Warning! Spoilers for Heroes Reborn #5 by Marvel Comics below!
Marvel Comics has a new Ronin who’s got a deep history with the Avengers, even if he doesn’t remember it. In the Heroes Reborn universe, where Wakanda is just a myth, Ronin has shown his face and revealed himself to be the Black Panther. T’Challa has been absent in the event thus far, but his appearance shows the universe is finally starting to crack.
The Heroes Reborn universe is a construct created by Mephisto, who’s worked alongside Phil Coulson (who he’s made President of the United States) to rewrite reality in his own image. Marvel’s devil is literally worshipped as God. Meanwhile, Coulson’s heroes, the Squadron Supreme – who are Marvel’s pastiches of DC’s Justice League – are the most powerful superteam in a world where the Avengers never formed. However, Blade remembers the old reality and has made it his personal mission to restore his own universe by finding his lost teammates.
In the Heroes Reborn #5 epilogue by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Matthew Wilson, and VC’s Cory Petit, a new version of Ronin tussles with Nighthawk after the masked vigilante tries to sneak into Squadron Supreme headquarters. Nighthawk is impressed by Ronin’s sword, which stops his adamantium hawkarangs. Ronin manages to teleport out of the battle before getting captured and ends up in West Africa. He deactivates his Ronin cloak, revealing himself as Black Panther.
Before T’Challa can even fully decloak, he recognizes that someone is there who shouldn’t be. That’s when Blade and Captain America emerge from the shadows and tell him that he doesn’t belong in the universe either.
Blade has been doing his absolute best to reassemble the Avengers as the universe around him has drastically changed. He recently recruited Captain America to his side, as he unfroze the hero from ice. Now, he’s turning to Black Panther. Blade remembers Wakanda, so he’s able to find T’Challa’s homeland, despite the rest of the world believing it’s a myth.
Black Panther becoming Ronin makes sense, as he uses the persona to keep his own identity and Wakanda a secret from Mephisto’s forces. As Ronin, he can gather intel on the Squadron Supreme and try to figure out their motives himself. With T’Challa entering the fold, it sure seems like Marvel Comics is building to an epic battle between the reformed Avengers and the Squadron Supreme and Mephisto. With Black Panther on their side, their chances of returning the old universe to its past self have just increased significantly. Heroes Reborn #4 is in stores now.
Next: Iron Man Trusts One Avenger To Survive A Brutal Hulk Attack
