Kasper Cole
Kasper Cole is a male comic superhero who features in Marvel Comics.
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Biography
Kasper Cole
Several months ago, he came to find a costume that was bullet proof and lighter than a bullet proof vest. Unknown to him, it actually was the habit of the Black Panther though it was damaged with one arm missing. Despite that, Kasper began to wear it underneath his clothes where it helped protect him from gunshots. One day, he was out with his crew where they were attacked though Cole was protected by the Black Panther habit. Later on, his superiors came to suspend him for 5 days for not wearing a vest with Kasper unable to reveal the fact that he had the Black Panther habit thus forcing him to accept the decision. Unable to operate as a police officer, Cole decided to use the Black Panther guise to secretly operate as a vigilante and to fight crime on the streets until his suspension was over. After failing to recruit Kasper, Sal had Kasper and his fellow officers ambushed. Thanks to the costume, Kasper survived, though the other officers were hospitalized in the ICU. (Black Panther v3 #50)
After giving up being a superhero and returning to the police full time, Kevin found himself in a dead-end desk job working for inconsiderate superiors for lousy pay. His ex-girlfriend Gwen threw him out of his mother's apartment and would not let him see their newborn son without proper child support. Kevin ended up living in a massively downscaled apartment complex that he could barely afford on a desk jockey's salary. While working on an assignment, Kevin was contacted by T'Challa to request his services one last time, he accepted since his assignment correlated to the favor T'Challa was asking him. This task involved him sifting through suspect reports about grizzly killings regarding Elias Wirtham who'd been conducting illicit surgical experiments on the black market. It turned out that the Wirtham's research had been funded with Vibranium smuggled out of Wakanda by the mutant criminal The Vanisher. With the villain's latest drop being centered near his neighborhood, Kevin busted Wirtham in his White Tiger persona and found out that Elias was only dealing with the Vanisher because he needed new Vibranium implants as his powers were on the wane. Cole left Cardiac handcuffed to his unlicensed patient while he headed to the Bar with No Name, the designated meeting place between Wirtham and the Vanisher. Kevin approached the Vanisher, pretending to be Wirtham's go-to-guy. He let down his disguise when tagging the villain with his Vibranium knives. When the Vanisher teleported all the way back to Birnin Zana with the stolen Vibranium, White Tiger hitched a ride and doused him with it in order to trap him in place. Discontented with having ended up where he didn't want to return, Kevin immediately asked for a flight back to New York. T'Challa instead made Kevin an offer to properly train him and school him in the ways of Wakanda for his past and present services, coupled with a Wakandan arsenal of weapons and gadgetry, and an all-new look with augmented body armor. (Black Panther: World of Wakanda v1 #6)
Overview
Personality and attributes
He had been given the name Kasper on account of his lighter toned skin. (Black Panther v3 #50)
Kasper Cole's father was Jonathan Payton Cole who served as a police officer with him being considered the greatest cop to had ever lived. To his son, Jack Cole was a noble and proud warrior who was both respected and feared. Though known as Jack Cole, he was given the name Black Jack on account of his skin being so dark. It was said that he was the most highly respected cop on the police force. It was said that Black Jack took risks in his life with these ultimately going against him and leading to him being sent to prison. (Black Panther v3 #50)
He lived with his mother Ruth and his pregnant girlfriend Gwen in a squalid apartment in Harlem. (Black Panther v3 #50)
Powers and abilities
After making a deal with T'Challa's nemesis Erik Killmonger, Kasper was given a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herbal potion that gives the Black Panther their powers. (Black Panther v3 #61)
Cole has been frequently overwhelmed by his heightened senses (especially smell) since taking the synthetic heart-shaped herbal resulting in severe nausea and vomiting. (Black Panther v3 #62)
Initially, he came to acquire the Black Panther habit that was the raiment of the King of Wakanda. The suit was initially damaged but was bullet proof and much lighter than a vest. He began to wear it underneath his existing clothes as it made it easier for him to change. (Black Panther v3 #50)
Cole can track those tagged via an advanced pocket computer which also has numerous other capabilities and a Kimiyo Card. (The Crew v1 #2) Cole could also utilize it as a communications device and 3-D holographic projector system to have a more meaningful face to face conversations. (Black Panther: World of Wakanda v1 #6)
Kasper Cole was initially non-powered, wearing only the Black Panther's outfit for protection and carrying a pair of 9×19mm pistols. (Black Panther v3 #51)
Hand-held energy emitting weapon capable of cutting through most surfaces. The blade can also be used as a ranged weapon firing from the handle. (Black Panther v3 #60)
He came to be an officer in the narcotics division of the New York Police Department's Organized Crime Control Bureau (OCCB), looking to be promoted to homicide detective. (Black Panther v3 #50)
Notes
- The Kasper Cole Black Panther was created by Christopher Priest and Dan Fraga where he made his first appearance in Black Panther v3 #50 (December, 2002).
- In an interview, Priest said that the character was pitched by Priest as a 'dark satire of Spider-Man', in line with work he had done on DC Comics' Steel, who functioned similarly as a 'dysfunctional Superman'.
- Priest commented on the characters motivation, "Tom DeFalco once taught me that Spider-Man's motivation for being Spider-Man was to patrol the city looking for crimes so he could photograph himself in the act of stopping the crimes and sell the photos to Jameson to raise money to pay his rent which was always late. Kasper's motive is to wear the costume so he won't be recognized by the good guys or the bad guys as he goes about cleaning up his precinct so he can get a promotion to Detective so he can make enough money to marry his pregnant girlfriend and move them all out of Harlem."
- In addition, Priest had noted the character of Kasper Cole and his friends and family therefore take many cues from Peter Parker and his supporting cast, with Kasper's mother Ruth correlating with Aunt May, his father Jack with Uncle Ben and his girlfriend Gwen with Gwen Stacy.
- Priest had commented that he also drew inspiration from the film Training Day, as well as sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
Appearances
- Black Panther v3: (2002)
- Black Panther: World of Wakanda v1:
External Links
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