Leather jackets? Never out of fashion. Bulletproof, skin-tight, body-suits? Never not functional. Cat ears? Even a deadly, brooding, stalker of the night needs to look marketable to kids. Today's Z-Lister is the duel-mantle champion of Marvel's New York City, one-time Panther and occasional Tiger, the not-so-friendly ghost himself, Kasper Cole.
Kasper Cole was created by Christopher Priest and Dan Fraga in "Black Panther #50 Vol. 3" in 2002. At that time, the sales for the book were declining and Priest had the idea of shifting the focus of the book to a more grounded character, so he created Kevin "Kasper" Cole. Cole was created to be a dark satire of Peter Parker, a young man with responsibilities and real-life issues, but to a more mature extent. Cole was the son of a Jewish woman named Ruth and a Black cop named Jonathan Peyton "Black Jack" Cole. Black Jack had been a New York cop arrested for suspicion of corruption. All his life, Cole assumed his father was set up by his fellow officers and was driven to bring respect back to his family name. Due to his light-skin, his coworkers referred to him as Kasper, in reference to The Friendly Ghost. When we meet him, we find that Kasper is living with his mother Ruth and his pregnant girlfriend Gwen. Gwen had been tossed out by her parents and forced to live with Kasper and his mother who doesn't work, this meant Kasper would soon have four people to support. He worked in the NYPD's Organized Crime Control Bureau as a narcotics division officer and was gunning for a promotion to Homicide Detective. While working with Sergeant Turk-the ally of a certain cat-person-Kasper found an old Black Panther suit in Turk's apartment. Due to it's Vibranium cloth, it allowed more flexibility and protection than the standard-issued bulletproof vests. He stole the suit and began wearing it under his uniform.
During an undercover operation, Kasper and his crew were ambushed by criminals. Thanks to his Black Panther suit, Kasper remained unharmed while his fellow officers ended up hospitalized. His boss Sal Anthony suspended Kasper for five days for not wearing his vest-as Sal believed it was dumb luck Kasper didn't die. Kasper needed that promotion, but playing into the hand of his corrupt boss would make him dependent on Sal, so he sought a new option. Using the Black Panther costume and a phony Wakandan accent, Kasper Cole became The Black Panther of Harlem. He used this persona to expose corrupt cops and stop drug trafficking, then as a clean cop he'd be one of the NYPD's only dependable men. As word spread of this new Black Panther, Cole met both King T'Challa living in the slums of Harlem, and T'Challa's vengeful half-brother, Hunter (The White Wolf). Both sought to manipulate Cole for their own purposes, but Kasper was able to stay on track with his mission.
Eventually, Sal Anthony's son had been kidnapped and he begged Kasper to find him. Kasper knew if he could find Sal's son, he'd help him take down The 66 Bridges Gang instead of just ignoring them like usual. However, finding the boy was difficult even with The Black Panther costume. Kasper went to T'Challa and demanded he'd let him go through The Rite of Ascension-the three trials one must go through before being dubbed The Black Panther and receiving the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives Black Panthers their enhanced abilities. At first Kasper came out strong, researching Wakandan culture and history and passing the first two trials. But before he could finish the Rite, he was attacked by Erik Killmonger. Killmonger had been an enemy of King T'Challa and was obsessed with taking The Black Panther mantle for himself. When Kasper realized he couldn't defeat Killmonger, the two struck a deal. While Killmonger could not take the mantle from him, he did ask Kasper to stop calling himself The Black Panther and simply become an acolyte of The Black Panther Cult. In return, Killmonger would give him a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herb. Though not as powerful, it would still replicate Black Panther's abilities. Killmonger also tried to rescue the boy himself-which Kasper feared would make him owe Killmonger-but T'Challa had already found and rescued the boy. T'Challa then presented Kasper with a white version of the Black Panther suit and the title of "White Tiger". An inverse of his mantle's name, but also borrowing from a New York hero of the same name.
As The White Tiger, Kasper Cole continued his vigilante/cop gig and took on The 66 Bridges Gang. Sadly, it was revealed their leader-Kibuka-was Cole's father Black Jack Cole, and the Gang's second-in-command Triage was Kasper's half-brother. With the help of James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine, Junta, and Josiah X, Kasper was able to bring down the 66 Bridges Gang and make his job a lot easier. Kasper Cole hasn't appeared in a comic since then, but my guess is that he's changing diapers.
Kasper Cole is a fascinating character. Originally I was planning on talking about another White Tiger since a year ago I did a post on the original White Tiger/Hector Ayala. When I found a character who had been both Black Panther and White Tiger, I couldn't ignore it. And the backstory for Kasper is entertaining, I really fall for the "I'm just trying to get by and do right by my family" kind of character. To think King T'Challa would see potential in a guy who was just trying to get a fatter check is endearing to his character too. Part of me wishes he could've stuck around in another book, but really I think Kasper's story went as long as it needed to and refreshed the Black Panther lineage in a way no other character has done. And the "Black & White = African & Jewish" thing going on there? I get it. I like it. And hey, if Black Panther is going to be next character to get the Marvel Trilogy treatment who's to say Kasper Cole won't appear in the future as the lead, the successor, or just the ally of King T'Challa? In a universe where Bartoc The Leaper is a badass, anything is possible.
Thanks for reading!
The OG White Tiger http://panelbiter.blogspot.com/2014/12/la-hora-de-la-luz-hour-of-light.html
During an undercover operation, Kasper and his crew were ambushed by criminals. Thanks to his Black Panther suit, Kasper remained unharmed while his fellow officers ended up hospitalized. His boss Sal Anthony suspended Kasper for five days for not wearing his vest-as Sal believed it was dumb luck Kasper didn't die. Kasper needed that promotion, but playing into the hand of his corrupt boss would make him dependent on Sal, so he sought a new option. Using the Black Panther costume and a phony Wakandan accent, Kasper Cole became The Black Panther of Harlem. He used this persona to expose corrupt cops and stop drug trafficking, then as a clean cop he'd be one of the NYPD's only dependable men. As word spread of this new Black Panther, Cole met both King T'Challa living in the slums of Harlem, and T'Challa's vengeful half-brother, Hunter (The White Wolf). Both sought to manipulate Cole for their own purposes, but Kasper was able to stay on track with his mission.
Eventually, Sal Anthony's son had been kidnapped and he begged Kasper to find him. Kasper knew if he could find Sal's son, he'd help him take down The 66 Bridges Gang instead of just ignoring them like usual. However, finding the boy was difficult even with The Black Panther costume. Kasper went to T'Challa and demanded he'd let him go through The Rite of Ascension-the three trials one must go through before being dubbed The Black Panther and receiving the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives Black Panthers their enhanced abilities. At first Kasper came out strong, researching Wakandan culture and history and passing the first two trials. But before he could finish the Rite, he was attacked by Erik Killmonger. Killmonger had been an enemy of King T'Challa and was obsessed with taking The Black Panther mantle for himself. When Kasper realized he couldn't defeat Killmonger, the two struck a deal. While Killmonger could not take the mantle from him, he did ask Kasper to stop calling himself The Black Panther and simply become an acolyte of The Black Panther Cult. In return, Killmonger would give him a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herb. Though not as powerful, it would still replicate Black Panther's abilities. Killmonger also tried to rescue the boy himself-which Kasper feared would make him owe Killmonger-but T'Challa had already found and rescued the boy. T'Challa then presented Kasper with a white version of the Black Panther suit and the title of "White Tiger". An inverse of his mantle's name, but also borrowing from a New York hero of the same name.
As The White Tiger, Kasper Cole continued his vigilante/cop gig and took on The 66 Bridges Gang. Sadly, it was revealed their leader-Kibuka-was Cole's father Black Jack Cole, and the Gang's second-in-command Triage was Kasper's half-brother. With the help of James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine, Junta, and Josiah X, Kasper was able to bring down the 66 Bridges Gang and make his job a lot easier. Kasper Cole hasn't appeared in a comic since then, but my guess is that he's changing diapers.
Kasper Cole is a fascinating character. Originally I was planning on talking about another White Tiger since a year ago I did a post on the original White Tiger/Hector Ayala. When I found a character who had been both Black Panther and White Tiger, I couldn't ignore it. And the backstory for Kasper is entertaining, I really fall for the "I'm just trying to get by and do right by my family" kind of character. To think King T'Challa would see potential in a guy who was just trying to get a fatter check is endearing to his character too. Part of me wishes he could've stuck around in another book, but really I think Kasper's story went as long as it needed to and refreshed the Black Panther lineage in a way no other character has done. And the "Black & White = African & Jewish" thing going on there? I get it. I like it. And hey, if Black Panther is going to be next character to get the Marvel Trilogy treatment who's to say Kasper Cole won't appear in the future as the lead, the successor, or just the ally of King T'Challa? In a universe where Bartoc The Leaper is a badass, anything is possible.
Thanks for reading!
The OG White Tiger http://panelbiter.blogspot.com/2014/12/la-hora-de-la-luz-hour-of-light.html
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