Breakfast with supervillains

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

This is from Heroes for Hire v2 #7. It's written by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Zeb Wells, and illustrated by Al Rio.

Comments

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/manapembaku.htm

He's a normal human wearing the skin of a white gorilla.

[fungo_squiggly.insanejournal.com]

And in these scans, wearing a bathrobe over that.

Which is AWESOME.

[bean_montag.insanejournal.com]

Welllll

that's a bit creepy isn't it. And just think of all the care that must go into keeping a dead skin looking supple and alive, especially one with all that fur.

I am going to take your word for it. Thanks for the link but that article is a bit tealdeer and I didn't find the word "skin" in a search. :\

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

Okay, according to Marvel.com he "wears the pelt of the sacred white gorilla from which he gained his powers."

[bean_montag.insanejournal.com]

Oh, man, this slays me. So he kills--or happens upon (yeah right)--a *sacred* white gorilla, I am assuming he guts it next, and then he saves the skin to wear at all times, even early in the morning while cooking egg hats and wearing fuzzy slippers.

I can't decide if this is why I *should* be reading Marvel, or why I do not, but it is sweetly perverse all the same.

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

No, he sought the gorilla out.

From his marveldirectory profile...
M'Baku was one of Wakanda's greatest warriors, second to T'Challa, the Black Panther himself. While the Panther, king of the Wakandas, was on a several month leave of absence from his royal duties to serve the Avengers in America, the ambitious M'Baku plotted to usurp the throne. The Wakandan culture had evolved from a hunter-warrior society, and was traditionally ruled by its greatest warrior. The Black Panther had outlawed the rival White Gorilla cult from Wakanda while the Panther cult was dominant. M'Baku flouted T'Challa's edicts and revived the White Gorilla cult, personally stalking and killing one of the rare white gorillas living in the jungles near Wakanda. Bathing in the gorilla's blood and eating the gorilla's flesh mystically conferred its great strength upon M'Baku.

[bean_montag.insanejournal.com]

Well yeah, of course, I mean I think it goes without saying that he would bathe in the gorilla's blood and, er, eat its flesh.

Man, PETA would be all over this guy.

(thank you for your research tho :p~~ )

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

I actually did a lot of this research when I was curious about the character after Hudlin offed him.

[batcookies.insanejournal.com]

It's a religious thing.

The Black Panther is the sacred animal of most of the people in Wakanda, who are all part of the "Panther Cult".

There's another, much smaller and very persecuted cult that worships the White Gorilla. It's basically equivalent to being a devil-worshipper.

He sought out one of the white gorillas his people find sacred, killed it, ate its flesh, wore its skin, and in so doing gained superpowers and became the religious leader of the cult.

Which seriously puts him at odds with the Black Panther, who's basically the Pope of the Panther Cult, along with being King of Wakanda.

[batcookies.insanejournal.com]

(Hudlin, being a hack of the highest order, took one look at the character, deemed him "stupid" and never bothered to learn more)

[khamelea.insanejournal.com]

Omega Level Hack?

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

Yeah, in that Hudlin manifesto thing he said "A Great hero is defined by his villains. The Panther doesn't have his equivalents to Dr. Doom, the Red Skull, or Magneto. Instead he's got a guy wearing a white gorilla fur. I don't even know that loser's name, but he will never be seen inside the pages of the book I write."

It's too bad he couldn't keep his promise.

[red_cyclone.insanejournal.com]

It sounds like someones been reading their Freaud, all of that is straight out of Totem and Taboo, I approve.

[geoffsebesta.insanejournal.com]

And what do you think those slippers are made of...?

[bean_montag.insanejournal.com]

Babies!!

[geoffsebesta.insanejournal.com]

DELICIOUs

[smarmyimp.insanejournal.com]

They're loafers (former gophers).

[jlroberson.insanejournal.com]

While cooking?

That's pretty stupid.

[xdoop.insanejournal.com]

I think it's something he always wears (unless he's bathing or something, I guess).