After his parents' death in a plane crash in Wakanda, Hunter was adopted by King T'Chaka. Being a white foreigner, Hunter was viewed with suspicion and even contempt by the cautious Wakandans. Despite this, he developed a true love for Wakanda as one of his adopted homeland's staunchest patriots. Hunter knew he would never ascend to the throne with T'Challa as the true heir and, feeling cheated, developed a deep jealousy for T'Challa. He drove himself to be the best Wakandan possible in an attempt to upstage his adopted brother. It was this fervor that led to the previous Black Panther appointing Hunter as leader of the Hatut Zeraze (the secret police of Wakanda) where he became known as the White Wolf.