Welcome to the year 2024! Taylor Swift and Paramore just won Grammys, we have new episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, and Marvel’s Ultimate line is a thing again! It’s just like 2009 only everything else is so, SOOO much worse. Anyway…comics! Back in the day, the Ultimates line was intended to introduce Marvel’s marquee characters (Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Eternals) to an audience of new and seasoned fans. These books took a streamlined approach to storytelling, starting at the ground floor without years of muddled history. As evidenced by Ultimate Black Panther’s brief introduction/recap, this new line is going in a different direction.

African villages are being invaded by heavily armed soldiers, led by the mysterious Khonshu and Ra. When their latest violent assault catches the attention of Wakandan spies, the young King T’Challa finds himself at a crossroads: stand by and do nothing or engage the invading force and risk revealing the isolated nation of Wakanda and its people to the world. If things weren’t complicated enough, T’Challa is facing dissension within his own kingdom, while also contending with his noble and battle-starved sister Shuri, and a mysterious vigilante who calls himself Killmonger.

Writer Bryan Hill delivers a solid first issue, establishing this new iteration of T’Challa, and building off of the recent “Ultimate Invasion” miniseries without making it required reading; this is where the issue’s intro is both helpful and a hindrance. This debut issue stands on its own just fine without having to involve characters like the Maker, aka Ultimate Reed Richards and his time-traveling exploits. T’Challa’s conflict is compelling enough that readers may not realize the title character doesn’t even appear until the end of the issue. While the original Ultimate line greatly inspired what the MCU would become, before the movies began to inform the look of the comics, this book wisely stays away from too many MCU-influenced ideas.

The book’s greatest strength is the art by Stefano Caselli. From the living, breathing world of Wakanda to the beautiful character designs and sleek, mech-inspired look of Black Panther himself, every page is a literal work of art. The colors by David Curiel are equally magnificent; the artistic duo’s use of light and shadow give each panel a cinematic look that is not easy to attain but here, it seems effortless. Their incredible work extends to T’Challa’s chiseled physique and his equally beautiful supporting cast, including his still-living father T’Chaka and his wife Okoye, who leads the Dora Milaje. Family dynamics aside, the status quo that isn’t entirely dissimilar to what long-time readers may be used to. The familiarity is nice and all but the creative team plays things a little too safe. The Ultimate line was known for taking risks, with varying degrees of success, but it seems Ultimate Black Panther would rather hide in the shadows than risk open war.