Story #2The Vanities of Philip Whitehead
Writer/Penciler:
Sandy Plunkett. Inker:
Scott Hampton. Colorist:
Sandy Plunkett. Letterer:
Gaspar Saladino.
Synopsis
King T’Challa hosts a weekend party on a small island for the dignitaries who are meeting to discuss the financial problems of the nation of Zambia, a neighbor of Wakanda. Among the guests is Philip Whitehead, a college friend of T’Challa’s who feels his life has been insignificant compared to T’Challa’s. On the way back to Wakanda, the plane crashes near a small island. Everyone makes it safely to shore and T’Challa is concerned about the cause of the crash. T’Challa finds Philip and begins cooking a pot of herbs as he tells his friend a tale. A Wakandan shaman treats people’s pain and grief by draining it into an ancient drum—but every ten years, a venomous beast is incarnated from the gathered sorrow and it is the duty of the King of Wakanda to defeat it. But T’Challa failed to note the date and so did not undergo the necessary preparation for the contest; the potion is their only hope. He drinks it, dons his Black Panther outfit, and goes off to confront the creature, leaving Philip alone to agonize over whether to help him. The huge goblin-like creature is more than a match for the Panther as it has venomous claws and can change to a mist form. Panther is raked by the monster’s claws injecting venom; Philip, who has drunk the rest of the potion, leaps into the battle and distracts the monster so Black Panther can spear it through the back. As the monster dissolves, T’Challa reveals he has been infected by the monster’s venom and is sure to die. Philip offers to suck the poison out of him to save his life….
Later, we see T’Challa relating the story of Philip’s death to his wife Rene. He says Philip, who died from absorbing the poison into his mouth, was a brave and noble man; Rene disagrees, calling Philip a little boy who wanted to be a superhero. She dismisses her visitor and mourns in solitude….