The Need For A Monarchy
This is a theme throughout the book and is posed not so much as a verbalized or pictured debate but as a philosophical question that the reader is invited to consider. Wakanda has been an impenetrable kingdom since its inception and its citizens like it this way. However, when this changes, so does their feeling about the monarchy and their king. They don't really seem to associate their previously peaceful and unbreached existence with his strong leadership but do seem to blame him when the status quo is disrupted. They then start to question whether a country that is as technologically advanced as theirs really needs a king, and a monarchy at all. As long as they have the technology to fend off invaders and political threats, what can a king do? Their new found dilemma is evident in their new found willingness to dissent against their previously-loved king and their feeling that they would be better off defending the country on their own.
Patriarchal Society & Violence Against Women
Wakanda is a patriarchy and women do not have power. This theme is evident in the storyline given to Ayo and Aneka who become a superhero duo called the Midnight Angels, armed avengers dedicated to protecting Wakandan women from patriarchal violence. Generally speaking warrior women in comic books are shown as being in the thrall of men, and the relationship between Ayo and Aneka reverses this to a large extent since Ayo is the leader of the duo and also rescued Aneka from jail. Since he was jailed for executing a rapist, this also shows that the Wakandan society does not truly consider rape to be a punishable offense, again indicating the patriarchy and the way in which women are not valued.
Mind Control
The Black Panther realizes that his foe is controlling Wakandan citizens using mind control and he therefore sets about attempting to find his enemy who is telepathic and using his abilities for bad ends. The theme of mind control is seen throughout the comic book and is also used as the explanation for why T'Challa's citizens have suddenly turned against him. Mind control is a popular theme throughout the superhero genre and the appearance of it in this book links the newness of T'Challa's challenges and situation with the other superheroes who have gone before him.
Power of Technology
The citizens of Wakanda have almost limitless faith in technology, definitely more faith than they have in their human ruler, even if he is a superhero. T'Challa also believes that his opponents are using a mind control technology to take over his own citizens. Citizens believe that technology is more important than people, and this is shown as they revolt against the king, believing that as long as they have technology they have no need of a monarch or a leader anymore. The theme of technology also throws up philosophical questions regarding progress and whether or not it is possible for a nation who are technologically advanced need a king at all. The theme also demonstrates that people can have too much faith in technology; the Wakandans were so blindsided and shocked by the breach of their country in part because they had believed their technology was advanced enough to prevent it, and it had acted as a security blanket for them.
Leadership and the Greater Good
Throughout the comic book, T'Challa is presented with far more dilemmas than his fellow superheroes who are basically ordinary citizens by day and masked forces of good versus evil by night. T'Challa's role as King presents different challenges that go beyond identifying a bad guy and getting rid of him. The theme leadership and the greater good draws attention to this difference by showing that there is actually a possibility that T'Challa is in the wrong and his enemies in the right, a more political stance than other comic books have taken. He also has the difficult task of identifying "goodies" and "baddies". Some of his beloved citizens have become his enemies and are working against him so it is necessary to neutralize them for the greater good, even though he is technically defending them as he looks to vanquish the invasion by his enemies.
