In a new preview from Marvel Comics, the Black Panther will be embracing the power of the Phoenix Force. The extremely destructive sentient energy source has once again returned to Earth, having chosen a variety of warriors to potentially serve as its new host, and King T'Challa is one of them. While Captain America and Doctor Doom faced one another with mere portions of the Phoenix's power in the last issue, the upcoming Avengers #41 will see Black Panther up to bat for the next round.
According to Marvel's Namor, the King of Atlantis was the one who called and reached out to the Phoenix Force in the first place. Apparently, he intended to become its host once more, just as he had during 2012's Avengers vs. X-Men event, but the Phoenix Force had other plans. While Namor is indeed among the roster of those that the Phoenix has chosen, a new host has yet to be determined. The Phoenix Force has been pitting these heroes and villains against one another, giving them small amounts of its power in order to determine the most worthy. As previously mentioned, Captain America and Doctor Doom fought in the first round. However, Doom eventually forfeited and Captain America emerged victorious, leading to the Phoenix taking Rogers back to the White Hot Room, an otherworldly plane maintained by the Phoenix itself, where it's been keeping the other chosen contenders.
Now, King T'Challa is up next in the Phoenix's tournament. As indicated by the preview images for Avengers #41 from writer Jason Aaron and artist Javier Garron, the Black Panther will be meditating beforehand, but the battle will soon arrive to interrupt. It's also revealed that he'll be facing Man-Thing, who has become fiery and even stronger thanks to the Phoenix. Black Panther apologizes to Man-Thing for what he's about to do, as it appears T'Challa does accept the power of the Phoenix Force to face him. Here's the previews images and synopsis for the issue from Marvel Comics:
As soon as Black Panther gains the Phoenix's power, it doesn't looks as though he's pulling any punches against the Man-Thing. While there's still quite a bit of the issue to be read beyond this preview, it does seem like a safe bet to assume T'Challa will win this round. However, will that be a good thing? The synopsis does claim that, "all will be transformed." What if Black Panther doesn't transform for the better? Could the Phoenix Force corrupt him? Fans will have to wait and see when Avengers #41 comes to comic book store shelves January 20th from Marvel Comics.
