Black Panther has been an iconic character in the Marvel universe ever since he made his comics debut in 1966. Throughout the years, he has crossed over from comic books into television, film, novels, and video games. We were inspired by all of his appearances in our creation of his many outfits you’ll find in the upcoming War for Wakanda Expansion in August. Let’s take a few minutes to reveal some of these outfits and provide our thoughts on their creation.

Iconic Outfit – Let’s begin with our Crystal Dynamics original design and the outfit you’ll start with in the Expansion. When creating this outfit, we combined the classic Black Panther visuals and silhouette with the more modern and functional aspects of his look that many fans have grown accustomed to over the decades. His suit has a layering of armor on it, his helmet has structure to it rather than something that is more pliable, and his arms have long lines on them that harken back to his old striped gloves. We also included some fine detail into the outfit to make it more advanced and cutting edge by interlacing Vibranium throughout to reflect his ability to absorb energy.

Most Dangerous Man Outfit – Inspired by the comics, this noir-style outfit was front and center when Kasper Cole briefly took on the mantle of Black Panther in New York City. We made sure to include distinct outfits from the comics like this one and can’t wait for you to see more.

King T’Challa Outfit – This is another Crystal Dynamics original where we wanted to design a regal look that was still functional. We thought about what T’Challa would wear when he wasn’t donning the Black Panther suit. If you look closely, you’ll see that he has finger rings on, which act as claws in battle.

Damisa-Sarki Outfit – This outfit is a reinterpretation of Jack Kirby’s drawing of Black Panther and how he first appeared in the comics back in 1966. Meaning “The Panther” in Wakandan, [AK1] the Damisa-Sarki Outfit shows Black Panther in a short cape, which we saw was a much-requested outfit on social channels[AK2]. Black Panther has worn a cape many times in the comics, so we wanted to pay homage to that. The cape adds a layer of surface detail and three-dimensionality to the outfit that gives it an ancient warrior feeling.

Strategist Outfit – This outfit is inspired by T’Challa’s look in Black Panther: Man Without Fear #513 where he temporarily replaces Daredevil as the defender of Hell’s Kitchen. Since he had no superhuman abilities, he had to rely on his training and strategic intellect to defeat the many enemies that came his way.

We’re going to close the wardrobe door for now, but we will be revealing more of Black Panther’s outfits before the War for Wakanda Expansion releases in August! Keep an eye out on our social channels and let us know what you think of the ones we talked about today.