M'Baku first appears in Avengers #62, dated March 1969 and put on sale on January 9, 1969, in a story titled "The Monarch and the Man-Ape!", written by Roy Thomas and drawn by John Buscema. He is Man-Ape right away, a Wakandan warrior who has revived the forbidden White Gorilla cult to challenge T'Challa and take the throne. He returns in Avengers #78 and #79 (1970) alongside the Lethal Legion. The movies' M'Baku, played by Winston Duke since Black Panther (2018) and announced in Avengers: Doomsday (December 18, 2026), differs clearly: leader of the Jabari, a rival turned ally, and never called Man-Ape. For a collector, Avengers #62 is the only first-appearance issue; the others are milestones.
Few characters have changed as much between page and screen. In the comics, M'Baku spent most of his career as a second-rank villain, often in the service of others, sometimes killed, regularly resurrected. In the movies, he became one of the best-loved characters of the Black Panther universe, with a humor and dignity his first paper appearances did not let you guess. Understanding this gap is the first thing to do before looking for his issues.
This article focuses on a single character. The country, its leaders and the key issues of Wakanda as a whole have their own guide; so do Black Panther and Shuri. Here, it is about M'Baku: where he is born, what his appearances tell, and how to file them.
Avengers #62: the birth of Man-Ape
Avengers #62
"The Monarch and the Man-Ape!" brings Black Panther back to Wakanda with the Avengers. During his absence, M'Baku, presented as one of the country's greatest warriors, second only to T'Challa, has revived the White Gorilla cult the king had proscribed. He killed one of the jungle's rare white gorillas, bathed in its blood and ate its flesh, a ritual meant to transmit the animal's strength to him. Under the name Man-Ape, he publicly challenges T'Challa for the throne and rejects Wakanda's technological modernization.
The issue is part of Roy Thomas's long run on the Avengers, at a time when Black Panther has been a member of the team only for a short while. It is also a moment when Marvel seeks to give Wakanda political depth: an inner rival, who contests the king in the name of tradition, is a new idea for the character. Black Panther's own origin goes back to Fantastic Four #52, three years earlier; our article on Black Panther's first appearance details the context.
You must also look at this issue with 2026 eyes. The name Man-Ape and the character's imagery, an African who transforms into an ape-man, belong to stereotypes current readers perceive immediately. It is precisely what the movies chose to abandon, and it is a part of the character's history it would be dishonest to erase.
The appearances that follow
M'Baku does not stay long under the statue. His main supporter, N'Gamo, brings him back, and he follows Black Panther to New York. Here are the documented milestones of his comics career, in order.
Avengers #78 and #79 (1970): the Lethal Legion
"The Man-Ape Always Strikes Twice!", dated July 1970, by Roy Thomas and Sal Buscema. M'Baku joins the Grim Reaper's Lethal Legion, with the Living Laser, Power Man and the Swordsman. He kidnaps Monica Lynne, T'Challa's companion, and it is Captain America who puts him out of action. Banished from Wakanda on pain of death, he becomes a mercenary.
West Coast Avengers #1 and #2 (second series): the break with the Grim Reaper
The Grim Reaper reforms a Lethal Legion and calls M'Baku back to it. But his leader's racism pushes him to leave the group with Black Talon. It is the first time the character refuses an alliance on moral grounds.
Thunderbolts #24 and #25: the Masters of Evil
He is part of an incarnation of the Masters of Evil assembled by Crimson Cowl, but he is put out of action before the battle even begins. A walk-on role, typical of his 1990s period.
Civil War: Battle Damage Report #1: the Jabari's representative
In a document tied to the Civil War event, M'Baku represents the Jabari tribe at a pan-African congress gathered in Wakanda on the treatment of superhumans. It is one of the first times the comics explicitly tie him to the Jabari, the link the movies will place at the center.
Black Panther #4 (fifth series): the death by Morlun
The totemic hunter Morlun, Spider-Man's enemy, kills him by feeding on his totem. M'Baku then reappears in Villains for Hire #3 and #4, without his resurrection being really explained.
Black Panther #4 (sixth series) and Long Live the King: the succession and the return
In the series launched in 2016, M'Baku is dead again and his brother Mandla has taken up the White Gorilla mantle. In Black Panther: Long Live the King #3 and #4, Baron Macabre resurrects him with supernatural powers, before Black Panther, Shuri and Kantu neutralize him.
Between these milestones, M'Baku also appears among the inmates of Pleasant Hill, the prison where S.H.I.E.L.D. rewrote villains' memories, in All-New, All-Different Avengers #8. It is the kind of group appearance that does not count for a collector, but shows how long the character served as a silhouette.
The movies' M'Baku: a different character
The movies kept three things from the character: his name, his Wakandan origin and his status as T'Challa's rival. They changed almost everything else.
In Black Panther (2018), M'Baku, played by Winston Duke, is the leader of the Jabari, a mountain tribe that refuses the throne's authority. He challenges T'Challa in the ritual combat for the crown, loses, but is not killed. He then returns as an ally, offers refuge to the royal family and takes part in the final battle. The character is never called Man-Ape, does not transform, and the White Gorilla cult becomes a tribal spirituality treated with respect.
The character reappears in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), then takes a bigger place in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022). Marvel Studios announced on March 26, 2025 that Winston Duke would reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday, whose release is set for December 18, 2026. Nothing of the plot is known at this stage, and this guide does not venture to guess it.
For a collector, the consequence is important: no comic issue tells the movies' M'Baku. Whoever loved the character in the movies and buys Avengers #62 will discover a 1960s villain, not the Jabari leader. It is a history purchase, not a reading purchase in the sense the viewer means.
What the first appearance is worth, without a figure
Avengers #62 is a Silver Age issue, dated 1969, published in a Marvel main series. It is therefore less rare than a 1940s issue, but harder to find in very fine condition than a modern issue: the paper yellows, the staples rust, the spines wear.
Its demand depends almost entirely on the character's presence on screen, which makes it unstable. The 2018 and 2022 adaptations drew attention to the issue; Avengers: Doomsday may do so again at the end of 2026. But demand carried by a film often falls back once the film is out, especially when the character's role remains secondary. This guide gives no amount, because no source consulted publishes a dated, verifiable price for this issue over the recent period.
The prudent rule is simple: if you are looking for Avengers #62, look for it for what it is, a Silver Age first appearance in an important Avengers run, and not for a bet on December 2026. Our guide to the period following a film's release describes what generally happens to this type of issue.
How to collect M'Baku
The essential: Avengers #62
It is the only indispensable issue. Check that it is indeed the original American edition, and not a reprint or a foreign edition, which do not have the same status. The cover and the March 1969 date are the first landmarks.
The complement: Avengers #78 and #79
These two issues complete the origin arc and are found more easily. They let you read Man-Ape's story as Roy Thomas had conceived it, before the character becomes a walk-on.
For the curious: the modern appearances
The Civil War pan-African congress and the 2010s Black Panther period show the character's evolution toward the Jabari representative. They are abundant issues, to take for reading.
To place M'Baku in Wakanda as a whole, our guide to the Wakanda key issues before Doomsday tours the country, and the history of Shuri sheds light on the other Wakandan figure announced in the film. The Black Panther hub gathers the rest.