[2] The character is commonly depicted as a skilled hunter and mercenary born in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, who holds a grudge against the country and its people after his biological parents were killed when he was young.
Raised outside of Wakanda, he eventually returns as a revolutionary leader and terrorist to exact his revenge, and repeatedly challenges the nation's king and protector, Black Panther, who becomes his most prominent adversary.
Erik Killmonger first appeared in the "Panther's Rage" storyline, initially in Jungle Action #6-8 (September 1973 - January 1974), and was created by writer Don McGregor and penciler Rich Buckler.
His parents are killed by raiders led by M'Demwe, a traitorous citizen of the Golden Realm who sells out secrets of his home nation to Ulysses Klaue, and subsequently takes him in.
While studying in Harlem, New York, Erik attempts multiple times to murder the source of his woes, but is confounded by supervillainous power players working under the likes of Wilson Fisk/Kingpin.
Eventually he falls in love with a teammate, Knight, and finds temporary solace in her company, while taking odd jobs under the lord of crime in New York.
[8] The two converse about Wakandan theology while asking about the deity whom Erik is secretly living with, all whilst plotting his revenge against his liege, and the nation he blames for his abandonment to the corruption beyond it.
[9] While re-acquainting himself with Wakanda, N'Jadaka discovers plans for a WMD called Project: Koukou, a deadly vibranium shock bomb meant to act as a colonizer deterrent.
[volume & issue needed] He then takes advantage of Black Panther's frequent absences in America with the Avengers to stage a coup d'état, along with Baron Macabre.
Killmonger returns to his lover and ally, Madam Slay, and the two plot to kill Black Panther and restore the ancient ways of Wakanda.
He maintains control of Wakanda for a while and even attempts to inherit T'Challa's Avengers status, but when he undergoes the ascension rite needed to cement his position, his body has a severe reaction to the heart-shaped herb that he is required to consume - it is poisonous to all but the royal bloodline.
[14] After Marvel's multiversal reboot in Secret Wars, Killmonger once again is resurrected by an intergalactic superpower based upon Wakanda's cultural heritage; one that lacks its more pacifistic approach to handling different races and ethnicities.
A leading ruler of said empire which conquered five galaxies while taking up his name seeks to supplant the original N'Jadaka's body so as to overtake the Wakanda of now in revenge on the king of the future for killing him.
The parasitic entity threatens to cast Killmonger back unto death should he disobey him, while the precursor to the galactic overlord promising to master and supplant it in response.
[52][53] Additionally, he is the son of Prince N'Jobu and an American woman from Oakland, California, and his chest is covered with self-inflicted scarification dots that represent each of his confirmed kills.
[57][58][59] Erik Killmonger is referenced in the song "King's Dead", produced by rappers Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, and Future as part of Black Panther's soundtrack.