Whether or not it's T'Challa's biggest feat is certainly arguable. He's done things which have saved and effected more lives than that. But the thing about elevating an entire civilization is something I'm not sure any other heroes can really claim to do, so the greatness of the feat is not just the magnitude of it but the uniqueness of it. Plenty of heroes can say they've saved the world or even the universe. That's a BIG feat, but it's not terribly uncommon in the super hero community. So T'Challa had something that none of his peers really had under his belt for awhile at least.
It's explicitly stated that Wakanda brought in the best thinkers of East and West during T'Challa's reign to reach the level they were at now. It's stated that this technology, including things like hospitals and vaccinations were recent additions to the country. Part of this had to do with T'Challa's education, which happened at a western university.
I agree with this and I think he did a wonderful job. I think Hudlin's take is a much more interesting take these days. I also think anyone who does their best to make as much prior canon consistent with Hudlin's take is doing admiral work and deserves praise. And I give Jack and Stan all the credit in the world for the steps they did take (Jack more than Stan because Jack Kirby didn't write Ben Grimm's awful dialogue in T'Challa's origin scene), but it's worth acknowledging their limitations.
Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother
I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons
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I may have an unusual perspective on this topic, coming as I do from Italian descent.
You see, many Italians, particularly of the older generation, fetishize their heritage (particularly Roman history, but also the Renaissance) to a frankly unhealthy degree. It's all "Italy invented this! Italy invented that!" I actually heard about a piece on the Italian news where they claimed that Italians created Mickey Mouse!
The thing is, while pride in one's history is a perfectly valid and acceptable thing to have, it's not enough. To quote that esteemed philosopher of the 20th century, J. Jackson:
"What have you done for me lately?"
Nobody (outside Italy) would accept the idea that Italians are somehow better because their great-great-great-etc grandfathers were Romans, after all....
The difference is African histories don't get nearly as much respect as other ancient cultures. In fact, their accomplishments have been downplayed, underrepresented, and even outright stripped from them in pop culture at certain points. As an 2nd generation African immigrant I don't see anything wrong with black people globally embracing their shared heritage in the many kingdoms and civilizations that populated the continent before the arrival of colonizing influences.
With increasing access to archaeological knowledge and greater public interest I think people should be eager to learn about their roots and learn about new things relating to their personal history. There's certainly the capacity for some to take it too far but in my personal experience I've found more black folks simply get the satisfaction of learning about African civilizations than adopting a stand-offish, "utopian" view of Africa.
The latter mentality certainly exists but I don't think that means we should be wary of general excitement over ancient African societies. I feel the rising interest in African history globally has been an overwhelmingly positive thing even if it comes with a few people who are just overcompensating.
If you don't understand how racism works everything you think you know will just confuse you. Add more info on why they lie about African history, Africans started everything. Africans are the first. Africans are fully human. Most of the worlds gold, oil and minerals come from African. Without Africans the minerals you use for your phone and computer would not work and you would not be on it. i love being African, lets just hope we get it together soon.
All the more reason why Reginald Hudlin's BP run remains revolutionary across the board and a helluva lot more logical than what came before.
Wakanda existed for centuries before T'challa was born but somehow readers were expected that he was responsible for singlehandedly lifting Wakanda into relevance.
To me, Hudlin's position that Wakanda was technologically advanced across the board as a nation before T'Challa's birth makes more sense.
I agree with you 100% as regards our not having to agree on everything.
I also respect your personal preference to self identify as Black as opposed to African-American.
However, I should point out that I made no assumptions about your knowledge as regards Africa.
I never stated that, or expressed any assumptions in this regard at anytime.
Just a thought...
You know why so many black militants fail in their mission?
The effort to turn worker ants into soldier ants is generally mathematically impossible but they press on in vain!
A vast majority of most people black or white are civilians and not ready to ride or die soldiers that's why an established nation has it's own army and a recruiting service backed by tax payer money!
The next time there is a "Town Hall" meeting on BET they should probably let the black geeks and black nerds do the talking and the planning instead of the standard issue black militants and civil rights activists!
If you don't have a digital readout with full specs and futurist outcomes you may be wasting your peeps time!
If you plan to rebuild the community actual architects with building designs should do the power point presentations for structures that are technically green lit and ground breaking!
The key to true leadership is not the over excited pep talk but the boring detail oriented budget based strategy where checks are cleared and projects finished minus most of the rhetoric!
Having been a black militant I eventually and logically walked away because there was never any real true end game... I mean even The Black Order had orders from Thanos to collect the Infinity stones with an ultimate purpose where as too many black militants love to hear themselves talk but lacking in genuine orders!
A standard should be set that if you cannot top Malcolm X in manner and speech and numbers it can be a fruitless endeavor with no end in sight...
Excelsior!
(P.S. We need more black Stan Lee's making black super heroes than we do black activists because on planet earth 1.3 billion dollars already spoke without the longwinded rant)
Get Hectic!