Black Panther Vol. 5

This volume is issue #5 of the 2005 fourth volume of Black Panther, written by Reginald Hudlin and drawn by John Romita Jr., and is the fifth part of the opening six-part story "Who Is the Black Panther?" In the story, T'Challa, as the Black Panther, battles the Black Knight in the skies over Wakanda; meanwhile, his old enemy Klaw leads a villain team comprising the Rhino, Batroc, Radioactive Man, and others in an assault on the palace, targeting the Queen Mother Ramonda. Radioactive Man attempts to destroy Wakanda's vibranium deposits, while Klaw takes the Queen Mother hostage as a bargaining chip. T'Challa pushes the battlefield into the neighboring country of Niganda to confront his opponent M'Butu; across the ocean, the United States also sends in a mechanical army of "Deathlok" soldiers converted from fallen soldiers to intervene in the conflict. Combat, political calculation, and outside interference intertwine, and Wakanda's kingship and vibranium resources become the focus of a multi-sided struggle. This volume is a single issue within the larger story, and the plot must be read together with issues #1 through #6.