THE BLACK MUSKETEERS

Membership:
Dr. Joshua Itobo, Ishanta, Khanata, Zuni

Purpose: The Black Musketeers are all members of the royal family of the small african kingdom of Wakanda. And when trouble strikes the small nation, the Black Musketeers are usually called to assist the king, T'Challa

Affiliations: Allies of Black Panther, other Royal family members of Wakanda , N'Gassi

Enemies: Enemies of Jakarra

Base of Operations: Central-Wakanda

First Appearance: (individual) Black Panther I#7 (January, 1978)
(team): Black Panther I#8 (March; 1978)

History:  (BP I#7) - To fight the terror of Jakarra, N’Gassi had called for members of the royal family --Joshua Itobo was the first one to arrive and was greeted by N'Gassi.

(BP I#8) - With the final three arriving, N'Gassi got ready to tell the Black Musketeers about the fact that Jakarra had been transformed into a monster and that he needed their help against him. The four Black Musketeers began their meeting with N'Gassi; all four of them had different opinions about the elderly man -- Khanata thought he dressed to simple for an administrator of high office, Joshua Itobo said "A wise man needn't be a fashion plate", and Zuni said "I knew the old leopard when he had less wisdom and more spirit!"; Ishanta had a hard time seeing himself, a businessman involved with high finances, with a spear and a shield. N'Gassi tried to persuade Khanata to go after Jakarra because he had the right age, size, and an excellent athletic ability, but Khanata would rather drive racing cars than fight the demon.
Suddenly Jakarra interrupted the meeting by attacking his cousins, the Black Musketeers, who were surprised to learn that the monster they were about to fight was their cousin. Joshua Itobo showed great courage in fighting the monster, but Jakarra was about to defeat both him and his cousins. Suddenly, soldiers of the Wakandian army arrived and helped the Black Musketeers -- Jakarra himself escaped. Zuni and Ishanta are surprised to see how couragous Joshua Itobo was, while Khanata said he thought he was lucky to be alive. The four Black Musketeers decided to agree to help N'Gassi defeat Jakarra.

(BP I#9) - The Black Musketeers, now in costumes, continued their fight against Jakarra. Khanata used his racing car to drive into Jakarra, and the other three tried to defeat the monster. They succeeded when Itobo used a type of gas against Jakarra, which caused him to lose consciousness. Later, Joshua Itobo began to examine the monster in a special chamber.

(BP I#10) - Jakarra revived and escaped, and the Black Musketeers continued their mission to stop him. Joshua Itobo revealed that he had created a special injector which could stop Jakarra, but he refused to use it himself because it would be against his doctor oath to kill. The rest of the Black Musketeers arrived at Itobo's laboratory, and N'Gassi informed them all why it was important they stop Jakarra -- Jakarra was now a living generator of sonic vibrations, and when he entered the great Wakanda vibranium mound, he could create a shockwave that would not only destroy the mound, but spread like a chain-reaction and destroy the entire planet. Jakarra continued towards the mound, and the Black Musketeers tried to stop him by using a helicopter and a liquid nitrogen gun to try to freeze him down. This only stopped him momentarily, and Jakarra broke free again. Finally, the Black Panther stopped Jakarra by using Itobo's special injector.

COMMENTS: Created by Jack Kirby

Profile by: The Beetle

CLARIFICATIONS:
The Black Musketeers are related to:

Zuni has no known connection to

ISHANTA

 

Ishanta was the businessman of the team, he was involved in high finances, and had a hard time seeing himself as a tribal man fighting with spear and shield again. Ishanta showed some good hand-to-hand combat abilities.

- BP I#8 (9, 10

 

 

 

 

 

ZUNI

 

The only female member of the Black Musketeers, a cousin of King T'Challa of Wakanda, aka the Black Panther. Zuni is now an elderly woman, her age and weight gives her certain disadvantages in normal hand-to-hand combat, she showed some hand-to-hand combat abilities though.

 

- BP#8 (9, 10

 

 

 

 

images: (without ads)

Other appearances:
Black Panther I#8-10 (March-July, 1978) - Jack Kirby (writer/pencils), Mike Royer (inks), Jack Kirby & Archie Goodwin (editors)

Last updated: 12/29/02

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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