Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers

So, the week after my last post had been a bit of a somber one in my opinion.

This is because both the cinema world and the MCU (not to mention his family and friends) suffered a huge lose in the King of Wakanda Chadwick Boseman, whose very unknown battle with Colon Cancer came to an end just as I finished writing my last post.

Now, I don't need to state the obvious that Boseman's loss was tragic to all (though especially those close to him) because not only was he a terrific actor (I enjoyed his work in Message from the King) but especially when the revelation came out that he had work on at least seven different movies (four of them as the Black Panther) between his original diagnosis and his eventual passing. Now, to me, that's the kind of commitment to your craft and work ethic everyone should aspire to reach because, in hindsight, I sure do.

After these events, I feel that if a man with a terminal illness can star in multiple physically demanding films, raise a family, be a positive role model and beyond then I can do all that I want to do with my life, which is but a fraction (and lacks the downside of a debilitating illness). Sadly, the loss of phone literally a day later didn't help as it chewed into my personal project's time (as well as lumbered me with using a barely functioning 10 year old iPad 2 as a replacement) but that's a temporary (and comparatively pitiful) setback.

Anyway, due to Boseman's passing I had previously stated that my reading material this week would be something Black Panther orientated and I'm glad to say that I stuck to my guns, even if the choice wasn't originally my first. This is because, while Black Panther: the Man without Fear is my favourite Black Panther series at present, I feared I would not get the time to read the entire thing within a week (and that has indeed been proven to be true). Fortunately, my backup choice was able to fill the void perfectly.

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags
of our Fathers

And that choice was Reginald Hudlin and Denys Cowan's 2010 mini series Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers. Set during the Second World War, Flags of our Fathers depicted the first meeting of Captain America (and Nick Fury's Howling Commandos) and the Black Panther (although not T'Challa but Azzuri, father of T'Chaka, so T'Challa's Grandfather) and sees a contingent of Nazi soldiers sent to Wakanda under the command of Baron Von Strucker and the Red Skull to acquire the country's most precious resource; Vibranium. However, eager to prevent this (and maybe gain a sample of their own), Allied forces dispatch Cap, Fury and the Howlers to face their enemy head on, unaware that Wakanda might be more than a match for the Axis with their own secret weapon; the Black Panther.

Flags of our Fathers has been a series I've been interested in reading for a year or two now, after a reference to it was made in the first issue of Rise of the Black Panther. However, beyond that, I was somewhat unsure of what to expect from this series as I have never read (as far as I'm aware) a Reginald Hudlin story and (again, as far as I'm aware) I've never seen Denys Cowan's artwork.

Legends together (and making an awful mess)

However, upon reading this I found the series to be a very enjoyable story which gave a nice entry to the characters and their respective viewpoints of Captain America, Black Panther and the Howling Commandos that I could use to take to other series. I think the thing that makes this so accessible is the simplicity of the story. Hudlin doesn't make this overly complex or convoluted as most superhero stories seem to be these days, but gives it a pretty simple premise; Cap, Panther and the Howlers race to stop the Axis powers from getting Vibranium to make them more dangerous. It isn't a story which ties into some greater narrative (beyond the war of course), it is essentially and elongated one and done. Also, the fact that it is, in essence, the first official meeting of Cap and (a) Black Panther keeps it even more streamlined in my opinion as it reduces the need for prior (non-essential) exposition.

The entire story is told from Gabriel Jones' perspective, a member of the Howling Commandos and the only (major) African-American character in the story and this I liked about the story Hudlin tells. This is because, from how I read the series, Hudlin uses Gabe as the central character/narrator in order to accurately compare the two differing ideologies of America and Wakanda. Gabe throughout never feels entirely comfortable amongst the Howlers, which is understandable given the time period. However, upon arriving in Wakanda, Gabe's feeling of comradeship to them seems greater than with the Howlers sometimes as he seems to struggle with where his allegiance falls, with his country or his kin. Of course this comes full circle as Gabe's story ends where it begins; with him having no place to call home as he seemingly goes against both countries.

That said, I thought Hudlin peppered the series with some fantastic additional story elements which really helped cement a sort of origin for many characters. This include the respective interactions of Cap and Fury with Black Panther whoch both seemed to show each of their essences, with Cap being a believer in people while Fury being a paranoid cynic (or perfect future S.H.I.E.L.D. director). Then there were great little quips between Fury and Strucker which, while obviously throw away, felt like a perfect beginning to their lifelong antagonism of each other.

Someone's been bulking up!

As for the art, I really Denys Cowan's work which had this truly 40's vibe and propaganda-like style to it, especially in respect of Strucker, Skull and their Nazi Supervillains who all look particularly monstrous. Meanwhile, ...'s colours help sell the art for me with its very Magneto: Testament look and feel, which is a favourite of mine and does the book no harm. In fact, if anything does Flags of our Fathers harm know my eyes then it is the depiction of Captain America, which looks a little rough compared to the rest of the series. However, this is such a minor quibble as it doesn't reduce my enjoyment in any way.

Unfortunately, there were some aspects to the story which I felt were lacking. These includes things like the abrupt ending, where the book felt like it just stopped and was missing pages, or the loose plot threads which made me think a sequel was expected at the time. Even the Black Panther's children, including future King T'Chaka were an issue for me as they felt shoe-horned in (although, without them the story would have been without a 'macguffin' for Gabe to get the offer of a lifetime.

However, all of these pale in comparison to the Black Panther himself who felt very generic. To me, the Black Panther has always been T'Challa (except those 12 issues when it was Shuri)while his father, T'Chaka has always felt like this Thomas Wayne type of character in my eyes. But beyond these, practically nothing is known about the line of Black Panthers and so I would have been interested to learn more about the Panther who cam before all three. Unfortunately, this Panther comes across as a rather generic template, as though all Black Panthers are the same in terms of their personality. In fact, I don't recall hearing that this version of Black Panther was named Azzuri until some point in the third issue, such is the tacked on nature I got from it and lending credence to my theory that Hudlin just wanted Black Panther, which wasn't possible given the time period the story went in.

But hey, while I put a lot of thought into that downside, I'm not gonna say that it broke this story because, in fact, it didn't. Despite any flaws I may have spotted, the good points far outweighed the bad. I really enjoyed Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of our Fathers and I felt it was a fun, action packed story which was easy to just sit down and enjoy for what it was.

It also has me feeling that I'm fully prepared for when I read Rise of the Black Panther and maybe the Howling Commandos Masterworks, but that's just an added bonus.

So, that's another week done. I now have absolutely no idea what next week is going to bring (except for review material because I have a schedule), but I do know that regardless of what the material is, next week is going to include greater focus on my own 'personal' projects (as well as maybe getting my post out on time).