Warning! Spoilers ahead for Avengers #41.
In the latest issue of Marvel Comics' Avengers, the Black Panther is forced to fight Nighthawk (the closest Marvel approximation for Batman), but it's also revealed they were rivals before the Phoenix ever showed up.
In the previous Avengers #40, it was revealed that nearly 20 different contenders have been chosen by the Phoenix and are being held in the White Hot Room, a separate plane of existence maintained by the Phoenix meant for its hosts. Trapped within, the chosen heroes and rogues are only let out as the Phoenix wills, forcing them to fight one another. While the first round saw Captain America emerging victorious after Doctor Doom forfeited the battle, the new Avengers #41 from writer Jason Aaron with art by Javier Garrón continues the match ups, with the most noteworthy fight being Black Panther vs. Nighthawk in the Florida Everglades, right after the King of Wakanda rejected the Phoenix's offer to make him its new host.
Before the physical fight between the two heroes even begins, Black Panther reveals that his battle with Nighthawk actually began weeks beforehand, ever since Nighthawk's secret identity as Congressman Kyle Richmond became the new U.S ambassador to Wakanda. Apparently, Richmond is working hard to vilify Wakanda in the eyes of the U.S government, writing new tariffs and trying to get his team, the Squadron Supreme of America (Marvel's version of the Justice League), to be sanctioned to end the "evil empire" of Wakanda once and for all. Black Panther counters by promising to enlist several lobbyists for the House budget hearings, promising to financially ruin the SSA by cutting their funding. With that, there's only one thing left for the rivals to do according to Nighthawk: "beat the living hell out of each other".
The deeper concern for Nighthawk's actions against Wakanda is the "why" behind it. Why is he trying to sully the reputation and perceptions of the African nation? Readers of Jason Aaron's Avengers have known for a while now that the demon lord Mephisto has the Squadron Supreme of America under his control, as he resurrected Agent Phil Coulson after Secret Empire to brainwash the team for his own ends. As a result, it's seems more than likely that Richmond's work to have the SSA deployed against Wakanda is all apart of a grander scheme by Mephisto himself.
Regardless, it's quite impressive to see Black Panther go toe to toe with Marvel's version of Batman not just physically, but also politically. While the issue ends without declaring a known victor, here's hoping Black Panther will prove to be the winner, in spite of his refusal to claim the Phoenix as a permanent host. At least it wouldn't fall into the hands of a secret sleeper agent of Mephisto.
