Nearly 10 years ago, I complained that one of my favorite Marvel heroes, Black Panther, had never gotten a complete dial that could do anything like this:

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 1, I reviewed the Golden Age BPs. Did the advent of SILVER AGE give us a Black Panther that delivered on all these metrics?

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2017

Avengers Defenders War 007 Black Panther

• SMARTS: He’s all about Outwit. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership, though. F
• SPEED: Or Improved Movement. D
• STEALTH: All dial long. A
• STRENGTH: No offensive ability. D+
• SURVIVABILITY: No defensive ability. D+

THE KING’S VERDICT: He was a Shifting Focus piece, though, so he had the option to fill the above gaps in his ability. So let’s look at his alter ego…

———

Avengers Defenders War 018 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Lacks the Outwit power. But because he can shift to 007, he doesn’t totally fail here. C-
• SOVEREIGNTY: F
• SPEED: No Improved Movement but he has the Charge at least. B-
• STEALTH: Gotta shift to it. D+
• STRENGTH: Blades is good. But why do they hate giving him 10 AV on top and love giving 11 AV on click 2? B-
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor or rollouts. D 

THE KING’S VERDICT: Of course the Shifting Focus is nice, but it leaves gaps: He can start a turn stealthy, but is a sitting duck after swapping to this fighting form— which cannot take advantage of his doppelgängers Outwit. At least he was only 30 points.

———

Avengers Defenders War 029 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit leads off. But he only has the single click of it. A-
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: Traited Leap/Climb gives the Improved Movement he deserves, but a complete lack of Charge is a problem. C.
• STEALTH: It shows on the first half of his dial where it’s useful. B-
• STRENGTH: Close Combat Expert is a first. But he had to sacrifice Outwit to get it. At least he has the option for a steady 10AV.  C 
• SURVIVABILITY: Is the the first printed 18 we’ve EVER seen on BP to this point? (checks dials) …Yup. With Toughness. B

THE KING’S VERDICT: Even the option to make him a wild card doesn’t make up for the shortcomings.

———

Avengers Defenders War 058 Black Panther

• SMARTS: He gets Outwit, but it’s deep in his dial. C-
• SOVEREIGNTY: Not only Leadership, but 4-6, spawns minions AND +1 AV to Wakanda.A+
• SPEED: Plasticity but nothing else. C-. 
• STEALTH: None. F.
• STRENGTH: There hadn’t been a BP this offensively weak since the game’s Year 1. D
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor, only Mastermind. D 

THE KING’S VERDICT: This was one of my least favorite Panthers ever.

———

Avengers Defenders War 074 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Not only is there Outwit but it also grants a DV nerf. And Prob later in the dial. A+
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership, but that DV nerf aids a team behind her. D+
• SPEED: Sidestep plus Charge and IM:Elevated. A 
• STEALTH: Traited. A
• STRENGTH: Precision Strike with just 3 damage is not good enough at her price. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: No reducers on a 6-click dial over 100 points. C. 

THE KING’S VERDICT: It’s Shuri as Black Panther, and almost one of the better ones. But still not right.

———

Avengers Defenders War 101 The Man Without Fear

• SMARTS: No Outwit or anything like a smart power. D. 
• SOVEREIGNTY: In self-exile. F. 
• SPEED: Would be an “A+” grade if not for the self-damage if he doesn’t end Hypersonic Speed (another first for BP) in Stealth and his not being able to HyperSpeed at all if not in Stealth. But Sidestep can mitigate this weakness. And IM:Elevated is of course key. A-.
  
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: 3 damage is a bit soft. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: Invulnerability is a first, plus the self-heal in Stealth at end of turn. A. 

THE KING’S VERDICT: T’Challa takes on the role of formerly filled by Daredevil in Hell’s Kitchen. This is a nice dial but not at all definitive.

Which was a theme for 2017 — a lot of Panthers; not one even close to definitive. Maybe the next year would get us closer.

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2018

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Avengers Infinity 002 Black Panther

• SMARTS: No Outwit. F
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: Sidestep and IM:Elevated is … semi-adequate. B-
• STEALTH: Traited. A
• STRENGTH: He needs his Flurry+Blades and Exploit Weakness to be on the same clicks to be good, instead of alternating. Or actual Charge to use either. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor at all. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: He’s got a neat ability to get FREE Charge if he KOs first. But getting that KO is a bit tough at times. Not great at 60 points.

———

Avengers Infinity 013 Black Panther 2099

• SMARTS: No Outwit or anything. F 
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership for a couple of clicks. B+
• SPEED: Has Leap/Climb, Sidestep via SP. But it doesn’t last. B- 
• STEALTH: Two clicks is not really enough. B-
• STRENGTH: Damage is too light on top, and there’s unreliable AV later. C 
• SURVIVABILITY: 18 DV Toughness and traited Shape Change isn’t too bad. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: This future version of BP is no heir to the throne, just mediocre.

———

Avengers Infinity Fast Forces 002 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Dial opens, closes with Outwit. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: “Keep It Moving Avengers” isn’t really Leadership. D
• SPEED: Sidestep starts but his Charge is buried and he lacks IM:Elevated. C-  
• STEALTH: Starts and ends with it, but he’s too visible in the middle. B+ 
• STRENGTH: Sidestep means he can maybe get a Blades attack in. Late Exploit Weakness is too weak. 2 damage too low for range shots. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: No armor. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: He’s not it.

———

Secret Wars Battleworld 061 Black Panther

• SMARTS: He can switch to Outwit on defense, Prob on offense, Perplex on option. A+
• SOVEREIGNTY: Leadership shows when it’s kinda too late to matter. BUT it’s more important on those late clicks because he spawns bystanders. B-
  
• SPEED: He’s Hypersonic Speeding most of the time, but has options to use Running Shot+Pulse Wave or Charge. Later, he’s got Charge+Flurry. Flies. A+
• STEALTH: “No time for subtlety,” his card reads, so no. F
• STRENGTH: Absolutely a beast, never dealing less than 4 (unless Quaking/Incapping for some reason). His 8 range DOUBLES the next best Panther in history. A+
• SURVIVABILITY: Not only Impervious/Invincible at will, but there’s traited Super Senses, SAFEGUARD:Outwit/Pulse Wave, with THREE STOP clicks. A+

THE KING’S VERDICT: Simply the best HeroClix dial on a Panther to that date, and at 250 points, he ought to be. But the lack of Stealth — and of course, the fact that it is representative of a single point in time — means it’s nowhere near definitive.

Meanwhile, he had a 150-point level:

Secret Wars Battleworld 061R Black Panther

• SMARTS: See above. A+
• SOVEREIGNTY: Loses the clicks with Leadership and pog spawn. F 
• SPEED: See above. A+
• STEALTH: See above. F
• STRENGTH: See above. A+
• SURVIVABILITY: Loses the STOP clicks. A- 

THE KING’S VERDICT: Still a top-flight dial, but still not truly the Panther.

———

NEXT: 2019

My Custom Mods series revival continues.

Last time, I showed off my Susan “Hot Mama” Richards 1990s costume repaint. Now let’s tackle her brother, Johnny Storm:

[MOD 49] Human Torch (Deep Cuts 004)

I wanted an old-school look:

But that’s a very hard look to capture on a 3D sculpt.

I’m not displeased but it’s far from my favorite.

NEXT MONDAY: X-MEN

My Custom Mods series continues its revival. Last week we saw a repainted Reed Richards in a standard but underrepresented Fantastic Four uniform.

This week? Hoooo boy

[MOD 48] Invisible Woman (Deep Cuts 002)

I resisted it because this ’90s costume is SO TERRIBLE.

But it’s also hilarious in its badness and most of Sue’s other costumes are super boring. So I went there.

Hot mama!

NEXT MONDAY: More hotness

The My Custom Mods series revival continues.

 

[MOD 47] Mr. Fantastic (Deep Cuts 001)

Somehow we’ve never gotten the FF in their John Byrne-era black and white costumes.

So that was my pick for Reed here. It was a simple repaint.

He’s all set for the Council of Reeds team I’ve been planning since before the Fox/Disney embargo of the 2010s.

NEXT MONDAY: THEEE most fantastically ’90s bad costume

In his first appearance, Black Panther took on — and took DOWN — each of the Fantastic Four. 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 BP 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.

———

Infinity Challenge 085 Black Panther (2002)

• SMARTS: Outwit is his signature power. A-
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: Avengers TA gave Autonomous for MOVE actions, so he could get into position without burning actions. C grade then; F now
• STEALTH: The black speed power Stealth was VERY hard to crack in the early years of the game. A
• STRENGTH: Low AV and damage. No powers. F
• SURVIVABILITY: Low DV and no defense but Stealth and big maps. D then; F now

THE KING’S VERDICT: This first pass at the king of the Wakandas was a meta staple back then, as Outwit was oppressive with default 10 range. But he was not remotely accurate and today with the black damage power’s range only 4, he’s embarrassingly bad.

Infinity Challenge 086 Black Panther

• SMARTS: Outwit. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: No Avengers TA kept him out of the fight a lot. F
• STEALTH: A
• STRENGTH: Blades/Claws/Fangs was a major upgrade from the Rookie. Just lowish AV and only one click of the power. C-
• SURVIVABILITY: Stealth is all that protects him. F

THE KING’S VERDICT: As was so often the case in these pre-card years, the Experienced version improved on the Rookie in some way. This BP can actually fight thanks to BCF. But not well with 9 AV.

Infinity Challenge 087 Black Panther

• SMARTS: A
• SOVEREIGNTY: F
• SPEED: Leap/Climb gives this version unprecedented mobility. B-
• STEALTH: Unfortunately … he loses the signature power. F
• STRENGTH: Having 3 clicks of Blades enabled him to push to attack … C
• SURVIVABILITY: …assuming he ever got to, lacking both Stealth or any defense at all. F

THE KING’S VERDICT: Usually the Veteran of the REV was the best and strongest version, but Black Panther’s was the worst.

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Avengers 024 Black Panther (2007)

• SMARTS:  This one starts with Perplex, the other “smart” power. It’s a slight downgrade from Outwit, but he was only one push away from it if needed. B
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership at all, though he could play well on a wild card team. D-
• SPEED:  A dial of mostly Leap/Climb was great for mobility (L/C had auto-breakaway back then). B
• STEALTH: As a wild card, he could get Stealth by copying a Batman Ally. But he should just have the power. D
• STRENGTH: Despite a good 11 AV and fair amount of BCF, not having both at once rates this grade. C
• SURVIVABILITY: Toughness is a first. And Super Senses helps down the line. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: This was a decently strong dial at the time, but lacking moving attack (unless you added Feat Cards to him) and, being a wild card at the time, he was VERY dependent on what other team abilities you built around him. Now that the Spider-Man TA is Super Senses-centric, he doesn’t even have that option.

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Captain America 037 Black Panther (2011)

• SMARTS: Not only can he Outwit, but his SP version can’t be Outwitted in turn. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Despite standing on his throne, he’s got no Leadership. His Storm teamup trait is the only keeping this from a total fail. D
• SPEED:  His Charge is only sporadic and he’s got no Improved Movement. B-
• STEALTH: This power only shows when he’s near death. C
• STRENGTH:  Blades and Exploit Weakness (though rarely at the same time, so not a stellar rating here). B-
• SURVIVABILITY: Toughness and Super Senses are both OK. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT:  He needs a Storm on the team to work best, and for 128 points that’s not acceptable.

———

Avengers Vs. X-Men 007 Black Panther (2014)

• SMARTS:  Starts with Outwit and also had the then-new Empower. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: SP Leadership that also works on himself on a 6. A
• SPEED: Has some freedom of movement (IM:Characters) but Charge is buried. C
• STEALTH: Starts and ends with it. Not bad. B+
• STRENGTH: 11 AV Blades is strong on top. But 9 AV on click 2 is a helluva comedown. In fact, more 9 AV (and below) than 10+ is problematic. B-
• SURVIVABILITY: Especially with a weak-ish 17 DV Senses to start and 16-under most of the rest of the way down. Toughness (which shows too late) keeps him from failing completely. D

THE KING’S VERDICT: At the time this was another immobile wild card who needed teammates to best work. Worst aspect: He gave Willpower to allies but not himself. And now he’s not a wild card anymore but still needing teammates to not waste his 100 points. That’s not acceptable.

———

Age of Ultron 045 Black Panther (2015)

• SMARTS: Starts with Outwit, later gets some Perplex. A
• SOVEREIGNTY: Although he starts with SP Leadership, it’s only for a scant 2 clicks. B
• SPEED: Not only did he get the signature IM:Elevated, but also Sidestep from hindering and next to blocking — which paired well with Charge. A+
• STEALTH:  Traited, along with invisibility when next to blocking. Perfection. A+
• STRENGTH: Despite Precision Strike, his damage potential was way low for his high cost. At least he finally gets a starting 3 damage for his range (also 3). C+
• SURVIVABILITY: Traited Toughness bolstered his defenses a lot. B+

THE KING’S VERDICT: The first complete Panther, he was still kinda grossly overcosted at 140 points yet often unable to tangle with characters in his weight class. And the Panther should always be able to tangle ABOVE his weight class.

———

Captain America: Civil War 006 Black Panther (2016)

• SMARTS: Though missing the usual Outwit, he had an awesome SP that allows him to either limit a target to one FREE —or— keep their stats from being boosted. It was limited to his poor 4 range, though. B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: Not a shred of Leadership or anything like it. F
• SPEED: Has the requisite IM (Elevated, Characters) to facilitate his moving attack. No notes. A+
• STEALTH: None. F
• STRENGTH:  Finally, with Running Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast and starting 3 damage, his range is actually useful, though his AV is a bit too average to make it very good. B-
• SURVIVABILITY:  Traited ESD used to be lot better because it couldn’t be Outwitted. But at least he had a good run of opening Toughness. B-

THE KING’S VERDICT: This movie-based model can move and attack and act without needing a lot of support. But the lack of Leadership or Stealth means it’s a 95-point (or 100 with his optional 5-point Plasticity trait) Panther that’s still very incomplete.

Captain America: Civil War 006E Black Panther (2016)

This low dial version (45 or 50 points) is only 3 clicks long. But he still has some of the goods …

• SMARTS: … such as that SP. B+
• SOVEREIGNTY: F
• SPEED: A
• STEALTH: F
• STRENGTH: Charge + BCF to start is actually a bit better than the range focus of the top dial. B
• SURVIVABILITY: 16 DV Combat Reflexes is not good enough. C-

THE KING’S VERDICT: Still inadequate. But not bad.

———

Captain America: Civil War 013 Black Panther (2016)

• SMARTS: Starts with the signature Outwit power and shifts to Perplex (which used to work on damage, so that was good). A-
• SOVEREIGNTY: No Leadership. F
• SPEED: SP gives Sidestep. Later dial, Leap/Climb. B-
• STEALTH: No actual Stealth, but he has a nifty “can’t be seen beyond 3 squares” SP that used to be better back then. B-
• STRENGTH:  …or at least it WOULD HAVE been good if his actual range weren’t just 3. He also lacks starting BCF. C+
• SURVIVABILITY: Also lack any armor at all. Only Senses to help him. C

THE KING’S VERDICT: Traited Precision Strike notwithstanding, for 80 points, he’s really kind of terrible

———

Civil War Storyline 109 Black Panther (2016)

• SMARTS:  Starting with a couple clicks of Outwit is always good for T’Challa. A
• SOVEREIGNTY:  But no Leadership is not. F
• SPEED: IM:Elevated with Charge and a trait to dip back into Stealth 2 squares away at end of turn. A
• STEALTH: The above trait pushes this grade to the max. A+
• STRENGTH: 10 AV keeps this from an A grade. B
• SURVIVABILITY: 17 Combat Reflexes to start is OK. Toughness later is a tad better. B

THE KING’S VERDICT: He has all the pieces he needs to take care of himself. But still not the real BP.

———

You can read this nice HCRealms write-up on these figures from several years ago here.

Next installment will be the first of a couple of looks at Panthers in Silver Age — starting with Avengers Defenders War, a set with a heavily Wakandan sub-theme.

A long time ago, when I actually updated this blog regularly, I had a series called My Custom Mods that ran each Monday or something. But I haven’t done many additional mods for most of those years.

COVID happened, though. So suddenly I had time and ideas.

——

[MOD 46] Magik (Deep Cuts 007)

I had less indecision with Magik than with Wolverine. For some reason, WizKids long refused to give us a clix of anything resembling this:

She got this look in like 2013 and had appeared in clix like 5 times since then. Why was getting a clix of this so difficult? Anyway, I painted the Deep Cuts piece thusly:

I wasn’t really happy with it, but it sufficed until the X Of Swords set released in January 2022.

NEXT MONDAY MOD: A Fantastic repaint

Once an only occasionally appearing figure in both comics and clix, Black Panther has become a fixture in both.

But… nearly 10 years ago, I complained that one of my favorite Marvel heroes, Black Panther, had never gotten a complete dial.

In his first appearance, Black Panther took on — and took DOWN — each of the Fantastic Four, then Marvel’s premier team. And in a (much) later pair of stories, when faced with the devil Mephisto and a rampaging Hulk — both well out of his weight class — instead of calling the Avengers, he was like, “Why?”

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

SMARTS:

That’s because Outwit is his signature power. A Panther dial really shouldn’t be without it (or, at minimum, one of the other “smart” powers).

SOVEREIGNTY:

He’s a king, whether on the throne or in exile, and frequently heads his own teams. He ought to have Leadership or better.

SPEED:

He can haul a grown man up a building in 10 seconds. That’s Improved Movement:Elevated at minimum, with some sort of moving attack.

STEALTH:

It’s a signature power. ‘Nuff said.

STRENGTH:

Even at the character’s weakest, he’s able to wrestle down a charging rhino barehanded. He’s known for his anti-metal Vibranium claws and energy knives and more, hidden weaponry on his habit. BP should be able to reliably hit even above his weight class for 3-6 clicks damage top dial — even without using Outwit.

and SURVIVABILITY:

Speaking of his outfit, the Vibranium weave habit he’s worn since the late 1990s is highly resistant to damage. Reducers of any kind are a must. Also, he should have high DV — 18 total or better — with Reflexes or Super Senses or something.

I’m going to spend several posts reviewing Panthers once and future on these metrics — both the standards of back in the day to the present — giving THE KING’S VERDICT.