fantastic Four Fast Forces 005 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Several clicks of Outwit. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Two clicks of Leadership. More than adequate. A
• SPEED: 8 speed Charge is underwhelming without IM:Elevated. C
• STEALTH: Traited. A
• STRENGTH: As usual, his range is not really great but at least he has it. Charge Blades on both ends. A
• SURVIVABILITY: Starts with Toughness. Also gets Shape Change in hindering. B

THE KING’S VERDICT: Once again, this is close to being good. But the movement lacks. And at 75 points, he needs to be the whole package.

Fantastic Four Fast Forces 005E Black Panther

• SMARTS: Still has a pair of clicks of Outwit. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: But he loses the Leadership. F
• SPEED: And lacks the Charge (at first), bearing Sidestep instead. C-
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: With the Sidestep, his range is actually a bit more useful. But this still drops to a grade of B-
• SURVIVABILITY: A sole click of Toughness, with aforementioned Shape Change. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Nope.

———

The pandemic was making the world sick, but I was sick of these disappointing Panthers.

2021-22

———

Avengers Fantastic Four Empyre 047a Black Panther

• SMARTS: No Outwit. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership early on (and super late on) plus the Recruiter trait to call in reinforcements from the KO area. A
• SPEED: Good Charge value with IM:Elevated. It’s what a Panther deserves. A-
• STEALTH: Somehow he has none. F
• STRENGTH: Charge then Flurry with Blades all through. A
• SURVIVABILITY: But no armor. Only Super Senses (that deals damage on misses) to save him. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: T’Challa and Shuri’s father, T’Chaka, is finally seen in clix. But he lacks a lot.

———

Avengers Fantastic Four Empyre 047a T’Chaka II

• SMARTS: No Outwit. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: But a full dial of Leadership. He can also bail a friend out of getting hit with his “Distracting Banter” trait. A
• SPEED: No IM:Elevated. B-
• STEALTH: Has it for most of his short dial. A
• STRENGTH: Charge+Flurry+Blades is pretty good. A
• SURVIVABILITY: Zero damage reducers means he might need the Banter for himself to live. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Though he was a Heroclixin’ favorite of the year 2021, this alternate-future son of T’Challa fails as a possible successor.

———

War of the Realms Fast Forces 003 Black Panther

• SMARTS: He has Outwit top dial and end. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: No Improved Movement or even moving attack. F
• STEALTH: Top dial, end dial. A-
• STRENGTH: Has high AV but low damage potential on top while his AV drops on his Blades clicks 2-3 (which he’ll almost never see).D
• SURVIVABILITY: …because he’s bare defensively on top and end, with just Senses in the middle. D

THE KING’S VERDICT: This is a 25-point starter-style version to learn the rudiments of the game, sure, but bleh

War of the Realms Fast Forces 003v Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit for clicks 1, 2 and 5. A
  SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
  SPEED: Charge on the Outwit clicks is good. No Improved Movement is not. C+
  STEALTH: On the Outwit clicks. (Sensing a theme?) A
  STRENGTH: Blades throughout. A
  SURVIVABILITY: Only a bit of Super Senses in the middle again. D

THE KING’S VERDICT: Also unworthy of the “best Panther” mantle. Hell, it’s not even good.

———

War of the Realms 006 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Only has Outwit at the end. Bleh. C-
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership trait. Rally effect nerfs enemy Leadership. A
• SPEED: No movement at all. F
• STEALTH: Starts with plenty. B
• STRENGTH: Starts with Blades early on, but he loses it when Flurry appears — and his damage drops. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor; Reflexes and Senses have to hold. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Even worse than the Fast Forces ones. Maybe an alternate universe T’Challa is needed…

———

Next: AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

The original field leader of the X-Men was the subject of last Monday. Here’s his successor:

[MOD 51] Storm (Deep Cuts 003)

I never cared for this costume, seen during the Utopia era of the late 2000s. But I didn’t hate this variant of it:

I DID get a little lazy and rushed to finish because I had other paints and mods I was more interested in.

And in the end, I don’t hate it.

NEXT TIME: Ain’t nothing like the real Thing

In his better showings, Black Panther takes on any challenge solo. That’s why, nearly 10 years ago, I complained that one of my favorite Marvel heroes, Black Panther, had never gotten a complete dial.

All this time later, I still find myself complaining about Black Panther figs lacking at least one of the following must-haves:

• SMARTS:  Outwit is his signature power.
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership is a must.
• SPEED: Needs IM:Elevated and good values
• STEALTH: ‘Nuff said.
• STRENGTH: Can he hit for 3-6 clicks after/through reducers on top dial without Outwitting first?
• SURVIVABILITY: Damage reducers and good values.

In Part 2, I reviewed the first couple years of Silver Age BPs, to mostly disappointment. But maybe 2019 would change things

———

Earth X 014 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit then Perplex later. A. 
• SOVEREIGNTY: SP Leadership that’s juiced on 6 roll. A
• SPEED: Good Charge with IM:Elevated. A
• STEALTH: A.
• STRENGTH: Traited Blades! Only the lack of range is kinda missing. But that’s more a perk than a necessity for BP. This is an almost perfect Panther. A
  
• SURVIVABILITY: Whoops. though he has SP Combat Reflexes+Super Senses+Willpower, there’s that total lack of armor. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Alternate future (Earth X) T’Challa is so close to a practically perfect Panther but for that last detail. Not for 90 points.

———

Earth X 061 Venom Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit to start first half of dial. A 
• SOVEREIGNTY: His Leadership comes late, so B- 
• SPEED: Good Charge with IM:Elevated. A
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: Starts with BCF, then SP Quake+BCF+Poison+Steal Energy. A
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers, though Shape Change helps. C 

THE KING’S VERDICT: Symbiote-fused BP here is another one that comes kinda close but chokes.

———

Earth X Fast Forces 102 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit then Perplex then Probability Control. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Constant Leadership and he spawns bystanders to use it on. A
• SPEED: No moving attack at all. Only late Leap/Climb keeps this from a fail. D+
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: Starting with Flurry is OK, even though he has no movement. Later BCF. B
• SURVIVABILITY: Early Toughness means he might land on those BCF clicks. C+

THE KING’S VERDICT: He’s really mid for 75 points.

Earth X Fast Forces 102E Black Panther

• SMARTS: Loses Outwit from above. B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: A
• SPEED: Leap/Climb is available immediately this time. C- 
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: Starting with BCF is better, but AV is suspect. B 
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor, swift KO if Senses fail. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: 25 points cheaper, just as middling.

———

Avengers Black Panther Illuminati Fast Forces 005 Black Panther

• SMARTS: No Outwit, but he offers a conditional +1 AV for Wakanda on his side of the map. D
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership, plus that Wakanda thing. A
• SPEED: He has the needed IM:Elevated, but speed value’s low. B
• STEALTH: End of dial only, when it’s mostly too late to use. D
• STRENGTH: Charge BCF to start and finish is better than OK. Losing it in the middle, even with Exploit Weakness, is somewhat less than. B
• SURVIVABILITY: Not only a lack of armor, but range-only Super Senses. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: 75 points. Not exceptional. And of course nowhere near definitive.

Avengers Black Panther Illuminati Fast Forces 005E Black Panther

• SMARTS: See above. D
• SOVEREIGNTY: See above but no Leadership. D 
• SPEED: See above. B
• STEALTH: End of dial only, when it’s mostly too late to use. D
• STRENGTH: Exploit Weakness, then adds BCF later. B 
• SURVIVABILITY: See above. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Nope, not even for just 50.

———

Avengers Black Panther Illuminati Fast Forces 009 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Early clicks of Perplex. B-. 
• SOVEREIGNTY: Not a king. Which is accurate. It’s complicated. F
• SPEED: Gets Leap/Climb eventually. D+. 
• STEALTH: A lone opening click. B+
• STRENGTH: Was better when Perplex worked on damage. Ranged Combat Expert on his back half is OK. C+
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor is NOT IT. C- 

THE KING’S VERDICT: This BP is actually Kasper Cole, an American NYC cop who found a damaged uniform the king had to abandon during an ambush. So this actually shouldn’t be a definitive Panther. And isn’t.

———

Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 029A Black Panther

• SMARTS: Starting Perplex is not as good as starting Outwit for a proper BP dial, but we’ll take it (esp. since Perplex was better at the time when damage could be Perplexed up.) B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership is a miss. F 
• SPEED: Started with Charge + IM:Elevated. A-
• STEALTH: He needs his wildcard status to maybe get it. D-
• STRENGTH: Perplexed damage made him OK here, as did his optional trait to start equipped with Gems (like the ABPI Power Gem for a possible +3 to damage). But was neither quite him nor quite good enough for the cost. Late Flurry BCF was undermined by anemic 9 AV. B. 
• SURVIVABILITY: Invincible is a first! Then he has Toughness. A-

THE KING’S VERDICT: He also packed FREE Quake when he got hit. In a lot of ways, this was a great Panther. But in a lot of ways, it also wasn’t.

———

Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 029B Black Panther

• SMARTS: Starts with traited Probability Control, and early Perplex. Late Outwit makes it in. B. 
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. But him getting to generate pogs nudges this score a tad. D. 
• SPEED: No Improved Movement. C
• STEALTH: No Stealth. F 
• STRENGTH: Charge BCF with Prob is strong. A SP with Mind Control gives Improved Targeting:Hindering+Blocking. B
  
• SURVIVABILITY: 18 DV Toughness. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: This is loud “Happy-Pants” Panther as seen in the 1970s Jack Kirby run and, later, in Christopher Priest’s early 2000s take. (It’s complicated.) Neither an excellent Panther nor a great prime.

———

Avengers Black Panther Illuminati 072 Black Panther

• SMARTS: No Outwit or Perplex or ANYTHING. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: Hypersonic Speed with IM:Elevated. A
• STEALTH: It even works vs. Pulse Wave if he’s in printed hindering! A 
• STRENGTH: HyperSpeed with Battle Fury and traited Blades to start — later with Exploit Weakness and finally, Flurry. B+
• SURVIVABILITY: Zero armor, again (which is actually comic accurate). C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Part of the 1 Million B.C. Avengers, he’s a bit awkward. He requires being played with another BP to truly be 100%, and for 85 fragile points, that’s not good enough.

———

Despite his headlining a whole set, Black Panther did not have a single definitive version. It would be the turn of the decade to maybe give him his due.

NEXT: 2020

Last time, we saw the junior member of the original Fantastic Four in his 1970s-1980s incarnation. Now I took a similar tack with:

[MOD 50] Cyclops (Deep Cuts 002)

I got this piece because I collect Cykes. but I couldn’t figure at first what I wanted.

Strangely, we’ve almost never gotten him in his classic “graduation” costume that went unchanged from the ’70s to the mid-’80s. So I went for this simple look.

Yawn. But whaddaya want, it’s Cyclops. He’s a fave of mine but not exciting.

NEXT MONDAY: Another mutant leader