Is Black Panther Hero, Anti-Hero, or a Villain? Explained

Black Panther is among the most popular black superheroes in Marvel comics. He is also among the first ones to become mainstream. And even though he was well known and loved among the fans of the comics, Black Panther entered pop culture with his inclusion in MCU. At this point, T’Challa became a symbol of royal duty and integrity, recognizable in the whole world. And even though we’ve seen T’Challa aspiring to always do the right things, there are perhaps aspects of his character that are not as heroic as we are used to when comparing him to the likes of Superman or Captain America. This is why we decided to analyze whether Black Panther is a hero, anti-hero, or villain. 

Black Panther is a superhero because he holds himself up to high moral standards and principles and always tries to do the right thing. Some fans noticed that Black Panther would also kill if it’s absolutely necessary and sometimes has a bullheaded nature, but this doesn’t make him an anti-hero by default. It only means that he is not a cookie-cutter superhero and has a more 3D view of the necessity of violence as a last resort. 

Now that we’ve given you a brief insight into Black Panther’s personality, it’s time to analyze it in more detail. It’s important to take note that we’ve going to analyze T’Challa and not alternative versions of the character or previous holders of the mantle of Black Panther. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Black Panther is a dangerous and influential person, but he is not an anti-hero

T’Challa’s history is pretty well known. He was born into a royal Wakandan family and was groomed to become a king from a young age. His mother died of a strange disease she acquired while she was pregnant with him, which caused him and his adoptive brother to drift apart and become at odds later in life. 

T’Challa is also extremely rich, intelligent, and a master of pretty much all most known martial arts and fighting styles. So to say that he is a bit arrogant would be an understatement. I guess you can say that Black Panther is similar to DC’s Batman in some aspects. He doesn’t have to straight-up kill to send shivers down his villain’s spines. 

T’Challa’s father, T’Chaka, was murdered when he was relatively young. Nevertheless, he would ascend to the throne relatively soon after this and further enhance himself with the Heart-Shaped Herb.  

T’Challa always puts the interests of Wakanda first

One of the things that fans noticed is that T’Challa will usually not get involved in some issues if it’s not global in nature and if it doesn’t affect his nation in general. 

As a ruler of Wakanda, his heroic duties are second, and his duties toward the people he has sworn to protect are put first. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, as he was king long before he was a superhero. 

In fact, you can make arguments that being a king makes him uphold the moral principles and values of his people, making him an even better superhero. It makes him less likely to act in a reckless manner because there could be very real consequences for his people and country in general, not only for himself. 

Black Panther doesn’t shy away from killing

Vengeance was, in the beginning, a huge part of T’Challa’s character, which means that he was tempted to kill some of his opponents in the past (although they did not stay dead for long). He witnessed the murder of his father, and after that, the thought of vengeance fueled him. 

He absolutely does not shy away from killing if it’s necessary, he is less likely to do it due to personal vengeance, but when it comes to protecting Wakanda and its interests, he goes all in. After he assumed royal duties, however, Black Panther started making more-leveled-headed decisions for the reasons we stated above. 

Black Panther is arrogant and loves teaching lessons 

Black Panther’s first appearance was in ‘Fantastic Four’ #52, and it was a somewhat strange introduction for a character that will be known among the greatest superheroes Marvel has ever created. Black Panther invited Marvel’s first family members to his nation of Wakanda. Fantastic Four had no idea what to expect but were intrigued by the extremely technologically advanced plane that T’Challa sent them as a gift. Assuming that Wakanda could not be this technologically advanced, they made the trip, and instead of being greeted, they were hunted by T’Challa, who decided to play with them in quite a violent way for his own amusement. 

Individual members of the Fantastic Four could do nothing against him as he greatly overpowered them, but when they joined forces again, they easily overpowered him, and it was only then that T’Challa sold them the story that he was merely testing their abilities. 

This is just one solid example where Black Panther is depicted as arrogant and having a chip on the shoulder, but once again, this doesn’t make him an anti-hero, or a villain for that matter. He never seriously considered making enemies out of Fantastic Four. 

So, anti-hero or superhero? 

Black Panther is definitely a superhero, albeit not a conventional one, because he is not a totally selfless individual putting the interests of humanity above his own interests. T’Challa has Wakanda to take care of, and most of what he does, both negative and positive, is in one way or another tied to the interests of his people. T’Challa is ready to kill for good reasons, and he is often shown as arrogant, but so is Tony Stark, and you wouldn’t exactly call him an anti-hero.

Black Panther is also unwilling to stray beyond the confines of the law, at least when it comes to the laws and traditions of Wakanda, the only moral code he respects. 

What do you think? Does Black Panther qualify as an anti-hero? Let us know in the comments!