Tetu is a character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Created by writer

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

and artist

Brian Stelfreeze Brian Stelfreeze is an American comic book artist. Stelfreeze is a painter, penciller, inker and colorist and has worked for nearly every major American comic book publisher. He is one of the original members of Atlanta's Gaijin Studios. Career S ...

, the character

first appeared In comic books and other stories with a long history, first appearance refers to the first issue to feature a fictional character. These issues are often highly valued by collectors due to their rarity and iconic status. Reader interest in fir ...

in ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

'' vol. 6 #1 (April 2016). Tetu, initially motivated by a desire to punish the wealthy elite who exploited the less fortunate, formed the rebellious Wakandan group known as the People and attempted to overthrow the king of

Wakanda Wakanda (), officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...

, Black Panther. Despite this defeat, has returned numerous times, continuously gathering new allies to challenge T'Challa once again. His increasing reliance on violence led him to forge increasingly dangerous alliances, drawing in organizations like Hydra, with figures such as

Baron Zemo Baron Zemo () is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Heinrich Zemo and his son Helmut Zemo have both been depicted as a major adversary of Captain America and the Avengers, as well as the l ...

among his collaborators.

Development

Concept and creation

Marvel's Donnie Lederer described Tetu as a character who has distorted his mentor's teachings into a philosophy that spreads fear and hatred among the Wakandan people. While Tetu believes he is liberating Wakanda, his actions ultimately show that he is merely replacing one "tyrant" with another.

Publication history

Tetu debuted in ''

'' vol. 6 #1 (April 2016), created by

and

Fictional character biography

Tetu is a former student of the Wakandan school Hekima Shulē who left to seek higher knowledge, becoming a shaman, ally of Zenzi, and co-leader of the rebel group known as the People. They later attempt to overthrow

T'Challa Black Panther is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #52, published in July 1966. On ...

as king of Wakanda before being defeated, but soon escape and form an alliance with Hydra.

Reception

Marcos Melendez of ''

SlashFilm ''/Film'', also spelled ''SlashFilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. The site's reviews appear on Rotten Tomatoes, and as of 2024, two of its leading film cr ...

'' described as a complex character with noble but flawed motivations, aiming to improve Wakanda and fight for the oppressed, despite his unjust methods. Melendez found Tetu would make a worthy adversary in a future ''Black Panther 3'', bringing a morally nuanced conflict centered on rebellion and social justice.

Powers and abilities

Tetu is a magician with the ability to manipulate nature and create portals across time and space. He possesses control over various elements, including plants, earth, and electricity.

References

{{Black Panther (Marvel Comics) Black people in comics Comics characters who can teleport Comics characters who use magic Fictional African people Fictional characters who use magic Fictional characters with earth or stone abilities Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional characters with elemental and environmental abilities Fictional characters with plant abilities Fictional shamans Marvel Comics characters Marvel Comics characters who can teleport Marvel Comics characters who use magic Marvel Comics supervillains Wakandans