This is it. The final chapter before Infinity War begins! We were already introduced to T’Challa as the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, but he has finally gotten his own solo movie! The MCU has taken us to Asgard, the world of magic, and deep space, but now it’s time to introduce another piece of the Marvel Universe that fans have wanted to see. It’s time to finally see Wakanda!
Plot
After the death of his father at the hands of the Winter Soldier, T’Challa returns to Wakanda and is crowned as the new king and is given the title of “Black Panther.” Being king, as you’d guess, is no easy task particularly when Wakanda is home to the greatest technology and strongest metal in the world: vibranium. When both an old and new threat emerge from the shadows, T’Challa’s beliefs and skills are put to the ultimate test.
Villain
As stated earlier, Black Panther faces off against both an old and a new threat. The old villain is none other than Ulysses Klaue who we first saw in Avengers: Age of Ultron. If you remember though, Klaue had his arm sliced off by Ultron himself. However, Klaue is back with a new sound wave blasting arm cannon that causes quite a bit of trouble for Black Panther. He’s still his hilarious yet crazy self from Age of Ultron, but it was great to see his more villainous side this time around. He has some great moments in the film, and it’s clear to see why he has given the people of Wakanda trouble for over 30 years.
The big bad though is Wakanda native and cousin to T’Challa, Erik Killmonger. Killmonger’s father was T’Challa’s uncle who seemingly abandoned his people to start a life of crime. That, however, was not the case. Killmonger’s father, N’jobu left Wakanda because he believed that others from African descent needed help; help that Wakanda could easily provide. T’Challa’s father T’Chakka caught up with N’jobu and killed him to preserve the secret location of Wakanda. And thus, the villain Killmonger was born. Killmonger spent his whole life training, learning, and fighting in the army so that he would be ready; ready for the day that he could become the new Black Panther and use Wakanda’s resources in a way that would help African people all around the world. It took a long time, but Marvel finally made an MCU villain that is on par with Loki. Not only is he a well-developed character, Michael B. Jordan does an excellent job portraying him. Also, he’s the type of villain whose motives aren’t that despicable. His motives are actually quite honorable. He has seen how cruel the world is to people like him and he thinks his people deserve better. It’s not even like he goes about becoming the Black Panther in a sinister way either. He competes in the same ritual battle for the title of Black Panther as T’Challa did in the beginning of the film. When I saw the previews for this film, I was so worried that he was just going to be yet another evil clone of the hero cliché that Marvel is famous for. I’m so glad to say this isn’t the case. He is a relatable villain that will be remembered as one of Marvel’s best for a long time.
Best Scene
Am I allowed to say the entire movie? No? OK. My personal favorite scene has to be when Killmonger first arrives in Wakanda and tells T’Challa that he wants the throne. The two go to the battle ground and Killmonger just has this great set of lines about how he has spent his whole life training for the moment that he could become the new Black Panther. He mentions in the film that he gave himself a scar for every kill he ever made, he then takes his shirt off to reveal his entire body is covered in those scars. Killmonger and T’Challa then have an epic fight that ends not only with T’Challa’s defeat, but also the death of T’Challa’s advisor Zuri. This is also the part of the movie where Killmonger reveals that T’Challa’s father wasn’t as noble as everyone thought he was, and how T’Challa’s father was essentially the reason Killmonger became the way that he was. It also helps that Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. George are incredible actors and enhance both their characters to new levels.
Stan Lee Cameo
In the beginning of the movie, Black Panther gets a lead as to where Klaue will make an appearance next. He takes two of Wakanda’s best badasses, Okoye and Nakia with him to South Korea. They enter into an underground gambling ring and Black Panther spots the American that Klaue is meeting with: CIA agent Everett Ross (last seen in Civil War)! T’Challa meets him at a poker table with chips in hand. Klaue arrives soon after and T’Challa quickly leaves. Before Everett can say anything else, Stan Lee awkwardly walks over saying “You know what, I’m just gonna slide these chips over here and I’m gonna keep them company.”
Post Credits Scenes
Marvel was kind enough to give us two! The first has T’Challa making an announcement to the world that Wakanda will finally be sharing its resources and technology with the world. He gives an inspirational speech about how we are all more alike than we are different. He continues with the speech until someone interrupts him asking how a “third world country” like Wakanda can possibly help the world. T’Challa finds Everett in the crowd and they both start to laugh.
The second scene takes us back to Wakanda to find “the other broken white man to fix” that Shuri mentioned earlier in the film. As we know from Captain America: Civil War, the other broken white man is the Winter Soldier himself Bucky! Although Bucky is missing an arm, he seems to be in a much better mental state than when we last saw him in Civil War. The Wakandan children refer to him as “The White Wolf” and it’s clear that he’ll be ready to help in the war that’s coming.
Final Thoughts
Next to Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther is the best superhero origin movie in the MCU. I give a slight edge to Black Panther though because it has everything a film needs to be truly great. The cast of actors alone is impressive, but their performances are even greater. The story itself is above and beyond the typical superhero movie by being both thought provoking and relevant to current events. The villain is the best Marvel has produced in the last 14 movies, and the action is memorable from beginning to end. My generation didn’t really know who Black Panther was unless you read the comics, but I’m glad that Black Panther is finally in the mainstream and is a hero that’ll be in the spotlight for years to come.
I can’t believe this marathon is already over! Seems like just last week I was watching Nick Fury tell Iron Man he was part of a bigger universe! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them! I’ll most likely do a spoiler free write-up for Infinity War once it comes out, and I’ll probably continue these articles for Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel before Avengers 4 comes out. Now here’s to hoping Infinity War doesn’t suck!
Thanos Meme of the Week
“This week on Triple D we’re visiting a local dive planet called Terra that’s serving up some KILLER Infinity Stones that are out of bounds!”
The Magical World of Dids 