Animation Magazine reports that BET has greenlit a new animated series of The Black Panther, the first major black superhero. In partnership with Marvel Comics, the series will premiere in early 2009.

The Black Panther is a wise and just African warrior king who struggles to balance progress with tradition as he conceals his identity and employs technology to combat the forces of evil from his base in the fictional kingdom of Wakanda. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, The Black Panther first appeared in a 1966 issue of Fantastic Four and eventually joined other famous Marvel characters in the superhero conglomerate known as the Avengers.