While Wakanda has defended its borders for centuries, the African nation has just endured two separate invasion attempts.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #2, by Larry Hama, David Wachter, Neeraj Menon and VC’s Travis Lanham, on sale now.
One of the most advanced, well-defended societies on Earth is Wakanda, with the African nation able to repel any attempted invasion that approaches its borders. And as the Marvel Universe faces a fresh wave of new threats, some extraterrestrial and some magical, Wakanda finds itself on the front lines once again — twice in the span of a single week — to defend its people from tyranny and annihilation. And while the Black Panther is ultimately successful in defending his kingdom the first time, albeit at great cost, the second incursion has caught Wakanda completely off-guard as it looms on the horizon.
While T’Challa had been busy rallying heroes and villains from across the Marvel Universe throughout the crossover event King in Black, the Wakandan king took the time to return to his homeland when the African country came under direct attack by Knull’s symbiote army. Traveling back to Wakanda, T’Challa reunited with his younger sister Shuri and the two coordinated a desperate defense that pit the Wakandan military against the invading army of symbiote monsters. An epic battle between the symbiotes and Wakandan soldiers raged across the countryside and while the invaders incurred costly losses, Black Panther successfully led his people to victory, preventing them from falling into Knull’s grasp.
In Iron Fist’s latest comic book miniseries, Heart of the Dragon, Danny Rand teams up with Luke Cage and his fellow Immortal Weapons after they learn that nefarious forces are moving to invade Heaven by targeting the mythical dragons that power each of the Eight Capital Cities; otherworldly locations boasting their own martial arts champions. In response to the growing instability caused by the villains, the Eighth Capital City of Heaven suddenly rematerializes but, instead of its usual location near K’un-L’un in the Himalayas, the mythical martial arts kingdom has resurfaced at the border of Wakanda as T’Challa and Okoye are both shocked by the unexpected arrival encroaching on their territory.
Wakanda has enjoyed staying outside of the machinations of global politics for much of its existence, only recently emerging from its self-imposed isolation to become a more active, prominent player international stage. This hasn’t been without its fair share of challenges, of course. During the 2008 crossover event Secret Invasion, the Skrulls attempted to invade Wakanda for its vast deposits of vibranium, only to be summarily defeated by Black Panther and the Wakandan military. During the 2012 crossover event Avengers vs. X-Men, a vengeful Namor, possessing the powers of the Phoenix Force, leads the Atlanteans to attack Wakanda for working against him and his fellow Phoenix-imbued allies resulting in devastating losses for Wakanda as they defy the Phoenix Five.
Even in the face of threats that have overwhelmed the majority of the Marvel Universe, Wakanda continues to prove that it is one of the most singularly advanced civilizations in the world. Manhattan, the home of some of Marvel’s biggest superheroes has fallen to Knull and his forces within a matter of minutes, Wakanda remains able to defend its sovereignty from the unrelenting onslaught of Knull’s army. And while the Eighth Capital City of Heaven’s intentions for Wakanda are currently unknown, any martial arts threat that the mythical city presents for the African nation is sure to be met with the full fury of the Black Panther.
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