- "Your sense of tradition is as firm as my own! When a member of the ruling family runs into trouble, the Black Panther himself must take charge! I've got to find Khanata!"
- ―Black Panther
| "Kiber the Cruel" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Black Panther | |
| Title: | "Kiber the Cruel" |
| Volume: | 1 |
| Number: | 11 |
| Cover price: | .35 |
| Cover date: | September, 1978 |
| Publisher: | Marvel Comics |
| Credits | |
| Ex. Ed: | Jim Shooter |
| Writers: | Jack Kirby |
| Pencilers: | Jack Kirby |
| Inkers: | Mike Royer |
| Cover artists: | Jack Kirby |
| Cover inker: | Joe Sinnott |
| Colorists: | George Roussos |
| Letterers: | Mike Royer |
| Editors: | Jim Shooter |
| Group editor: | Jack Kirby |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: | Black Panther #10 |
| Next: | Black Panther #12 |
"Kiber the Cruel" is the story title to the eleventh issue of the first volume of the American superhero fantasy comic book series Black Panther by Marvel Comics. The story was written and drawn by Jack Kirby, who also provided the cover art illustration for this issue as well as editing. Mike Royer provided the ink embellishment work as well as lettering. It was colored by George Roussos and the cover art was inked by Joe Sinnott. Jim Shooter served as consulting editor on the story. This issue shipped with a September, 1978 cover date and carried a cover price of 35 cents per copy (US). In this issue, the Black Panther develops extrasensory perception as a result of his recent battle with Jakarra. His cousin, Khanata, is abducted by the android henchmen of a mysterious villain known as Kiber the Cruel. T'Challa has a nightmare of being trapped on Kiber Isle and senses that his cousin is in danger.
Synopsis[]
The Black Panther is suffering from a severe nightmare in which he sees himself wandering the rooftops of a bizarre and mysterious city. He is pursued by grim-faced android warriors bearing large battle axes. who prod him towards the ledge of the building. After evading several strokes from their weapons, T'Challa can no longer keep hold of the ledge and begins to fall endlessly to his doom.
The Panther awakens with a start. He is in the office of the Wakandan royal physician, Doctor Joshua Itobo. Itobo is trying to keep the Panther calm, but he is on edge and ready to resume his duties. N'Gassi enters the room, but the Panther is too distracted from other matters to deal with affairs of State. Itobo suspects that T'Challa's exposure to radiation from the Great Vibranium Mound has gifted him with extrasensory perception, which he believes is the reason behind the images from his nightmares.
Meanwhile, Khanata is out in his sports car and gets stopped by local police. They warn him against driving near where the Vibranium mound collapsed, but Khanata is not overly concerned about any potential road hazards. He breezes past them and continues on his way until he gets to Panther Mountain. Stepping out of his vehicle, he is surprised by two strange figures that grab him and take him away.
At the hospital, Doctor Itobo is running T'Challa through a series of psychic tests, having him identify images on the back of a card while blindfolded. T'Challa receives a psychic flash and knows that Khanata is in trouble. He leaps out of bed, but he is still too weak and Iboto has some orderlies place him onto a stretcher.
Elsewhere, Khanata finds himself in a strange place facing a bald dark-skinned man with piercing eyes. This is Kiber the Cruel. Khanata spies a gun and tries to use it on Kiber, but it appears that what he is facing is merely an illusion. The image of Kiber jumps from one location the next - often with parts of his body disappearing altogether. Kiber toys with Khanata some more then tosses him into a dungeon.
At the hospital, Doctor Itobo continues to treat T'Challa. The King of Wakanda can no longer sit idly by while his royal blood is in trouble. Despite Itobo's protests, he orders his costume brought to him and goes out to find Khanata. A Wakandan military jeep brings him to the edge of the jungle where T'Challa continues on foot.
In Kiber's dungeon, Khanata finds himself in mixed company with other random civilians. Two of Kiber's agents enter the room and grab one of the prisoners - a young man. Khanata tries to aid him, but he is overwhelmed. The others tell him that it is no use, and the young man is dragged away. He is taken to a conversion chamber and shoved inside. Once the machine is activated it converts the raw materials of the man's body into energy - energy that is used to sustain Kiber's power.
The Black Panther treks through the jungle, letting his newfound psychic senses guide his direction. As he comes to the base of Panther Mountain, he suddenly realizes that whoever took Khanata entered and left by way of the mountain. Moreover, his abductors are the same silent killers that tormented him in his nightmare.
Characters[]
- Black Panther: The Black Panther is T'Challa - king of the African nation of Wakanda and chieftain of the Black Panther cult. Recovering from a recent battle with Jakkara, the Black Panther develops extrasensory perception as a result of exposure to Vibranium radiation. He has a nightmare about being pursued by axe-wielding sentinels in a strange city and experiences a psychic flash warning him that his cousin Khanata is in grave danger.
- Kiber the Cruel: Kiber the Cruel is Frederick Kiber - a mysterious individual who uses a matter conversion chamber to disintegrate human victims, transmuting their physical forms into life energy which he then absorbs to maintain his own power. He has his android soldiers abduct the Black Panther's cousin Khanata and imprison him.
- Khanata: Among other things, Khanata is a racecar driver, a member of the Black Musketeers and the cousin to Wakanda's king, T'Challa. After driving his sports car to the base of Panther Mountain, Khanata is abducted by the robot warriors of Kiber the Cruel and imprisoned on Kiber Isle.
- Joshua Itobo: Doctor Joshua Itobo is a scientist and the Royal physician to King T'Challa. He is the one who discovers T'Challa's newly developed psychic abilities. He wars with himself over his commitment towards caring for the wellbeing of the King, and acknowledging the Black Panther's duties to Wakanda.
- N'Gassi: N'Gassi is the personal aide to the Black Panther. He visits T'Challa during his convalescence and insists that he remains his bed to recover properly, assuring him that he can look over affairs of estate in the meantime. Despite his protestations however, the Black Panther ignores the wisdom of his aide and dons his costume in a time of need.
Appearances[]
Featured characters
Supporting characters
Villains
Minor characters
- Kiber's prisoners
Organizations
Races
Locations
Items
Vehicles
- Wakandan military jeep
Powers
Notes & Trivia[]
- This issue is reprinted in Essential Black Panther, Volume 1 and Black Panther by Jack Kirby, Volume 2.
- The tagline for this issues is "Sinister are the Servants of -- Kiber the Cruel!"
- This is the first issue of Black Panther, Volume 1 with Jim Shooter as Editor-in-Chief.
- This is the eleventh issue of Black Panther, Volume 1 written, drawn and edited by Jack Kirby. It is also the eleventh issue of the series with Kirby as cover artist.
- This is the eleventh issue of Black Panther, Volume 1 inked and lettered by Mike Royer.
- This is the second issue of Black Panther, Volume 1 colored by George Roussos.
- The Black Panther fought and defeated his mutated half-brother Jakarra in Black Panther #10.
- The Black Panther appeared last in Black Panther #10. He appears next in Black Panther #12.
- This is the fourth appearance of Khanata. He appeared last in Black Panther #10. He appears next in Black Panther #12.
- This is the first appearance of Kiber the Cruel, who appears only as an illusion in this issue. His full name is revealed to be Frederick Kiber in issue #12, where he also appears as an illusion. The true Frederick Kiber makes his first actual appearance in Black Panther #13, which also happens to be the final appearance of the character.
- This is the fifth appearance of N'Gassi. He appeared last in Black Panther #10. He appears next in Black Panther #12.
- This is the fourth appearance of Joshua Itobo. He appeared last in Black Panther #10. He appears next in Black Panther #12.
- First appearance of Kiber's soldiers, which are later revealed to be androids in Black Panther #12. They appear both in reality and in T'Challa's nightmare in this issue.
- First appearance of Kiber Isle. which appears both in reality and in T'Challa's nightmare in this issue.