Black Panther is an incredibly popular superhero in the Marvel fan community. He is a brilliant scientist and strategist who is really effective on the field. His fighting style is unique as it incorporates both acrobatics and animal mimicry which makes him a top notch in physical hand-to-hand combat.
His fans have been demanding Black Panther solo movie for quite some time and Marvel granted their wish. He was first introduced into the MCU in Captain America: Civil War where he accompanied his father i.e King T’Chaka to the UN meeting of world representatives where they ratified Sokovia accords created to frame international rules for deployment of enhanced individuals and developing a system of oversight over their actions.
But Baron Zemo who lost everything during Wakandan seige by Ultron held Avengers responsible and avenged his loss by sowing seeds of distrust between them. He brainwashed Bucky aka Winter soldier who carried out attacks at UN building which resulted in the death of Black Panther’s father. He found out it was Winter soldier behind the explosion and Cap is protecting him, so he joined Team Iron Man to take him down. Chadwick Boseman played Black Panther and it was only matter of time before he got his own solo movie.
Black Panther is the MCU’s latest entry and it was incredible in every way. The movie was groundbreaking and it has created so many records in just 5 days of its release. It became the highest rated comic book movie ever and then went on to become the highest grossing Superhero movie at the Domestic Box Office.
It is the third highest grossing movie within the MCU, and it has broken so many records & it will go on to break many more. It may have gone past ‘The Avengers’ and Avengers: Age of Ultron as you read this.
Just imagine how massive this movie is. Ryan Coogler and Chadwick Boseman have really created something magical for us all, and Marvel President Kevin Feige has already claimed it to be the best Marvel movie they have ever made till now. Coogler promised fans that it ain’t going to be a traditional origin story and he fulfilled his promise. The movie focused on T’Chala’s ascendancy to the throne and many challenges he had to face once he became Black Panther. Here is what Coogler said:
“What’s great is that people have already met Chadwick Boseman in Civil War, so now we get to jump in feet first without having to tell a more traditional origin story. We meet him as his world is changing. Black Panther takes place right after the events of Civil War, so T’Challa’s father has just been killed, he has returned home to Wakanda, and T’Challa has to navigate potentially becoming the new ruler of this nation. He never intended to become the king for years because he figured his dad would be around for a long time. T’Chaka’s death is, in a lot of ways, the catalyst for everything that’s happening in Black Panther.”
“In this movie, a lot like politics, it’s a little tricky to define who’s a good guy. The film very much plays with those concepts, looking at conflicts and different motivations, and who’s with who. What makes him different from other superheroes first and foremost is he doesn’t see himself as a superhero. He sees himself as a politician. That’s the first thing on his mind when he wakes up in the morning: ‘How am I going to fulfill my duties as king of this place?”
This movie is going to have an immense impact on the entire MCU as it brought in so many game-changing aspects into the mix. One of the biggest things done very well by the movie was solving the ‘villain’ problem of the MCU. The other two MCU villains that attracted significant applause were Loki and Hela.
What really worked for the movie was the story it told and how it incorporated Killmonger’s entire arc and turned him into one of the best villains in the MCU. Erik Killmonger has set the bar very high, and we can expect to see a huge villain in the sequel so that the movie could top the first one, and the villain could shine yet again in the sequel, which may not be an easy task to do.
The tiny disappointment of the fans was that there was no mention of ‘Soul stone’ whatsoever, neither in the movie nor in the post-credits. Everyone was expecting the last remaining Infinity gem to be hidden somewhere in the Kingdom of Wakanda but it turned out to be just a speculation. Hence, there was no direct connection between Black Panther and upcoming Avengers Infinity War which was seen as a lost opportunity. But that’s how Marvel works…in mysterious ways.
Marvel has already announced a sequel to this movie, and it will be a part of Phase 4, probably coming out on May 6, 2021. After the first movie being so great and so close to the comics, many fans have wanted to see Namor the Submariner as the villain for the sequel, and then go on to see him in his own Solo movie a year or two later.
Ever since Atlantis and Wakanda were teased back in Iron Man 2, we have been wondering when these two locations and the characters centered in them will show up on the big screen. Well, we have got Black Panther, and now it is the turn of Namor to show up as soon as possible. Namor is a big name in the Marvel comics and he has fought against Black Panther so many times in the comics.
But having this thing come true may not be a viable option realistically in the MCU. Pitting Namor and Black Panther against each other may be really epic when it comes to the amazing battle that may happen between the two Kings of marvellous nations, and the two nations coming to war itself, but this will not be possible in the MCU as there cannot be a basic set to build a war between Wakanda and Atlantis.
Marvel would surely want to bring Namor to the MCU in Phase 4, but it may not be possible through Black Panther. Iron Man 2’s infamous Easter Egg showed us the location of Wakanda and Atlantis. Wakanda lies towards the Middle-East in Africa and Atlantis as the name suggests lies within the Atlantic Ocean. As we can see, there is no major water body surrounding Wakanda to show Atlantis in relation with Wakanda in any way.
For a war in between Wakanda and Atlantis to happen like it did in the comics Wakanda’s location should also have been the way, it was in the comics, which is towards the western coast of Africa. The war between Wakanda and Atlantis would have had a proper basis if this was the case and Namor being pitted against Black Panther would have backed with proper reasoning.
Still, it’s the MCU, and MCU has hired great writers almost every time, so they could manage to pull off Namor vs. Black Panther with good reasoning, but it may be much better to bring in someone else as a villain instead of forcing a character into the movie which has the potential to do great. Man-Ape, Kraven The Hunter, Malice and many more could be looked upon as villains in Black Panther 2.
There has been almost nothing in the public domain regarding Black Panther sequel, so let’s just wait for it. But till then do check out Black Panther if you still haven’t. Here is the official synopsis released by Marvel studios:
“After the death of his father, T’Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king — and as Black Panther — gets tested when he’s drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people”.
Don’t Miss: 15 Marvel Superheroes That Can Literally Control Forces of Nature
