Black Panther joins forces with the Hulks as the Skrull Empire incites a war against the entire Marvel Universe

Black Panther squaring off with Skrulls
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

T'Challa has his work cut out for him in his upcoming Imperial War: Black Panther one-shot, which ties into this summer's Imperial event. In Imperial, the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda (the hidden nation's spacefaring counterpart) has been blamed for a series of assassinations that have thrown the galaxy into turmoil. But T'Challa is set out to prove what really happened, even if he has to go through the Hulk to get to the truth.

In this first look at unlettered interior pages from Imperial War: Black Panther #1, we see T'Challa standing alongside Hulk and Amadeus Cho against a group of Skrulls - or maybe he's caught between them? It's a bit hard to say without the text from writers Jonathan Hickman and Victor LaValle, but it's looking like the Skrull Empire may be to blame for framing Wakanda.

Here's the gallery of pages by artist Francesco Mortarino:

"SPINNING STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PAGES OF IMPERIAL! Blamed for the assassinations that have started an all-out galactic war, T'Challa will first need to survive a brutal assault from the World-Breaker Hulk and Amadeus Cho before he can even think about hunting down the true culprit!" reads Marvel's official description of Imperial War: Black Panther. "And all while his spacecraft spirals towards certain doom! Sounds like another day at the office for the Black Panther!"

Combined with the pages, which also show Black Panther meeting with the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, the solicit text makes it seem like T'Challa will have to fight the Hulks before regaining their trust. An old superhero trope, but one that, in this case, promises a fairly epic showdown between the strongest one there is and the champion of Wakanda.

Imperial War: Black Panther goes on sale August 20, 2025. In the meantime, check out the best Black Panther comics of all time.

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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