19

As far as I understand, the power of the Black Panther is gained by drinking the potion, not by wearing the suit, and that power is responsible for the near immortality and full regeneration of the body, which makes the Black Panther so powerful.

This explains for example how T'Challa fully healed after being near death and frozen in the snow.

However,

Killmonger's wound from the spear did not heal even though he had the full powers of the Black Panther, since he drank the potion, and thus he died.

How is this explained? The sonic dampeners in the railway are blocking the power of the suits, made of Vibranium, not the powers of the Black Panther, so this can't explain it. So what do I miss?

Improve this question
3
  • Hmm...I'm not sure that the the "Black Panther power" is responsibel for the healing as such. Is there eidence of that? I thought vibranium was the healing element,..not the herb.
    – Paulie_D
    Mar 7, 2018 at 15:11
  • 2
    @Paulie_D - The herb is a direct mutation of the flower due to vibranium. In a roundabout way the vibranium is responsible, but the flower/herb is the result which gives the powers.
    – Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
    Mar 7, 2018 at 18:19
  • @Steven thanks for the edit, this made me realize I make such edits on MSE, and failed to do it in my own question, lol.
    – Shadow Wizard Is Sad And Angry
    Mar 7, 2018 at 19:07

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
31

The herb makes you stronger, not invincible.

From the Wiki:

The Panther is entitled to eat a special heart-shaped herb which, in addition to his mystical, shamanistic connection with the Wakandan Panther God Bast, grants him superhumanly acute senses, enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, healing, and reflexes.

The herb makes him stronger, but not invincible or immortal, hence the need to also wear a suit, which will further improve his durability.

In this case, the impaled spear was too severe. With medical help, T'Challa admits they might be able to save him still, but he refused. A regular human would die on the spot from the spear. The suit, made from Vibranium, keeps spears, bullets, or any physical weapons from acually piercing their bodies.

From the movie's Director and the wiki:

The Heart-Shaped Herb is how Black Panther achieves his powers. He can fight hand-to-hand with Cap, who’s a supersoldier, so he has super strength and heightened instincts that give him his enhanced abilities. His suit has retractable claws and is made of a vibranium weave, which can deflect heavy machine gun fire.

Improve this answer
2
  • 10
    It's worth noting as well that there seems to be some sort of initial burst of power from the herb when they take it. That is the only time they talk to their ancestors, and it is shown that T'Challa is healed after his coronation duel through that process.
    – JMekker
    Mar 7, 2018 at 17:04
  • 2
    @LynxBrutal yeah, he's also healed after being very close to death, which is more "extreme", and what made me ask this question. But having it only "one time burst" indeed explains it perfectly.
    – Shadow Wizard Is Sad And Angry
    Mar 7, 2018 at 19:08

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .