This article is about T'Chaka, T'Challa's father. For other characters who have taken on the Black Panther mantle, see Black Panther.
“We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative. Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace.”
T'Chaka is a Marvel character and was the original Black Panther and king of Wakanda. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri, Ramonda's husband, the older brother of N'Jobu, and the paternal uncle of Erik Killmonger. Through T'Challa, he is the paternal grandfather of T'Challa II.
T'Chaka was the ruler of Wakanda until one night, during a ceremony, M'Baku arrived and challenged him to a duel. His son, T'Challa advised not to accept, he instead decides to accept the challenge. T'Chaka shows his skills and in a couple of moves manages to defeat M'Baku. However, M'Baku stands up and uses Klaw's Sonic Weapon to confuse T'Chaka and beat him to death. Despite his physical death, he stills lives in the memories of his son.
During World War II, T'Chaka teamed up with Captain America and the Allies to stop Red Skull and Hydra from invading Wakanda in a later invasion when Baron Zemo went after a powerful spiritual amulet of the Crocodile. It took T'Chaka and Baron Zemon to return the amulet to its sacred holding.
In 2016, after an incident, in Lagos a place in Wakanda, T'Chaka called for a system to put in place to regulate the actions of the Avengers. However, during the United Nations world meeting with his son T'Challa despite his son's best efforts to save him, he died in a bomb that was set by Baron Zemo.
A week following T'Chaka's death, his son T'Challa is preparing to succeed his father as king of Wakanda. The T'Chaka's family are still mourning the loss of him and he appears to his son through the astral plane to guide him and prepare him for his role as the king. T'Chaka tells his son that he believes that if a father has not prepared his children for death, is someone who has failed as a father.
The first T'Chaka first appeared in "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?". Years ago, his son T'Challa wants to explore the world outside of Wakanda, but he refuses about the dangers from the outside world. When his son was accidentally abducted by the Ravagers, he sent his ship to space with a message. As his son returned home to Earth, he reunites with his family after these long years.
The young T'Chaka appeared in "What if... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?", set in the 1980s. When his home is under attack by the Celestial Peter Quill, he willingly reveals himself and his nation to the outside world and joined the team known as the Avengers.
T'Chaka is mentioned by Erik Killmonger in the astral plane. He mentions to Shuri how T'Challa let T'Chaka's killer, Baron Zemo, live even after killing T'Chaka and calls him a hypocrite for his actions.
Trivia
In the comics, T'Chaka was killed by Ulysses Klaw.
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