Black Panther
We’ve already been introduced to some of the characters in Civil War, but now we see T’Challa’s home of Wakanda. Chadwick Boseman is back as T’Challa, joined by Michael B. Jordan (like Chris Evans, he played Johnny Storm in a Fantastic Four film, then came to Marvel and made a bigger hit) as Erik Killmonger, Lupita Nyong’o (she voices Maz in the squeal Star Wars trilogy) as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Daniel Kaluuya as W’Kabi, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Sterling K. Brown (he’s appeared in JAG, NCIS and Castle, but he’s also Gordon Walker from early seasons of Supernatural) as N’Jobu, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Angela Bassett as Ramonda, Forest Whitaker (his resume goes back to the 80’s; where he was part of the North and South miniseries [based on the books by John Jakes]; and recently, he’s Saw Guerra in the newer Star Wars universe) as Zuri. Some other familiar faces are Andy Serkis (Smeagol/Gollum from Hobbit and Lord of the Rings) as Ulysses Klaue, Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins in Hobbit, Watson in BBC’s Sherlock) as Everett Ross, David Lee (Krstic in Get Smart, he makes an appearance in several episodes of NCIS: LA, an episode of Castle, and is Moriarty in The Librarians) as Limbani,
The film starts with the “story of home,” a father telling his son how a meteorite of vibranium landed in Africa; the region was later settled by five tribes and called “Wakanda.” But the tribes fought until the Panther Goddess Bast gave one noble warrior an herb which heightened his strength and he became the Black Panther. Four tribes agreed to live in peace; the fifth, the Jabari, went to live in the mountains. The Black Panther is the protector of Wakanda. The country isolates itself from the world in order to keep the vibranium and its resulting technology safe.
Then we go to Oakland, California in 1992. A younger King T’Chaka visits two young men, one of whom is his younger brother, N’Jobu. His tidings are not glad; T’Chaka has discovered that N’Jobu is responsible for helping Kalue steal vibranium. The man that N’Jobu thought as James is actually Zuri and was sent to keep an eye on N’Jobu and informed the king of his brother’s treachery. T’Chaka demands that N’Jobu returns home to face the council.
Now, we’re in present day, only a week after the events of Civil War, the news anchor reporting on the death of King T’Chaka and regards Wakanda as a third world country, incredibly poor and a country that does not engage in international trade or accept help. But T’Challa is working on a mission in Nigeria, rescuing kidnapped women, including Nakia. Okoye is there to help when he freezes in front of Nakia…turns out, they have a history as a couple. Nakia wants to continue with her undercover mission, but T’Challa requests her presence at his coronation. The three return home to Wakanda, panning over the scenery and the jungle actually camouflages a high-tech capital. The country is a mix of technology and traditional culture, we discover. T’Challa is greeted by his mother, Ramonda, and sister, Shuri. (The two joke as traditional siblings and I love it).
Quick diversion to a museum in London, where Erik speaks to a curator and points out a Wakandan artifact. He’s also poisoned her and Ulysses and Limbani are the medics who respond and shoot the guards so they can make off with the hidden vibranium.
The coronation ceremony is stunning, with a waterfall stopped so the people, arrayed in bright colors, can watch. Ritual combat is a factor, where tribes are allowed to challenge the heir apparent to the throne. The four typical tribes will not challenge, but the Jabari arrive and their leader, M’Baku challenges T’Challa, after calling out Shuri as a child in charge of the technology who scoffs at tradition. (Well, she did just complain about the corset). He gets a wound landed on T’Challa, but T’Challa is encouraged by his mother “show him who you are!” and pins M’Baku at the edge of the waterfall and gets him to yield. His opponent has fought with honor and his people still need him. T’Challa is declared king; “Wakanda forever!”
Since the powers of the Black Panther were stripped for the contest, he goes through another ceremony to bring the power back. He also visits the Ancestral Plane, where T’Challa gets to speak to his father again. T’Chaka hugs his son and assures him he is ready both to rule, and to continue on without his father. T’Challa asks his father for advice on how best to protect Wakanda and be a great king like T’Chaka. His father’s response is for him to surround himself with people he trusts. T’Challa is a good man with a good heart, and it is hard for a good man to be king.
We see T’Challa’s first steps as king. He wants Nakia to stay, but she likes her missions. She also encourages T’Challa that Wakanda should be sharing what it has with the rest of the world and helping others, more than they do. But T’Challa worries that they will lose their way of life. Next, T’Challa speaks to his friend with the Border Tribe, W’Kabi [who is married to Okoye, general of the Dora Milaje guards]. W’Kabi is willing to go out into the world with his men and clean it up, but inviting refugees into Wakanda just turns Wakanda into the rest of the world. T’Challa declares that waging war on others has never been their way. But his first business as king is to bring Klaue to justice. T’Challa will go with Nakia and Okoye and bring Klaue back for justice.
The interlude in the lab with Shuri is hilarious. She is easily as brilliant as Tony Stark, but not above recording her brother getting through across the room by her tech. T’Challa’s mission tangles into a CIA mission with Everett Ross, and the Wakandan warriors are excellent in a fight, but they end up having to chase Klaue in cars. Still spectacular, but T’Challa can’t kill him in front of everyone. Ross goes to question Klaue [and it’s a revisit of the scene between Gollum and Bilbo in the cave; Andy’s laugh is back], though he comes out questioning the Wakandans. Until Klaue’s team comes back to rescue him. Erik then kills the two spare and goes after Klaue, telling him his next stop is Wakanda. He’ll make it through because he has the lip tattoo.
In the commotion, Ross took a bullet meant for Nakia, hitting him in the spine. T’Challa declares they will take him with them, back to Wakanda. He can’t let him die, knowing they have the ability to save him. Shuri remarks to her brother, “another broken white boy for us to fix,” but she is able to save him. Ross is impressed with their tech once he’s awake, but he’s also thrown into the events that follow Erik showing up in Wakanda. Ross also knows Erik from his work with US black ops.
T’Challa has gone to Zuri with questions; he recognizes the ring that Erik wore while recusing Klaue. T’Challa remembers his uncle, but never knew what happened; he makes Zuri tell him the truth. Zuri admits that N’Jobu had helped steal the vibranium so that weapons would be placed in the hands of people to throw off their oppressors. When N’Jobu drew a weapon on Zuri, T’Chaka killed his brother. They left; leaving N’Jobu’s son. T’Challa is horrified, and goes to speak with Nakia. He’s questioning his father now, and fears he created a worse monster. Nakia advises “only you get to decide what kinds of king you are going to be.” They are called to the throne room, where Erik has arrived, having brought a dead Klaue to the border. W’Kabi is now more upset, since his friend was not able to deliver his promise, but this outsider who bears a Wakanda tattoo, was able to deliver the murderer.
Erik wants the throne so that Wakanda can help liberate his people. T’Challa once again urges that they are not the ones to wage war on the world. Erik challenges T’Challa, and as his cousin, he has that right. T’Challa accepts, though he would rather they find another way to settle Erik’s dispute. Erik is just hungry to kill T’Challa, blaming him for Erik’s lot in life. Zuri even steps into the duel, taking the blame for N’Jobu’s death (and breaking tradition) in order to save T’Challa. Erik just kills him as well. T’Challa blindly attacks and Erik is able to throw him over the waterfall, to everyone’s horror. Nakia pulls Ramonda and Shuri away. Later, she tries to persuade Okoye to leave, but Okoye will remain loyal to the throne, whoever sits on it, even if she doesn’t like it. Nakia is able to steal one of the purple herbs after Erik orders them all burned so there can be no other Black Panther. He further declares to the council that by arming the oppressed people, “the sun will never set on the Wakandan empire.” And W’Kabi agrees; the time has come to either be the conquerors or the conquered.
Meanwhile, Nakia, Shuri, Ramonda, and Ross make their way to the Jabari, with the plan to offer the herb to M’Baku in order to fight Erik. [This part is sadder in hindsight, since Chadwick passed away in 2020.] But M’Baku reveals that T’Challa is not fully dead and they have him. Ramonda administers the herb and T’Challa visits his father again. But he’s now upset that T’Chaka left behind Erik as a child. And he rebukes his ancestors: “You were wrong – all of you were wrong – to turn you backs on the rest of the world! We let the fear of discovery stop us from doing what is right. No more!” When he wakes, Ramonda and Shuri refuse to leave, though he gets M’Baku to agree that his mother would be safe with the Jabari. He also tries to get M’Baku to lend his army, but M’Baku doesn’t quite trust that he and T’Challa are on the same side all of a sudden.
T’Challa shows up in the Black Panther suit as Erik starts to send the weapons out. The Border tribe attacks (their blankets act as shields) and W’Kabi calls upon their giant rhinos. The Dora Milaje begin to attack Erik and help T’Challa against the Border tribe. Shuri and Nakia join the fight and take on Erik. Shuri has Ross pilot her remote system to take out the ships before they leave Wakanda. T’Challa is almost pinned by the Border tribe, but then sees Erik go after Shuri, and breaks free. Now he takes on Erik on Shuri’s train, where the stabilizers will neutralize the vibranium in their suits. When the Dora Milaje are almost pinned, the Jabari enter the fray. W’Kabi and Okoye face off, Okoye willing to kill W’Kabi if it will protect Wakanda.
The duel between T’Challa and Erik ends when T’Challa stabs Erik. Erik finally witnesses the beauty that his father spoke of with Wakanda and T’Challa helps him see a sunset. T’Challa offers to heal Erik, but Erik won’t live as a prisoner.
There is some happiness with the end of the movie; Nakia and T’Challa share a kiss when T’Challa offers Nakia a way to both stay in Wakanda and continue her mission. He takes Shuri to California and shows her where he will start an Outreach Center, starting in the apartment where their father killed their uncle. Shuri will oversee the science exchange and Nakia will oversee the social aspect. Then T’Challa appears before the UN, pledging to share knowledge and resources. The final stinger shows that Bucky has been recovering in Wakanda, working with Shuri (and now known as the White Wolf).
Not that I am really in a position to weigh in on some of the cultural aspects brought up in this film as I am not a member of that culture; but I will agree with T’Challa’s statement to Erik towards the end that he was becoming that which he hated. Erik’s phrase from the throne room, about the “sun never setting on the empire,” that is typically attributed to the British empire between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries; the height of colonialism. (Heck, even Shuri joked and called Everett Ross a colonizer.) The Brits took over a lot of land and became overlords to a lot of different people; notably India and swaths of Africa. It was a phrase that meant the empire was so vast that somewhere, it was always daylight. And for Erik to now want Wakanda in that position? As much as Erik may have argued against the notion; he learned well from his training and has more American notions that T’Challa, who was raised in Wakanda. But he is the one to bring Wakanda into the future and balance between tradition and progress.
That is why we should follow his advice in his speech to the United Nations: “We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.” (We still need to do this, five years later.)
Overall, I like this movie. T’Challa is a well-rounded character; he does not automatically assume that he is right, and will make changes if he discovers something is wrong. He was more interested in helping Erik than outright stopping him, until he proved too dangerous. He was angrier with his father for abandoning a child than his uncle’s treachery. He wanted to bring Klaue back to Wakanda for justice, but also recognizes the give-and-take of diplomacy. Shuri great and I love the sibling banter. Nakia and Okoye are strong, independent women who kick butt. And come on, the fact that the guards to the monarch of Wakanda are all female, elite warriors…we need more of that. If you ever get a chance, watch the director’s introduction to the film. Also, the language spoken in the film, Xhosa, is an actual South Africa dialect.
Up Next: Avengers: Infinity War
I’ve put my little note at the end, hoping that you were able to just jump back into the summary. Work has settled down a little, though I appreciated the chance to do some research for my fantasy series, an ever-continuing process. I certainly intend to complete the Marvel movies through the end of “Phase 3;” essentially the results of Endgame. I still have other topics to blog about afterwards, getting into some of my favorite fandoms. I also want to spend a little more time delving into what I truly love about those fandoms; books, movies, etcetera. So it may take a little longer between posts and I’m even considering when I finish to go back and delve deeper into topics I’ve already covered. Alas, it will also depend on my work/life balance, as ever. But thank you for your continue reading and I hope you continue to enjoy! Let me know if you ever have insights into the movies I’ve posted.
Dreamer in the Mirror 