T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2021

[Ekie]

1. Hudlin, I like my T’Challa with a dash of cynic snark and a good deal of standoffishness born equal parts out of his own arrogance and his own sense of heroism. Priest is a close second and depending on my mood his super analytical, 10-steps ahead iteration of the character is my favorite too. I think as I reread his run I’ll consider his version my preferred one. Come back to me in a few weeks lol.

2. T’Challa has an extreme paranoia as a result of his father’s assassination. His childhood was stolen that day and ever since he’s been captured by that moment, making him emotionally distant and slow to trust others to an unhealthy degree. He has a nauseating sense of duty that makes him self-sacrificial to a fault and all too willing to manipulate (and if necessary, cast aside) those closest to him for the sake of his people.

He holds very little as sacred and is mostly fine throwing away his marriage, his friends, allies, and even his own family if it means a chance of saving Wakanda. He does this in part because he has this idealized version of his father created out of an irrational guilt over not saving him as a child. To this end T’Challa isn’t merely an emotional shut in who lies to and otherwise tries to control his friends and allies but someone who has adopted an insane ego to justify his own fears and provide himself an artificial sense of security.

His arrogant poker face betrays a deep sense of what can best be described as a fear of imperfection and loneliness. On one hand he’s convinced himself that his responsibilities all too often demand him to be something more than a mere man, to act as a god. On the other it’s hard to keep up appearances and he finds himself loathing the shell he’s built around his heart. It’s perhaps why he’s developed this proclivity to be a hero, because the trappings of royalty and the pressure of his father’s shadow aren’t as prevalent. It’s also why he tends to fall in love with women who couldn’t care less about his throne, hence why they tend to be non-Wakandan. T’Challa‘a arrogance, his paranoia, and his tendency to see others as nothing more than cogs in his machinations should be something he constantly struggles with.

Excellent post. Its for these resons the movie (in my opinion) failed to introduce the characrer. A Tchalla that doesnt lose his father as a child isnt Tchalla. Hopefully the reboot someday i done by handlers who understand this