Cover: Stefano Caselli

Ultimate Black Panther #4

Jul 2024 · Marvel · 4.99 USD

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About this Issue

Ultimate Black Panther #4 is a pivotal chapter in Marvel's 2024 Ultimate Universe relaunch — the first ongoing Black Panther series in the new Earth-6160 continuity, which itself marked a dramatic corrective to the character's near-total absence from the original 2000–2015 Ultimate Marvel line. Within that fresh framework, issue #4 is the issue where T'Challa's covert resistance cell — a 'Circle of Force' uniting himself, Shuri, Storm, and the reimagined Killmonger as a freedom fighter rather than a villain — is formally assembled for the first time, reshaping the moral axis of the entire series. The issue also deepens a structural inversion that runs throughout writer Bryan Hill's arc: here it is Okoye, traditionally cast as bodyguard, who holds Wakanda together politically through an act of deliberate and compassionate deception, while Shuri is foregrounded as a militant strategist and de facto wartime leader in T'Challa's absence. Together, those narrative moves mark this issue as the moment the first arc's disparate threads — political intrigue, infiltration, and guerrilla alliance — crystallize into a single, forward-driving story.

writer Bryan Hill · artist, inker Stefano Caselli · colorist David Curiel · letterer VC's Cory Petit · cover Stefano Caselli

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $4

CGC 9.8 · 15 in census $62*

CGC 9.6 · 4 in census $30*

CGC 9.4 · 1 in census $30*

CGC 9.2 · 1 in census $30*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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History

The series was announced at New York Comic Con 2023 and launched February 7, 2024, as the second title of Marvel's revived Ultimate Universe imprint, which was architected by Jonathan Hickman following the Ultimate Invasion miniseries. Writer Bryan Edward Hill, previously known for his critically received Killmonger (2018) miniseries, was tapped to shepherd the new title alongside artist Stefano Caselli, with editor Wil Moss overseeing the book. Hill has described his approach to the series as consciously epic in scale — citing Dune and A Song of Ice and Fire as tonal touchstones — and noted that the latitude of the Ultimate Universe setting allowed him to pursue broader world-building than a mainline Marvel title would permit.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published May 22, 2024 (cover-dated July 2024); written by Bryan Edward Hill, penciled and inked by Stefano Caselli, colored by David Curiel, lettered by Cory Petit, edited by Wilson Moss.
First appearance of an unnamed former Dora Milaje assassin working as an agent of Khonshu and Ra — her debut reveals that Moon Knight's forces have successfully turned at least one member of Wakanda's elite royal guard, confirming an internal security breach.
First appearances of two new Ultimate Universe locations: the Temple of the Sacred Dead and the Temple of Ra (both in Birnin Zana, Wakanda, Earth-6160).
T'Challa formally assembles his clandestine 'Circle of Force' — comprising himself, Shuri, Storm (Ororo Munroe), and Killmonger — presented to Okoye at the issue's climax as the only people T'Challa trusts in the war against the false gods Ra and Khonshu.
The issue is structurally unusual in that the title character does not appear until the final pages; the bulk of the story is carried by Okoye and Shuri, with Okoye's role as Queen and political actor given rare prominence.
Issue #4 falls within the first arc (issues #1–6), later collected in the trade paperback Ultimate Black Panther by Bryan Hill Vol. 1: Peace and War.
In the Ultimate Universe (Earth-6160), Killmonger is recast not as a villain but as a Wakandan freedom fighter — a significant departure from his mainstream 616 characterization as T'Challa's arch-nemesis — and this issue marks his first substantive on-page interaction with the Wakandan royal family.
The series corrects a long-standing imbalance: in the original Ultimate Marvel imprint (2000–2015), Black Panther was drastically underused, appearing only in a handful of issues and depicted in a manner widely considered unsatisfying; this 2024 series gives the character his first true Ultimate ongoing.