| M'Baku was one of the greatest warriors of the African nation Wakanda, second only to T'Challa, the Black Panther himself. While the Panther, king of the Wakanda, was on leave from his royal duties to serve the Avengers in America, the ambitious M'Baku plotted to usurp the throne. The Wakandan culture had evolved from a hunter-warrior society and was traditionally ruled by its greatest warrior. The Black Panther had outlawed the rival White Gorilla cult from Wakanda while the Panther cult was dominant. M'Baku flouted T'Challa's edicts and revived the White Gorilla cult, personally stalking and killing one of the rare white gorillas living in the jungles near Wakanda. Bathing in the gorilla's blood and eating the gorilla's flesh mystically conferred its great strength upon M'Baku Now, calling himself the Man-Ape, he openly challenged the Panther's right to rule. |
