“A Nation Under Our Feet,” Repositioning Black Panther, and What to Expect of Ta-Nehisi Coates

Like a message from Marvel’s own secret Illuminati, news broke last week that worlds are about to collide. Come Spring 2016, the most important “TC” dealing with Wakanda won’t be its former king T’Challa, but the new writer of Black Panther, Ta-Nehisi Coates. The author and writer for The Atlantic is well known in academic circles for his sharp critical writing, and his presence in media make him hard to miss for the initiated. His list of accolades is long, most recently including being named a MacArthur Fellow, a prestigious award given for “exceptional creativity and a significant record of accomplishment.” Both requirements describe his achievements perfectly, but stop short of fully explaining why he’s attached to the new run of Black Panther, and why he might be perfect for the job.

Coates started with The Atlantic in 2007, coincidentally the same year I started reading Black Panther comics. I was fresh off the Civil War story line that pulled me back into the Marvel universe after I found myself with more free time while studying in England than I’d had here at home. In the few years prior I’d been introduced to the King of Wakanda just in time to receive an invitation to his wedding to Storm, who had just enjoyed her own series penned by none other than novelist Eric Jerome Dickey (Milk in My Coffee, Cheaters), while Reginald Hudlin (Boomerang, House Party) was tacking T’Challa. Here were two African superheroes, with their own series, written by African American wri…