Black Panther vs Moon Knight Just Gave Me the Perfect Theory, But I Need Frank Ocean Lyrics to Explain It (2024)

Warning: Spoilers for Ultimate Black Panther #6!Picture this: Black Panther, Moon Knight, and Frank Ocean all walk into a bar. Why these three men would all be walking into the same bar, I have no idea, but keep picturing. Two of the superheroes are drunk - not on alcohol, but on power, in their own unique ways - and they goad each other into a fight. Frank Ocean will illustrate the soundtrack to their gladiatorial skirmish.

Frank Ocean lyrics are the key to understanding how the story and proceeding feud will unfold between Black Panther and Moon Knight, which further escalates in Ultimate Black Panther #6 by Bryan Hill, Carlos Nieto, David Curiel, and VC's Cory Petit.

Bear with me at least some of your time and I promise it will all start to make sense. All you need to know is that while the story between Moon Knight and Black Panther continues to unfold, "No Church in the Wild" kept replaying in my mind. Feel free to play that song on repeat while you read this.

Moon Knight and Black Panther Are At War

The Gods of Egypt vs the Gods of Wakanda

Before I can dive into these Frank Ocean lyrics and why they're relevant, we have to set the scene together. We have to first break down why Black Panther and Moon Knight are going to war in the Ultimate Universe. In this world, Moon Knight is hosted by Ra and Khonshu, who together make up one of Marvel's worst villains. Both brothers oversee the whole of West Africa, but with a king in the wings, a conflict is imminent.

This leads to Ra and Khonshu's plot to overthrow T'Challa's Wakanda and overtake it for themselves. It would appear that they want to kill the Black Panther with kindness. No, not by showing kindness to the Black Panther, but to the people of Wakanda. As a redesigned Moon Knight, they begin walking among the Wakandans and inflicting miracles upon them. In their quest for power, Moon Knight is becoming a legend to the Wakandans by seeking out and healing the sick, turning them into followers.

What Does Frank Ocean Have to Do With Any of This?

There's, Indeed, No Church in the Wild for Moon Knight or Black Panther

Okay, it's finally time to break it all down. The Frank Ocean fans don't have to get antsy anymore and the DC fans don't have to keep scratching their heads, because now we're going to take a few moments to try to make sense out of all this. Let's wind the clocks back to 2011, when Jay-Z released a collaboration album with Kanye West (or is it just Ye now? I don't know, I'm not even sure if he knows himself). Anyway, the two dropped a collab project called Watch the Throne, an album on which the first track was called "No Church in the Wild."

The song features both Frank Ocean and The-Dream, but it's Ocean's hook that's most relevant. In the hook, Ocean asks, "Human beings in a mob. What's a mob to a king? What's a king to a god? What's a god to a non-believer who don't believe in anything? Will he make it out alive?"Whether the creative team for Ultimate Black Panther #6 intended to or not, there are direct parallels between Frank Ocean's words, and the story being reflected at the core of the series, as well as hinting at where the story could go next.

Connecting Frank Ocean to Black Panther vs. Moon Knight

Breaking It Down Further

"No Church in the World" evokes royal imagery, from kings to religion. Both are themes at the heart of this comic, but as is often the case in stories (and maybe modern politics), few things are bigger than the people in the middle of it all. Neither a king nor a god is anything without their followers, and Moon Knight understands that better than most. That's why he makes an effort to extend himself to the people upon whose backs he wants to build his empire.

To reach the people, Moon Knight must get up close, and personal with them, actually physically reaching out to them in ways that T'Challa cannot and does not from the confines of his kingdom. Even T'Challa acknowledges this fact and is visibly frustrated with how Moon Knight is using it to one-up him, essentially. The king of Wakanda is isolated from his people while Moon Knight walks among them. To echo Frank Ocean, a mob may not mean much to a king, but a king means nothing to a mob when they can't see him before them.

Even if T'Challa is helping Wakanda from behind the scenes, it's not in ways that the Wakandans can actually see to win them over. "Why respect a king behind a wall, when a god walks among you?" T'Challa's right, and he, too, echoes Frank Ocean. After all, "What's a king to a god?" T'Challa is actively losing his people to a living legend and living god. But that brings us to a profound question - if we are to look at these Frank Ocean lyrics as gospel, then who, pray tell, is the non-believer?

A Non-Believer Could Be the Dark Horse Winner of this War

When Black Panther Takes On Moon Knight, Who Wins?

Black Panther is obviously the king, Moon Knight is the god, but who could be the non-believer who don't believe in anything? Frank Ocean implies that a non-believer trumps both the king and the god, as he doesn't believe in either party, allowing the non-believer to be a sort of X-Factor in the matter, perhaps even someone who could build their own following or religion. If anyone emerges as the non-believer of this storyline, I think they could be the one who actually makes it out alive.

But who could that non-believer be? One option would be T'Challa. The only way for him to fight fire with fire against Moon Knight and to win the people over would be for T'Challa to strip himself down and walk among the Wakandans himself. He already doesn't believe in Moon Knight's hype, as he sees Moon Knight for who Ra and Khonshu truly are. T'Challa will need to cast his own pride aside and strip himself bear to walk along the same streets of the Wakandans if he wants to earn their respect back.

Meanwhile, a non-believer could be a completely different person who could interject themselves into this war, maybe even coming out as the victor. One of these candidates is Shuri, who has been firmly in the background since the start of the series. Then, there's Storm and Killmonger, a couple that could strike at any moment. Whatever happens, if one thing is for sure, Frank Ocean's lyrics may unlock the secrets behind how this Moon Knight vs. Black Panther war could end.