Black Panther & Storm Have a Son in Marvel’s Future

It’s easy to forget that Black Panther and Storm used to be Marvel’s ultimate power couple. While the events of Avengers vs. X-Men ultimately brought their marriage to an end, Black Panther and Storm’s relationship apparently did result in an heir – Azari T’challa T’chacka Evan Duke of Wakanda.

In comics, Azari first appeared in Avengers #1 by Brian Michael Bendis during the Heroic Age relaunch in 2010.  Technically the character’s first appearance is in the animated movie Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, released in 2008 and written by Christopher Yost. Next Avengers was a sequel to Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2, which were themselves animated re-tellings of the Ultimates comics.

Azari inherits not only the Black Panther’s superhuman abilities but also Storm’s mastery of the elements. With the addition of Wakanda’s trademark Vibranium, Azari is an extremely formidable warrior. He also uses a belt that can convert into a staff, which Azari is capable of channeling electricity through. If that weren’t enough, he’s even raised by Iron Man himself, Tony Stark.

Azari is part of a new generation of Next Avengers that includes several other legacy characters. The team includes James Rogers Jr., the son of Captain America and Black Widow, Henry Pym Jr., the son of Ant-Man and the Wasp, Torunn, the daughter of Thor and Sif, and Francis Barton, the son of Hawkeye and Mockingbird. In this history, Ulton had killed off most of the Avengers, though Iron Man, Vision, and the Hulk still remain. The team is ultimately able to destroy Ultron and free the world from his robotic domination.

While Marvel’s animated universe never took off the way that DC’s did, Next Avengers remains a fan-favorite, so it’s not surprising Azari made the jump from animation to comics like a number of other popular characters, not the least of which is Harley Quinn. Still, Azari has remained a largely obscure character, relegated to several time travel stories. Azari’s current status in comics is somewhat in question, given the break-up of Storm and Black Panther along with the numerous other changes since then.

Still, it’s not impossible Azari – or a similar progeny – could appear somewhere down the line. Given that Storm still retains a powerful connection to Wakanda, it’s not unthinkable that they could reconcile sometime in the future. Nor is it impossible that Azari could have already been conceived in secret, though that would require more than a little retconning. Right now Azari, along with the rest of the Next Avengers, is an interesting footnote in Marvel history. Time will tell if they develop into something far more substantial.

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