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All you need to know about the historic #BlackPanther and #Wakanda
In divers ways, “Black Panther” is perhaps the most significant film that has been made so far in the Marvel Comics-inspired film universe. The importance isn’t something as simplistic as this being the first major superhero motion picture where the central hero is black. Where the film distinguishes itself is that’s just part of a broader perspective that encompasses examinations of politics, social strife, isolationism, family, the redefining of gender roles and what it means to be a hero.
Don’t panic. All of this gets delivered with the usual massive fights, action sequences and major explosions that have become a hallmark of a Marvel movie. The difference is the action isn’t used as a way to skirt around some lofty ploy point, but as an exclamation mark on what is being said and done.
The script by director Ryan Coogler (“Fruitvale Station”) and Joe Robert Cole shows there’s room for both brain and brawn when it comes to the genre. There’s a maturity to their story that’s a major leap forward for a Marvel movie in both respecting the audience and the material.
“Black Panther” begins in the wake of the bombing in “Captain America: Civil War” that killed King T’Chaka (John Kani). After the death of his father, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. The transition is threatened from outside forces who want to get their hands on the country’s most valuable asset, vibranium.
What Is Wakanda? Is Wakanda real? I mean, no, it’s not. But don’t worry too much about knowing too much about this highly secretive, technologically advanced African nation ahead of the movie. A fun and comprehensive prologue at the beginning of Black Panther will take care of that for you. It’s nice to be aware, though, that Wakanda has been on Marvel Studios’ mind for awhile now. The first reference to the nation dates back to a visual Easter egg in 2010’s Iron Man 2. The country was mentioned (and mispronounced) in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, but Wakanda truly stepped out of hiding for the first time in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, in which Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther made his debut.
Why Is It So Secret? Once again, the Black Panther prologue has you covered on this front. But if you want to know the full history of Wakanda in the Marvel movies, here it is in a nutshell: precious Wakandan metal called Vibranium (more on that in a second), stolen in the plot of Ultron, inspired Wakanda to go on an outreach mission to, at the very least, Nigeria by the time of Civil War. A superhero called Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) accidentally blew up those Wakandan missionaries when trying to contain a completely separate threat.
This inspired the Wakandan king, T’Chaka (John Kani), to address the U.N. with a handy recap:
When stolen Wakandan Vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy. Those men and women killed in Nigeria were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join.
The fact that Wakanda stayed hidden before Civil War explains why we never saw Wakandans on the scene before during times of world-ending crisis in the Marvel franchise. Sadly, King T’Chaka’s message of goodwill was interrupted by another explosion at the U.N. that killed the king—much to the dismay of his son, T’Challa (Boseman), who tried and failed to save his father from the blast. Now, T’Challa is the king.
O.K., What’s So Special About Vibranium? It’s only the strongest metal in the world, guys. Once again, Black Panther will go over this, but Marvel movie nerds will eagerly tell you that Vibranium is the stuff Captain America’s (Chris Evans) unbreakable shield is made of.
The titular supervillain in Age of Ultron also stole Vibranium in order to make a massive drill that would crack the Earth down the middle. You know, typical supervillain stuff. And it happens to be the material that powers Black Panther’s catsuit (more on that in a second).
The point is: Vibranium is strong, versatile, and rare. If you had a massive cache of that stuff, wouldn’t you want to keep it hidden from the world, too?
Who Is the Black Panther? The more important question might be: who is this Black Panther person anyway, and why does he wear such a fun and sassy catsuit? Once again, Black Panther will cover this. But to quote T’Challa himself from Civil War: Black Panther is a mantle passed down through the generations. The Black Panther is not necessarily the king of Wakanda; T’Challa was the Black Panther when he was still a prince, presumably because his father had gotten too old for the gig. But the Black Panther is usually the king, and now that T’Chaka is dead, his son T’Challa is both: king and Black Panther.
And while secret identities might be all the rage in some comic-books movies, Marvel Studios doesn’t really do that (with the exception of Spider-Man). So, yes, in Civil War T’Challa unmasked himself in front of the Avengers and some other government officials. He’s not exactly shouting “I fight crime in a catsuit!” from the rooftops, but he’s not always hiding it either. Plenty of people know who the Black Panther is. The secrets of Wakanda itself are the ones T’Challa is more interested in protecting.
What About the Rest of the Wakandans? Once again, most of Wakanda has been kept under wraps in this franchise—but T’chaka and T’Challa didn’t go to the U.N. alone in Civil War. The king and his son were accompanied by royal bodyguards called the Dora Milaje which, hold on to your hats, are an all-female group of warriors. The bodyguard we saw in Civil War is a character named Ayo, played by German actress Florence Kasumba. She appears again as right-hand woman to General Okoye (Danai Gurira) in Black Panther.
What About the White Dudes, Though? Black Panther has exactly two white characters of note, and they are both figures we’ve seen before in Marvel movies. The first is Everett Ross played by The Hobbit, Sherlock, and The Office star Martin Freeman with a somewhat patchy American accent. (Though a marked improvement on his Fargo attempt.) Ross is in the C.I.A., and in his minor role in Civil War, he was equally suspicious of everyone, including our heroes Captain America, Black Panther, et al. Basically, all you need to know is that he’s C.I.A., former military, and he knows T’Challa is the Black Panther.
But just because Ross represents bureaucracy, that doesn’t mean he’s no fun at all. Once he figured out who the true bad guy in Civil War was (Baron Ze—look, don’t worry about it), Freeman got to unleash his considerable smarmy charisma.
