The Black Panther has been through a lot of costume changes since he was first brought in around the 1960’s. Just like the character the costume has evolved a lot since the beginning. His costume has almost always been a skin-tight bodysuit, but it would appear that he was almost called the Coal Tiger thanks to an early sketch that makes him look much more colorful in his getup and less like the guy we know today. Personally I’ve always felt that the Black Panther was a bit too pretentious, kind of full of himself, but there’s a good reason why the character is this way. He’s the king of an entire nation after all, and one that has to weigh the good of his people against the actions he takes on their behalf and those that he takes to make sure that their nation and technology remains hidden.
As an Avenger the Black Panther served as a temporary member at times and a more permanent member at others. His skills and knowledge of combat have almost always been a continual boon to the team but really it seems more as though the MCU has really beefed him up in the past couple of years. His strength and speed have always been impressive and his highly attuned senses have also been equally impressive. But seeing as how he’s been put up against some of the most powerful people in the Marvel Universe it still doesn’t seem likely that he should have survived at all times. His suit is really the only thing that’s kept him alive in a lot of battles and that’s because due to what it’s made of the energy that others expend towards him doesn’t harm him until it the suit is eventually overloaded and goes Ka-boom.
That means though that he’s able to take a lot of punishment and keep coming back. Once the suit is expended he’s still a capable fighter, but if the suit does rupture then he’s a lot more vulnerable and capable of being beaten. As skilled as he is T’Challa is still human and even with the herb he takes he can be taken down. As a member of the Avengers though, or even as a reserve member, he’s a hard character to beat. In his upcoming solo movie the suit he wears has been heavily modified as his evolution has come a long way since the Coal Tiger look and incorporated a lot more panther-like qualities that make him look quite fierce and even deadly in the right light. It took a lot of years to get this look down, and throughout that time the hero has been changing as well.
T’Challa has always tried to be a fair and just king but his ways are hard to uphold when his enemies will do many things that he will not lower himself to. That means that he absolutely HAS to be tougher, stronger, and in some cases meaner than his adversaries. It’s not easy being a king.
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