Trivia / Black Panther

• Executive Meddling: By issue 50 of Black Panther Volume 2 (Priest's run), it was decided to revamp the title, thus bring on the change of leads from Aristocrat T'Challa to Cowboy Cop Kasper Cole.
• Fake Nationality: Chadwick Boseman, the actor cast in the role of T'Challa for Captain America: Civil War and the 2018 Black Panther movie, was from the United States and was not an African prince.
• Referenced by...:
  • Samy Deluxe in the 2018 Unplugged version of "Adriano", a song about present-day racism.
  • In Chapter 17 of Twinkling in the Dark, Mashiro does the Wakanda arm-cross.
• Renamed to Avoid Association: For a brief period of time, Black Panther was renamed "Black Leopard" to avoid associations with the Black Panther Party of the Civil Rights Movement.
  T'Challa: I contemplate a return to your country, Ben Grimm, where the latter term has political connotations. I neither condemn nor condone those who have taken up the name, but T'Challa is a law unto himself. Hence, the new name — a minor point, at best, since the panther is a leopard.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Jack Kirby initially pitched the character as "The Coal Tiger". The costume was similar to the one T'Challa eventually debuted in, but lacked a mask and had a much brighter color scheme.
  • Another alternate cover for Fantastic Four #52 had Black Panther in a slightly tweaked costume, complete with a Batman-like cowl and Underwear of Power.
  • There was a movie in development in the mid-90s with Wesley Snipes playing T’challa. The studio was uneasy about the setting being changed to being about the Civil Rights movement (he would have been a member of the Black Panther Party) and felt like CGI at the time wasn’t good enough for what they needed so it was shelved.
  • Before the introduction of the ill-fated Kasper Cole version of the Black Panther, there were several other plans to shake up and ReTool the franchise. Christopher Priest had suggested T'Challa undergo a Face–Heel Turn, while Mike Raicht suggested that Queen Divine Justice become the new Black Panther.
• Writer Revolt: Back in the 70's, Don McGregor was told by editorial to include more white characters. His response was famously to pit T'Challa against The Klan.

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