Marvel Comics character
T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of his father, T'Chanda aka Azzuri the Wise.
John Kani portrayed the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films "" (2016) and "Black Panther" (2018) while Kani's son Atandwa portrayed a younger version of the character. Kani returned to voice alternate versions of the character in the animated Disney+ series "What If...?" (2021).
Publication history.
T'Chaka first appeared in "Fantastic Four" #53 (1966) and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Fictional character biography.
T'Chaka is the Chieftain of Wakanda who ascended to the throne after the death of his father King T'Chanda, also known as Azzuri. During 1941 at the time of World War II, Captain America traveled to Wakanda where he met T'Chaka. Together, they assisted Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos against Red Skull and Baron Strucker. T'Chaka and Captain America also faced threats from Master Man, Warrior Woman, and Armless Tiger Man when they partook in an all-out attack on Wakanda. Armless Tiger Man even threatened to kill T'Chaka if he did not surrender. Outmanned and outgunned, T'Chaka and Captain America held their own against Master Man, Warrior Woman, Armless Tiger Man, White Gorilla, and Red Skull.
Sometime later, Captain America visited Wakanda and gave T'Chaka his triangle shield in exchange for some Vibranium. When he got engaged to his first wife N'Yami, T'Chaka adopted Hunter who T'Chaka groomed as the heir to the throne until the day N'Yami gave birth to T'Challa and then died from childbirth. Shortly after T'Challa's birth, his brother Jakarra was born. T'Chaka later married Ramonda who gave birth to Shuri.
In the fall of 1959, T'Chaka was kidnapped by Geoffrey Sydenham of the organization ICON and brought to Latveria as part of their plan to weaken Wakanda and steal its technology. However, Dum Dum Dugan and Eric Koenig rescue him and safely return him to Wakanda.
Many years later, Wakanda had their technology coveted as they had no ties to any other countries. Ulysses Klaw and his mercenaries invaded Wakanda and demanded that T'Chaka give them their vibranium. When T'Chaka refused to give them vibranium, Klaw had his mercenaries kill T'Chaka. This angered T'Challa who used one of the mercenaries' weapons to destroy their camp and rendered Ulysses Klaw's right hand useless. Afterwards, T'Challa's uncle S'Yan ruled Wakanda until he came of age to become Chieftain Wakanda.
Powers and abilities.
Upon eating a special heart-shaped herb, his natural powers are enhanced. T'Chaka possesses superhuman strength, speed, agility, stamina, durability, reflexes, and senses. He is also an expert martial artist, a known weapons expert, a skilled marksman, an expert tracker and hunter, and a master tactician outside of his mutant powers.
Weaknesses.
T'Chaka's heightened senses cause bright lights, loud noises, and strong smells to potentially overwhelm him.
Other versions.
Ultimate Marvel.
In the "Ultimate Marvel" universe, T'Chaka's full name was T'Chaka Udaku. In addition to T'Challa, he was also the father of M'Baku.
Ultimate Universe.
An alternate universe variant of T'Chaka from Earth-6160 appears in "Ultimate Invasion". This version was killed by a suicide bomber working for Ra and Khonshu.
In other media.
Film.
T'Chaka, based on the Ultimate Marvel incarnation, appears in "", voiced by Dave Fennoy. This version possessed the ability to transform into a humanoid black panther and was killed by a Chitauri disguised as Nazi general Herr Kleiser.
Marvel Cinematic Universe.
T'Chaka appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by John Kani as an adult and Atandwa Kani as a young adult.
References.
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