MARVELous Monday

Similar to the Throwback Thursdays I’ve been doing lately, I wanted to do something else fun each week.

I give you MARVELous Monday. Each week where I pick a random Silver or Bronze age Marvel book to highlight after I’ve read it, sort of a flash back to Marvel books.

This week while browsing back issues, the first book to jump out at me was Avengers #87. This book was mostly a story telling flash back for T’Challa, Black Panther, King of Wakanda.

After I started reading this issue, I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I really do get that nostalgia when I read these old classics.

A lot of the scenes reminded me of the movie last year. T’Challa becoming King while Klaw (first appearance in Fantastic Four #53) is attempting to steal vibranium from Wakanda, knowing it’s worth and technological uses.

T’Challa first tells the Avengers about his childhood friend B’Tumba (first appearance and death) as they were always in competition with one another. They both moved to America for further education but eventually grew apart as B’Tumba grew jealous of T’Challa as he was always one step ahead of him in most fields.

This jealously caused him to go his own way but eventually join the terrorist group A.I.M..

T’Challa while back in Wakanda becoming King was sent on a mission to find the heart shaped herb that would grant him great powers, powers of the Black Panther. Upon finding the herb, that’s when he stumbles upon the A.I.M. group stealing vibranium. He’s captured and learns that his old friend T’Bumba is a member. When ordered to execute T’Challa, he can’t pull himself to do it and frees him instead, fighting along side him the remaining A.I.M. members but is fatally wounded during the battle.

This issue we also learned at the end that Black Panther told this story to the rest of the Avengers as Wakanda was on his mind since he had learned his oldest and most trusted council member N’Baza had died so he must return to either denounce his throne or continue ruling Wakanda.

Also a fun fact I learned about this issue.

The image of Vision standing on the cover was the same image used for the Marvel Title used in the upper corner on all Avenger issues starting with #93 through #155.