XCON
Membership: Iron Man (future self), Myron Mason, Jeffrey Sutter, Jack Taylor
Purpose: To finance operations to overthrow the government of Wakanda and replace it with one aligned to western interests
Affiliations: Achebe (Michael ibn al-Hajj Achebe), Sergev Andropov, C.I.A., Los Cuarenta Ladrones, D.E.A., Dzhokhar Gapon, the Hand, Mossad, Delroy Richmond, U.S. Government
(formerly) Junta (Danny Vincent)
Enemies: Black Panther (T'Challa), Dora Milaje (Nakia, Okoye), Hatut Zeraze (White Wolf/Hunter), Iron Man (Tony Stark), Junta (Danny Vincent), Monica Lynne, Queen Divine Justice (Chante Giovanni Brown), Everett K. Ross, Sgt. Tork, Wolverine (Logan), Zuri
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York, USA; Chicago, Illinois, USA;
various international operations including a casino boat on St. Mary's River near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada; Langevin Building, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Ghudaza; Volcan Dumoyo
First Appearance: (unidentified) Black Panther III#9 (July, 1999)
(identified as XCon) Black Panther III#41 (April, 2002)
History:
(Black Panther III#9 (fb) - BTS) - For years, western powers pursued attempts to exchange technology with Wakanda but they were disallowed by King T'Challa. As they unaware of the full capabilities of Wakanda's scientific, strategic or tactical resources, countries including the United States were nervous about Wakanda and began to clandestinely seek ways to sponsor a coup in Wakanda so that T'Challa could no longer oppose them. Rather than do this through official channels, the C.I.A. used a loosely-defined organization of "independent" operators (eventually identified as XCon) using aas their front Spectrum Dyanmics Corporation and its CEO Jack Taylor. Spectrum made alliances with the Russian mob represented by Dzhokhar Gapon, Volcan Domuyo's secret police Los Cuarenta Ladrones and their representative Danny Vincent. XCon allied themselves with Achebe, a fanatic from the nation Ghudaza, nearby Wakanda. XCon encouraged the D.E.A. to loosen its surveillance of Gapon; Gapon then funded money to the LCL; Danny Vincent used the Russian money to finance Achebe in his pursuit of an ethnic war against Ghudaza's neighbor, Ujanka. To draw T'Challa away from Wakanda, Gapon hired Delroy Richmond to kill Jamie Robins at the site of a building financed by T'Challa's Tomorrow Fund.
(Black Panther III#1 - BTS) - T'Challa opened Wakanda's doors to refugees from Ujanka and Ghudaza fleeing the genocide. Unfortunately, their presence in Wakanda caused a crisis within the nation as the two groups' ethnic conflict continued while the local Wakandan population were unhappy about their presence.
(Black Panther III#3 - BTS) - Achebe entered Wakanda as a supposed "refugee," as XCon had planned, as Wakanda was evidently unaware of Achebe's role in the genocide.
(Black Panther III#1 - BTS) - When T'Challa learned of Jamie's death, he left Wakanda with a contingent of support staff to investigate the murder.
(Black Panther III#2 - BTS) - The moment T'Challa was gone, Achebe launched his coup and claimed control over Wakanda.
(Black Panther III#9 (fb) - BTS) - Once Achebe assumed power in Wakanda, XCon influenced the U.S. Senate Arms Committee to approve the sale of G-8 computer processors built by Spectrum Dynamics to Volcan Domuyo as payment for Vincent's work in Ghudaza.
(Black Panther III#3 - BTS) - T'Challa captured Delroy Richmond for killing Jamie.
(Black Panther III#8 - BTS) - Operatives of XCon placed Monica Lynne into an exoskeleton built by Spectrum Dynamics which was under Achebe's remote control so he could force her to perform an attempted assassination on U.S. soil.
(Black Panther III#9) - Monica Lynne was debriefed by the NYPD over her kidnapping but Danny Vincent, using his contacts with the NSA, attended the debriefing session on behalf of XCon to confiscate evidence from Monica's person.
Determined to expose the parties responsible for equipping Monica with the exoskeleton, the Black Panther and his Dora Milaje discovered an ice cream truck outfitted with expensive communication equipment had been in the area of the attempted assassination. Sergev Andropov from Gapon's mob was operating the truck and as he confronted Andropov with what he knew, Achebe taunted T'Challa from one of the communication devices in the ice cream truck. T'Challa went after Gapon himself and from him learned of Jack Taylor's involvement.
T'Challa dropped the ice cream truck from the air into Taylor's penthouse apartment; while the Dora Milaje handled Taylor's security force, T'Challa captured Taylor and revealed everything he'd learned about XCon's plot.
(Black Panther III#10) - T'Challa confronted Danny Vincent for his part in XCon's operations. Vincent blasely claimed if Taylor hadn't hired him to arm the rebels in Ghudaza, he would have hired Mossad or the Hand to do the same work. T'Challa warned Vincent that the computer processors Taylor supplied to Volcan Dumoyo had hairline fractures which would cause them to fail in 5 years.
(Black Panther III#11) - Operatives working for XCon (either Russian Mob, LCL or C.I.A.) attacked T'Challa's limousine and fought the Dora Milaje, Sgt. Tork, Everett K. Ross and Zuri. They evaded the attackers and boarded T'Challa's N'Yami-Class flagship to swiftly depart New York.
(Black Panther III#45 (fb) - BTS) - XCon obtained King Solomon's Frogs, cosmic artifacts which permitted time travel. They altered the devices so that instead of summoning a figure at random from the past or future, the devices could be used to target specific individuals.
(Black Panther III#44 (fb)) - XCon used the frogs to summon the Prime Minister of Canada from 6 seconds into the future; as he arrived in a disoriented state they employed post-hypnotic suggestions to brainwash the alternate Prime Minster, then stashed away the real Prime Minister, making themselves the de facto rulers of Canada. Next, they decided to use the frogs to do the same with the U.S. President and Tony Stark.
(Black Panther III#44 (fb)) - When Danny Vincent learned of XCon's plan he turned against them just as they'd summoned a future self of the U.S. President. Vincent took the real President and escaped XCon, seeking out the Black Panther to inform him of XCon's plan. XCon ordered Vincent's death.
(Black Panther III#44 (fb) - BTS) - Incensed at XCon for supporting Achebe's coup, Hunter, the White Wolf targeted and apparently slew all of the organization's leaders using his Hatut Zeraze operatives. However, the rank and file members of XCon were unaware of their leadership's decimation; Hunter allowed the plot to control the United States and Canada to continue, intending to become the shadow ruler of both countries.
(Black Panther III#41) - The Hatut Zeraze continued to kill XCon agents, elminating Myron Mason in Chicago. T'Challa learned of the deaths of Mason and other XCon figures and quickly learned they had already staged their coup in Canada.
(Black Panther III#42) - The Black Panther, Iron Man and Wolverine all invaded a floating casino boat on St. Mary's River near Sault Ste. Marie where XCon had stashed King Solomon's Frogs inside their vault. Wolverine defeated Jeffrey Sutter, XCon's top agent on the ship, and he stole the frogs for the Black Panther.
(Black Panther III#43 - BTS) - T'Challa made an attempt to annex Canada on behalf of Wakanda, hoping to flush XCon into the open.
(Black Panther III#44 (fb)) - Iron Man went to the Langevin Building in Ottawa to confront XCon's leadership but found the White Wolf occupying the office. Hunter calmly explained to Iron Man how he'd usurped XCon's plan to his own ends.
(Black Panther III#44) - When Tony Stark confronted T'Challa with what he'd learned, T'Challa admitted he'd kept Stark out of the loop because he couldn't be certain XCon hadn't already replaced him with his future self. Tony was knocked out by T'Challa's allies, but XCon's future self of Tony Stark was still at large and took his other self's Iron Man armor to attack the Black Panther.
(Black Panther III#45) - XCon's Iron Man went after Junta and Queen Divine Justice, who were defending the real U.S. President, but Iron Man tried to persuade Queen Divine Justice to think she was actually assisting XCon, claiming the real U.S. President was the one in the White House and Vincent was defending the fake. The Black Panther's own alternate self, the so-called "Happy Pants" Black Panther defeated XCon's Iron Man. After his defeat, Mr. Little used King Solomon's Frogs to return the future selves of Canada's Prime Minister, the U.S. President and Iron Man to their proper points in time. Junta pointed out the real Prime Minister was still stashed where XCon had left him and proposed sending Alpha Flight to rescue him.
Comments: Created by Christopher Priest and Mike Manley.
Although XCon wasn't named until Black Panther III#41, it's easier to refer to the organization consistently by that name for brevity's sake.
In Black Panther III#9, T'Challa took both Taylor and Gapon prisoner; in issue #13, it was revealed he'd turned Gapon over to the United Nations, who released him to Interpol; Taylor was likely turned over to the authorities at the same time.
Because at the time Black Panther III#41-45 were published Marvel was using lower-case lettering in dialogue (rather than the typical all-caps format), we know it's properly XCon, not XCON.
As described in Black Panther III#9, XCon's plot bares similarities to the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal; the "Con" in XCon might be in reference to that affair.
When Priest wrote Black Panther III#9-10 he intended them to follow the same format as the book's previous 8 issues (illustrated primarily with painted art by Mark Texeira and Joe Jusko) but his editors turned the art chores over to Mike Manley with instructions to make the book look like the Batman animated series. Priest attempted to change gears to please his editors and wrote issues #11-12 for Manley, only for his editors to turn those issues over to Mark Bright (Priest later said these sudden shifts in art and tone nearly killed the series prematurely). The reason the XCon plot was dropped so suddenly in issue #11 was likely because Priest was trying to deliver the Batman pastiche his editors requested.
Profile by Prime Eternal.
CLARIFICATIONS:
XCon should not be confused with:
Myron "MGM" Mason was a record producer for Ghetto Cartel Records in Chicago, Illinois; he was apparently involved with the 66 Bridges drug cartel and used drug money to found his record label. Secretly, Mason was an operative of XCon, using his record lable as a front for the C.I.A. and laundering money into Volcan Dumoyo for them. Mason's contacts at XCon influenced the D.E.A. to look the other way where Mason's drug dealing was concerned. Mason considered himself untouchable; on one occasion, when his Jaguar was towed for a parking violation Mason stormed into the mayor's office and beat him with a champagne bottle. However, when the White Wolf began killing XCon's leadership, Mason was killed by the Hatut Zeraze. Mason's death alerted Iron Man to XCon's operations.
--Black Panther III#41
Jeffrey Sutter was a U.S. intelligence agent who worked for XCon. His wife was named Margie. He was stationed aboard a floating casino on St. Mary's River, nearby Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, where XCon's copy of King Solomon's Frog was housed. Wolverine broke into Sutter's office on the ship; although Sutter fired at him with his gun, Wolverine was protected with Vibranium garments (besides his mutant healing factor). Unable to stop Wolverine, Sutter could only watch as he entered a disk into Sutter's computer which linked it to Wakanda's satellite network so T'Challa could overcome the ship's security systems and steal King Solomon's Frog from XCon.
--Black Panther III#42
Jack Taylor was the CEO of Spectrum Dynamics Corporation, a U.S. Government contractor which manufactured fighter jets, aircraft carriers, spy satellites and exoskeltons. Taylor was also actively involved with the C.I.A. and was a principal agent in XCon's operations. In an attempt to depose T'Challa as king of Wakanda and obtain access to the country's Vibranium, Taylor helped orchestrate an alliance with Achebe, Los Cuarenta Ladrones and the Russian mob. Taylor supplied a $30 million ice cream truck built by Spectrum to Dzhokar Gapon's mob which had been outfitted with sophisticated technology to use in their attempt to force Monica Lynne to perform an assassination. After Danny Vincent armed rebels in Ghudaza, Taylor used his influence to send computer processors built by Spectrum to Volcan Dumoyo, although he arranged for them to be sabotaged so they'd fail in 5 years. T'Challa learned Taylor was involved in the XCon plot and captured him from his penthouse apartment. T'Challa took Taylor prisoner but declared it was an act of "political asylum."
--Black Panther III#9
images: (without ads)
Black Panther III#11, page 4, panel 2 (main)
Black Panther III#44, page 12, panel 4 (agents with 'X' on uniforms)
Black Panther III#41, page 1, panel 2 (Mason)
Black Panther III#42, page 13, panel 6 (Sutter)
Black Panther III#9, page 14, panel 4 (Taylor)
Appearances:
Black Panther III#1-3 (November, 1998-January, 1999) - Christopher Priest (writer), Mark Texeira (artist), Alitha Martinez (backgrounds), Joe Quesada (editor), Jimmy Palmiotti (editor)
Black Panther III#8 (June, 1999) - Christopher Priest (writer), Joe Jusko (penciler), Vincent Evans (washes), Jimmy Palmiotti (inker, editor), Joe Quesada (editor)
Black Panther III#9-10 (July-August, 1999) - Christopher Priest (writer), Mike Manley (artist), Joe Quesada (editor), Jimmy Palmiotti (editor)
Black Panther III#11 (September, 1999) - Christopher Priest (writer), Mark Bright (penciler), Nelson DeCastro (inker), Joe Quesada (editor), Jimmy Palmiotti (editor)
Black Panther III#41-43 (April-June, 2002) - Christopher Priest (writer), Sal Velluto (penciler), Bob Almond (inker), Mike Marts (editor)
Black Panther III#44 (July, 2002) - Christopher Priest (writer), Sal Velluto (penciler), Steve Geiger (inker), "Justin Thyme" (inker), Mike Marts (editor)
Black Panther III#45 (August, 2002) - Christopher Priest (writer), Sal Velluto (penciler), Bob Almond (inker), Mike Marts (editor)
First posted: 05/28/2026
Last updated:
05/28/2026
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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