Tales of Suspense #98
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeTales of Suspense #98 represents Black Panther's first significant appearance outside the Fantastic Four family of titles — the second chapter of the four-part arc spanning TOS #97–99 into Captain America #100 that served as T'Challa's formal introduction to the wider Marvel Universe and paved the direct road to his joining the Avengers in The Avengers #52 (May 1968). The issue also carries a quietly remarkable piece of real-world editorial history: the cover's intended title, 'Cap VS. The Black Panther,' was shortened to just 'Cap VS. The Panther' because Marvel removed the word 'Black' to avoid any association with the Black Panther Party, an act of editorial anxiety that itself documents the charged cultural moment in which the character was being established. Together with the surrounding issues, this arc set the template for the respectful, peer-level partnership between Steve Rogers and T'Challa that has defined their relationship across decades of Marvel storytelling.
ComicBooks.com Value
Show all 22 grades ▾
This exact issue on ebay
Raw — VG+ ▾ $44.95–$59 2 listings
Raw / ungraded ▾ $14.99–$260 17 listings
Read it digitally
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The Captain America half of this dual-feature book was written and plotted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with inks by Joe Sinnott and Syd Shores and lettering by Artie Simek; the concurrent Iron Man story was scripted by Lee with Gene Colan on pencils and Frank Giacoia inking. The issue was produced in late 1967 for a February 1968 cover date, as Tales of Suspense was in the final months of its run — the title would be retitled Captain America with issue #100 while Iron Man was spun off into his own series, making these last issues an editorially transitional moment for both characters. The choice to bring Black Panther, who had previously appeared only in Fantastic Four issues, into a Captain America story signaled Marvel's intent to grow T'Challa into a fixture of the broader line rather than a one-off guest of the FF.
Trivia · 9 facts
- Cover-dated February 1968 (on-sale December 1967); published by Marvel under the Vista Publications Inc. indicia.
- The Captain America story is titled 'The Claws of the Panther!' — script and plot by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott and Syd Shores, letters by Artie Simek.
- The Iron Man story is titled 'The Warrior and the Whip!' — script by Stan Lee, pencils by Gene Colan, inks by Frank Giacoia; features the villains Whiplash and the Maggia's Big M (Whitney Frost).
- Cover pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Frank Giacoia.
- This is the second chapter of a four-part story running through TOS #97–99 and Captain America #100 — Black Panther's first multi-issue appearance outside the Fantastic Four title family.
- The cover originally read 'Cap VS. The Black Panther'; Marvel dropped the word 'Black' to avoid confusion with the Black Panther Party, which had been founded in October 1966.
- Characters in the Captain America story: Captain America (Steve Rogers), Black Panther (T'Challa), Agent 13 (Sharon Carter), and Baron Zemo (Franz Gruber), who is revealed as the surprise villain at the issue's end.
- At the arc's conclusion (Captain America #100), Cap invites T'Challa to fill a vacant slot on the Avengers — a story beat that feeds directly into Black Panther's membership in The Avengers #52 (May 1968).
- The Captain America story has been reprinted in Marvel Double Feature #21 (1977), Essential Captain America Vol. 1 (2000), Marvel Masterworks: Captain America Vol. 2, True Believers: Kirby 100th – Black Panther #1 (2017), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Black Panther Vol. 1 (2022), Black Panther: The Early Years Omnibus Vol. 1 (2022), and the Captain America Omnibus Vol. 1 (Third Edition, 2023), among others.
Cast · 2 characters
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Capitão Z (3ª Série) #19 (1969), Capitán América #13 (1969), Marvel Comic Annual #1971 (1971), Spider-Man Comics Weekly #135 (1975), Eclipso #57 (1976), Marvel Double Feature #15 (1976), Marvel Double Feature #21 (1977), Strange Spécial Origines #202 (1986), Essential Captain America #1 (2000), Essential Iron Man #2 (2004), Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #2 (2005), Marvel Masterworks: The Invincible Iron Man #4 (2007), The Invincible Iron Man Omnibus #2 (2009), Captain America Omnibus #1 (2011), Marvel Gold. Capitán América #1 (2011), Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #2 (2012), Die offizielle Marvel-Comic-Sammlung #7 (2015), Captain America Epic Collection #2 (2016), Iron Man Epic Collection #2 (2017), Marvel. Официальная коллекция комиксов #99 (2017), True Believers: Kirby 100th - Black Panther #1 (2017), Black Panther: The Early Years Omnibus #1 (2022), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Black Panther #1 (2022), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Captain America #3 (2024) + 3 more
Key issues in Tales of Suspense
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.