Dark Knight is such a fan favorite that they even reconciled with Ben Affleck playing his character, but, Black Panther? The general public doesn’t love him one bit. The truth is: Black Panther is better in every aspect of Batman than Batman.
While there is not much doubt about Batman being one of the world’s foremost and most popular superheroes, Challa or the Black Panther is no pushover either. He was the world’s first mainstream black superhero. There had been some lackadaisical and embarrassing efforts previously, but, he never really caught the fancy of the masses. Finally, he premiered in what we regard as the greatest comic magazine ever titled: The Fantastic Four. At the same time, DC remained skeptical about featuring a black hero in their front line league of superheroes.
In a fashion similar to Batman, Black Panther is also an intelligent, wealthy man who is not only a great fighter but, also is seen hobnobbing with the most powerful super-team on the planet. The below list will show you why Black Panther is better than the Bat.
1. Resources: City’s Richest Man vs. World’s Richest Man
As per the Forbes.com, Bruce Wayne’s wealth is estimated to be about 9.2 billion $. He inherited his wealth from his father and by managing the company established by his father. He also has unrestricted access to a wide range of weapons and gadgets which come handy as he takes on the criminals and that’s quite impressive for the richest Casanova in Gotham City.
On the other hand, TChalla inherited a mind boggling 90.7 trillion dollars as per Time.com’s data. TChalla also received all his wealth from his father, but, the difference is that instead of a business empire, TChaka gave his son the kingdom of Wakanda and the one and only Vibraniummountain on the planet.
The imaginary metal has helped create some of the most fascinating Marvel gadgetry and also happens to be the component that makes Captain America’s shield impenetrable. It’s unique qualities ensure that this fiercely guarded material can be sold by TChalla at any desired price and the Wakandan people rule the international trade because of it. (Although another version of Vibranium called the Antarctic Vibranium also exists, but, it is not much of use as it destroys every other metal).
2. Smarts: World’s Greatest Detective vs. One of the Universe’s Smartest Men
Batman is truly a kick-ass detective, and he can find almost anything. In fact, it is his intelligence more than anything else that has kept him on the winning side against many powerful foes. He also has a great deal of equipment at his disposal some of which has been invented by him and rest by either his father or random engineers who work for Lucius Fox.
As the ruler of the small, but, most advanced country in the world since historic times, TChalla also has a great deal of technology and he is not just the most intelligent man ever to have lived in Wakanda, he is also ranked among the eight smartest men in the MCU, and that’s an impressive list including Mr. Fantastic, the original Ant-Man, and The Beast. TChalla also happens to be a member of the Illuminati (a secret grouping of superheroes and not the local university’s literary group).
3. Origin: Childhood Trauma vs. International Incident
Are there any chances of seeing this again in Dawn of Justice?
While Batman’s origin as a crime fighter is attributed to his childhood trauma of seeing his parents being murdered in front of his own eyes. He decided to become a Batman when he observed a Bat accidentally fly through his window.
A supervillain Ulysses Klaw killed Black Panther’s father, and that resulted in Wakanda shutting out the rest of the world for decades until TChalla decided to connect to the outside world under his command. He drove the outsiders away from Wakanda and blew Klaw’s hand as revenge. He dons the costume of a panther because a panther is considered to be the greatest champion in Wakanda. The champion’s title didn’t come to him in legacy, but, he had to beat a whole lot of
4. Skills: Trained by World’s Greatest Fighters vs. Descended From History’s Greatest Fighters
Bruce Wayne underwent training by a range of teachers including a renowned magician and a group of revered Ninjas, and that training made him the greatest physical combatant in the entire DCU. His fists are so powerful that even those agiler or masters of their unique combat styles end up biting the dust in a fight against the Dark Knight.
Where’s T’Challa?
Being the latest in a dynasty of warrior kings, TChalla had the opportunity to learn from the skills, successes, and failures of each of his predecessors. Not only that, TChalla has now been christened as King of the Dead. Thus, he not only possesses the skills of his forefathers, but he also has them at his beck and call for counsel at any given time.
5. Power Boost: Temporary High of the Lazarus Pit vs. Permanent High of the Heart-Shaped Herb
There have been quite a few times when Lazarus Pits of Ra’s Al Ghul brought Batman back from the dead. Every time he returns from the pit, Batman is rejuvenated and briefly attains God like powers. However, he often loses the control of his mind during that phase and can make people go nuts if they are not alert. Another drug that makes Batman unbeatable is Venom, the preferred drug for Bane. However, the drug doesn’t just make him invincible; it also controls him.
Upon becoming Black Panther, TChalla once consumed the heart shaped herb which is a traditional medical supplement for Wakanda’s warriors. This herb gave him permanent and useful powers of enhanced senses, reflexes, and physical strength. Thus, TChalla is the owner of the perfect human body.
6. Toys: Bat Ex Machina vs. Vibranium Ex Machina
Batman’s gadgets are extremely popular, and he seems to have gadgets for almost every contingency. Crazy it may sound, but, he even had a shark-bat repellent in his arsenal to protect him if shark-bats attacked (whether they exist or not is another question). Some models of his Batmobile are known to fly, and he has some Batplanes which can be driven on the road as well. His Batarangs, glove-knives and a wide range of other multi-purpose arms. Even if it sounds ridiculous, Batman is almost always armed to the teeth.
Black Panther is no less equipped and has several Vibranium gadgets (none of them is on the panther theme though). Every gadget that he needs in combat has been designed personally by him. His gadgets help him temporarily incapacitate his rivals and give him the power to run up vertical walls as if he was simply hurtling down a slope and that too without any sound. He is the designer of the Quinjets of Avengers and SHIELD. In fact, most of the Marvel Comic Universe gadgets are based on Wakandan tech designed by the Black Panther himself.
7. Bragging Rights: Able to Defeat Any Hero or Villain vs. Able to Defeat Any God or Devil
Totally my bad you guys. For realsies.
JLA “Tower of Babel” story showed how it was revealed that Batman had devised plans for defeating each one of them. The plan has been readied not with an intention to fight them, but, to take any of them out if they switched to the dark side.
Even the Devil fears the Panther
In an uncanny resemblance, Black Panther also joined Avengers only to keep an eye on the greatest superheroes on planet Earth. While he acted as their friend, he also kept studying them to know what kind of threat each one could possess and what are the weaknesses which could defeat them. This infuriated Steve Rogers who briefly pushed him out of the team, but, then invited him back. Not only the Avengers but, he had even a Galactus contingency plan ready and was prepared to defeat the forces of mother nature (this plan was superbly utilized by him in Fantastic Four). The true might of his can be gauged by the fact that he had a strategy ready to slam the devil and when the hour came, took on Mephisto (as close a creature as anyone ever can get to Satan). The battle was of such a ferocious nature that by the end of it, the enemy begged to leave.
8. Sidekick(s): Boy Wonder vs. Queen Divine Justice
Batman is assisted by various Robins and Black Panther is flanked by Dora Milaje a.k.a. Queen Divine Justice.
Absolutely Stylish.
The warrior women of various Wakandan tribes who have committed themselves in matrimony to the Black Panther only are the life veins of the country. He doesn’t consummate his marriage with them to maintain the tribal balance in his homeland.
They partied like it was 1999. And it was.
The mightiest Dora Milaje is called Queen Divine Justice, a teenager who was raised in Chicago and is full of sass and kick-butt attitude. Her swag is way better than anything any Robin could ever manage. She once went out with The Hulk and formed a life long friendship with him.
9. Archenemy: Mass Murdering Clown vs. Unkillable Living Sound
I find it is important to describe everything I do as I am doing it.
While Joker is a cool dude and has great punchlines in comparison to Klaw, but, the supervillain who killed TChaka (character played by Andy Serkis in Avengers: Age of Ultron) is in a mightily different league regarding powers. While Joker has nearly died several times and once even pretended to be dead, Klaw is a creature made of sound waves which are unassailable and even when he dies; he simply echoes back to life. As of now, he is shown as dead, but, we know he can’t be dead for long.
Be Scared of Him
While Batman’s collection of villains has the whole galaxy lined up, the smaller collection of Black Panther has quite a few powerful bad guys. White Wolf, the adopted son of TChaka, helps Black Panther protect Wakanda, but, always does things that TChalla warns against. Erik Killmonger has long fancied himself to be TChalla’s rival, and he possesses a potent threat physically and mentally (His name is quite something and has all the potential to be an iconic title). Another of his enemies is Man-Ape, who happens to be a dangerous enemy because he also has a lot of political backing in Africa. The deadliest enemy of Black Panther is quite deceptive as he doesn’t have any visible superpowers and he doesn’t wear any fancy costume either. He is simply called Achebe, the sharpest lunatic in the world.
10. Archfrienemy: Last Son of Krypton vs. Avenging Son of Atlantis
It’s Aquaman, isn’t it? I bet it’sAquaman.
While every superhero takes on villains regularly, he also has a superhero rival with whom he constantly engages in a brawl. We have all seen who walks out the winner in a Batman Vs. Superman battle. But, how about Black Panther? His equation with Namor, the king of Atlantis has long been a relationship of clashes. Several times they have faced off either over global politics or power games typical of superheroes. However, their deadliest battle took place when Namor obliterated vast chunks of Wakanda (though we know that the cosmic Goddess Phoenix had controlled his mind, TChalla doesn’t buy that story). As a counter-attack, Wakanda attacked New Atlantis and slaughtered thousands of people in the dark waters of the night. This prompted Namor to hoodwink Thanos into attacking the bruised and weakened Wakanda. In the fierce battle that ensued saw TChalla crushing Namor between two colliding planets. Somehow he managed to survive, and the two have declared truce since then – at least till now.
