The Black Panther movie character is not named after a political group

The Black Panther movie, set for release on February 16, 2018, has been receiving some backlash from people who complain that the character is named after a terrorist group. They're referring to the Black Panther Party, a group founded by Huey P. Newton in 1966. That was the same year the Black Panther character was published by Marvel Comics. But the character wasn't named after Newton's Black Panther Party. Vulture called it "one of those weird historical overlaps with zero real significance."

The Black Panther comic book character made his first appearance in July 1966 in the Fantastic Four #52. The creators originally considered calling him The Coal Tiger. Marvel attempted to distance the character from the Black Panther Party, which often engaged in violent confrontations with police. For a time, the character was just called The Panther and then renamed the Black Leopard to avoid association with the controversial group. However, neither name caught on.