T'Challa: The Black Panther Appreciation 2021

[Klaue's Mixtape]

I’d still go with Damson. Black don’t crack at the end of the day. Lol. And I still wonder just how old Ramonda was when Shuri was born.

Gotta be close to 40 right?

Makes the most sense age wise. Although I wonder did they go the biological mother route to T'Challa or not. Only asked cause they didnt have Angela speak in that scene. lol.

[Anthony Shaw]

Also multivetse tchalla isn't as open as shut as may seem. Any replacement tchalla would be abandoning his own wakanda or his wakanda already was destroyed. Neither of which makes a lot of sense imo

I would gladly take a paranoid, scheming BP from a doomed Wakanda.

Yep and it seems Coogler is more invested in spin offs since BP2 seems to be a jumping off point for Ironheart and the Wakandan spin off show they are working on.

OTOH, a potential BP3 could have a new creative team who hopefully makes the decision to bring T'Challa back. If things work out, BP could get a new trilogy.

Personally I'm hoping Aldis Hodge gets the role. He's still young and he was my pick before Chad was confirmed.

Hodge was my choice back in the day.

Helps that Hodge said in an interview back in 2012 that he wanted to play Black Panther. But unfortunately he’s over at DC, so unless Hawkman doesn’t survive the events of Black Adam (and I have a feeling one of the JSA members might bite the dust in that movie), he may be out of the running.

Hodge is too good for Hawkman.

If they bring in the Priest version of T'Challa from another timeline, I'll take that variant all day every day.

Best. Version.

Paranoid scheming BP is Priest BP, imo. That version can be serious, and also played for laughs. Imagine MCU Ross finding all sorts of protocols for potential upcoming threats.

Freaking co-signed my guy.

Add my signature to the list.

[MindofShadow]

The problem with that is that their is literally no reason for Wakanda to 'accept' him at all. Especially not as royalty or BP .

The idea of a paranoid priest like Panther from a different universe sounds intriguing, but I don't see why "our" Wakanda would accept him. He's an outsider, just because he has the same name or whatever doesn't mean he's "their" tchalla.

If you wanna go with a rogue superhero of sorts, that would be fine. But then you are cutting him off from the wakanda/wakanda tech and the "might" have being king and pushing that around when needed.

[Marvell2100]

The problem with that is that their is literally no reason for Wakanda to 'accept' him at all. Especially not as royalty or BP .

The idea of a paranoid priest like Panther from a different universe sounds intriguing, but I don't see why "our" Wakanda would accept him. He's an outsider, just because he has the same name or whatever doesn't mean he's "their" tchalla.

If you wanna go with a rogue superhero of sorts, that would be fine. But then you are cutting him off from the wakanda/wakanda tech and the "might" have being king and pushing that around when needed.

"Wakanda Forever" Bro!

They would except him because he puts Wakanda above all else. And Priest's BP did have an outreach program same as in the MCU although with different results.

Finally, a lot of Wakandans got behind Kilmonger. If they can follow that lunatic, they can follow Priests BP.

But in the end it's important that we get any good version of T'Challa back in the MCU

[BlackClaw]

The problem with that is that their is literally no reason for Wakanda to 'accept' him at all. Especially not as royalty or BP .

The idea of a paranoid priest like Panther from a different universe sounds intriguing, but I don't see why "our" Wakanda would accept him. He's an outsider, just because he has the same name or whatever doesn't mean he's "their" tchalla.

If you wanna go with a rogue superhero of sorts, that would be fine. But then you are cutting him off from the wakanda/wakanda tech and the "might" have being king and pushing that around when needed.

Well maybe that could be the plot if it were to happen. It could be about him seeing 616 as his chance to protect “our” Wakanda from the fate of whatever happened to his Wakanda and the drama could come from how the people of 616 don’t accept him at first but he tries to earn their trust, which he ultimately does by the end after the day is saved. It could provide some meta commentary on how while nobody can truly replace Chadwick (the sacred timeline T’Challa), there must always be a T’Challa.

[Marvell2100]

Well maybe that could be the plot if it were to happen. It could be about him seeing 616 as his chance to protect “our” Wakanda from the fate of whatever happened to his Wakanda and the drama could come from how the people of 616 don’t accept him at first but he tries to earn their trust, which he ultimately does by the end after the day is saved. It could provide some meta commentary on how while nobody can truly replace Chadwick (the sacred timeline T’Challa), there must always be a T’Challa.

Yeah, this would be the right time to show that Wakanda does need T'Challa in the habit and on the throne. We've always said BP(T'Challa) comes first then everyone/everything after that.

I'd rather have a BP(T'Challa) movie without Wakanda than the other way around.

[Vordan]

The problem with that is that their is literally no reason for Wakanda to 'accept' him at all. Especially not as royalty or BP .

The idea of a paranoid priest like Panther from a different universe sounds intriguing, but I don't see why "our" Wakanda would accept him. He's an outsider, just because he has the same name or whatever doesn't mean he's "their" tchalla.

If you wanna go with a rogue superhero of sorts, that would be fine. But then you are cutting him off from the wakanda/wakanda tech and the "might" have being king and pushing that around when needed.

Yeah, he wouldn’t have any claim to the Throne, he’s not the “real” T’Challa in the eyes of Wakanda. Shuri and the rest wouldn’t immediately treat him like he’s their brother/king because he technically isn’t. That’s why I’d go with the “King of the Dead” status quo from Hickman’s Avengers run as a starting status quo. He’s a part of Wakanda but also outside of it, that’s the only way I can see a variant being able to step in. Of course then you do Secret Wars and you can fold Variant T’Challa in like Miles was to 616.

But going with variant T’Challa actually works a lot better if you want to do stories that don’t revolve around the destruction of Wakanda. He’s not their king so he doesn’t get all the resources, he doesn’t get the latest toys, he gets only what Shuri is willing to give him (which isn’t much because again she’s not sure how she feels about him), what he can build himself on his own, his connection to the spiritual plane (which I think works if it transcends dimensions), and of course his brains & skills. He’s still dangerous as hell but without the power of all of Wakanda behind him, you could give him foes that don’t need to be existential threats to all of Wakanda to be a challenge.

[Marvell2100]

Well, we know that they aren't recasting right now since they're actually having T'Challa die. So either they pull a younger or older version of T'Challa out of the timeline or they pull a version of T'Challa out of a different timeline.

Either way, he won't be the same and honestly, I wouldn't want Shuri and the rest of the Wakandans acting like this is the same version of the T'Challa that died. They need to react differently to him as he does to them. They'd have to grow to accept him.

[chief12d]

Yeah, he wouldn’t have any claim to the Throne, he’s not the “real” T’Challa in the eyes of Wakanda. Shuri and the rest wouldn’t immediately treat him like he’s their brother/king because he technically isn’t. That’s why I’d go with the “King of the Dead” status quo from Hickman’s Avengers run as a starting status quo. He’s a part of Wakanda but also outside of it, that’s the only way I can see a variant being able to step in. Of course then you do Secret Wars and you can fold Variant T’Challa in like Miles was to 616.

But going with variant T’Challa actually works a lot better if you want to do stories that don’t revolve around the destruction of Wakanda. He’s not their king so he doesn’t get all the resources, he doesn’t get the latest toys, he gets only what Shuri is willing to give him (which isn’t much because again she’s not sure how she feels about him), what he can build himself on his own, his connection to the spiritual plane (which I think works if it transcends dimensions), and of course his brains & skills. He’s still dangerous as hell but without the power of all of Wakanda behind him, you could give him foes that don’t need to be existential threats to all of Wakanda to be a challenge.

That’s a good direction when they first reintroduce T’Challa but his core branding is that he’s a ruler so eventually they’re gonna have to put the new T’Challa (whether it’s a variant or the resurrected OG) back on the throne. It’s too triumphant a story not to do IMO. We barely got to see him in that capacity with Boseman and Disney knows that if T’Challa’s return is a huge hit they’d only make more money by giving him more resources and influence via kingship. He can’t just be a guy that shows up in Avengers movies and T’Challa is too big for D+.

So they’d have to eventually transition Shuri or whoever his successor ends up being out of the the role, which shouldn’t be hard tbh. Not storywise at least. You could easily have it so Shuri decides that her talents are best applied to the realm of mysticism with her Griot storyline. She’s busy dealing with the Djalia and the gods with a fusion of magic and technology she developed during her reign while T’Challa takes back the throne and joins the Illuminati to save the multiverse.

The main issue is making sure it’s respectful to the journey that T’Challa’s successor would’ve had over 1-3 movies and not just dropping them because Disney has a T’Challa again. Meaning as long as Shuri doesn’t end up back as his Q with her original personality I think people would accept her leaving the mantle. Obviously not everyone will (and we all know who will be making the most noise) but for the most part T’Challa is vastly more popular than whoever his successor ends up being and most fans will accept him being king if he’s already had a well received reintroduction.

Just give his successor their own show and let them be the second most important character in all MCU BP material moving forward. And of course they’d have to make sure that T’Challa’s return to the throne makes sense, which isn’t too crazy as BlackClaw outlined. T’Challa’s raw leadership ability and love for Wakanda allows him to save the day in a way no other character (including his successor) could and as said successor enters a new phase of their life T’Challa finally earns the acceptance of his people and takes the throne, spearheading a new era. A straight up resurrection is ideal (but probably don’t call it King of the Dead) though I could also see that kind of storyline working for a variant. Bringing back T’Challa is not difficult, the fans’ willingness to accept a new version and keeping the cast on the board is the main issue and frankly it gets less complicated the further removed we are from Boseman’s death. Especially if BP2 falters, which is a lot more possible than some are willing to admit.

[Marvell2100]

Hey chief! Long time no post!

[chief12d]

Hey chief! Long time no post!

What’s good Marvel, I’m still lurking through the usual threads just been busy with work and the kid

Also never really got to give my thoughts on the War for Wakanda DLC and What If….?, I’ll probably give extended thoughts sometime. But they were both fantastic, that episode left me a mess and reminded me why I still can’t get through Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom lol. I really do understand why people find it so hard to replace Boseman.

And minus some of the Coatesisms (“Orphan King” will never sound cool in the BP mythos lol) Narcisse did his thing. Wish we got to see more of T’Challa working with the Avengers because I think he handled T’Challa’s dynamic with Shuri and Okoye so well that’d it would’ve been dope to see more of his relationships with some heavy hitters. I definitely see inklings of a spin-off/return to Wakanda but with the game’s numbers looking like they are it wouldn’t surprise me if they never amount to anything.

[Vordan]

That’s a good direction when they first reintroduce T’Challa but his core branding is that he’s a ruler so eventually they’re gonna have to put the new T’Challa (whether it’s a variant or the resurrected OG) back on the throne. It’s too triumphant a story not to do IMO. We barely got to see him in that capacity with Boseman and Disney knows that if T’Challa’s return is a huge hit they’d only make more money by giving him more resources and influence via kingship. He can’t just be a guy that shows up in Avengers movies and T’Challa is too big for D+.

I totally agree, that’s why I think a natural way to do so is Secret Wars (which they’re apparently going to do given they’ve approached Shooter and paid him hush money). So at the end you say that the MCU Earth and V’Challa’s (variant T’Challa) Wakanda are merged together so that V’Challa ends up on the throne. Adapting how Miles was merged into 616 essentially.

So they’d have to eventually transition Shuri or whoever his successor ends up being out of the the role, which shouldn’t be hard tbh. Not storywise at least. You could easily have it so Shuri decides that her talents are best applied to the realm of mysticism with her Griot storyline. She’s busy dealing with the Djalia and the gods with a fusion of magic and technology she developed during her reign while T’Challa takes back the throne and joins the Illuminati to save the multiverse.

That works fine for me. Only reason I’d prefer have T’Challa take the throne after SW is that I think you could get a lot of drama and storytelling stuff out of T’Challa leading the Illuminati without the full resources of Wakanda behind him. Basically putting him in the underdog position where he’s trying to build a relationship with Shuri/this Wakanda while also keeping secrets from her. He’s basically in full on “Priest” mode where due to the loss of his Wakanda he’s going to be as ruthless and manipulative as he thinks he has to be to save this version, and he wants to shield his baby sister from that side of being ruler/BP.

The main issue is making sure it’s respectful to the journey that T’Challa’s successor would’ve had over 1-3 movies and not just dropping them because Disney has a T’Challa again. Meaning as long as Shuri doesn’t end up back as his Q with her original personality I think people would accept her leaving the mantle. Obviously not everyone will (and we all know who will be making the most noise) but for the most part T’Challa is vastly more popular than whoever his successor ends up being and most fans will accept him being king if he’s already had a well received reintroduction.

They can make Shuri part of the Champions/Young Avengers and have her choose to focus more on being a hero as opposed to T’Challa being the ruler.

Just give his successor their own show and let them be the second most important character in all MCU BP material moving forward. And of course they’d have to make sure that T’Challa’s return to the throne makes sense, which isn’t too crazy as BlackClaw outlined. T’Challa’s raw leadership ability and love for Wakanda allows him to save the day in a way no other character (including his successor) could and as said successor enters a new phase of their life T’Challa finally earns the acceptance of his people and takes the throne, spearheading a new era. A straight up resurrection is ideal (but probably don’t call it King of the Dead) though I could also see that kind of storyline working for a variant. Bringing back T’Challa is not difficult, the fans’ willingness to accept a new version and keeping the cast on the board is the main issue and frankly it gets less complicated the further removed we are from Boseman’s death. Especially if BP2 falters, which is a lot more possible than some are willing to admit.

Yeah the title would probably need to be changed. “Chosen of Bast” or “Champion of the Ancestors” could probably work. Otherwise yeah I like the idea, maybe they could even do a take on Coates Intergalactic Wakanda stuff that isn’t a chore to read/watch lol.

[Dboi654]

if they announce today that Yahya Abdul Mateen will be the next T'Challa/Black Panther, 80%-90% of these people would not complain.

[BlackClaw]

That’s a good direction when they first reintroduce T’Challa but his core branding is that he’s a ruler so eventually they’re gonna have to put the new T’Challa (whether it’s a variant or the resurrected OG) back on the throne. It’s too triumphant a story not to do IMO. We barely got to see him in that capacity with Boseman and Disney knows that if T’Challa’s return is a huge hit they’d only make more money by giving him more resources and influence via kingship. He can’t just be a guy that shows up in Avengers movies and T’Challa is too big for D+.

So they’d have to eventually transition Shuri or whoever his successor ends up being out of the the role, which shouldn’t be hard tbh. Not storywise at least. You could easily have it so Shuri decides that her talents are best applied to the realm of mysticism with her Griot storyline. She’s busy dealing with the Djalia and the gods with a fusion of magic and technology she developed during her reign while T’Challa takes back the throne and joins the Illuminati to save the multiverse.

The main issue is making sure it’s respectful to the journey that T’Challa’s successor would’ve had over 1-3 movies and not just dropping them because Disney has a T’Challa again. Meaning as long as Shuri doesn’t end up back as his Q with her original personality I think people would accept her leaving the mantle. Obviously not everyone will (and we all know who will be making the most noise) but for the most part T’Challa is vastly more popular than whoever his successor ends up being and most fans will accept him being king if he’s already had a well received reintroduction.

Just give his successor their own show and let them be the second most important character in all MCU BP material moving forward. And of course they’d have to make sure that T’Challa’s return to the throne makes sense, which isn’t too crazy as BlackClaw outlined. T’Challa’s raw leadership ability and love for Wakanda allows him to save the day in a way no other character (including his successor) could and as said successor enters a new phase of their life T’Challa finally earns the acceptance of his people and takes the throne, spearheading a new era. A straight up resurrection is ideal (but probably don’t call it King of the Dead) though I could also see that kind of storyline working for a variant. Bringing back T’Challa is not difficult, the fans’ willingness to accept a new version and keeping the cast on the board is the main issue and frankly it gets less complicated the further removed we are from Boseman’s death. Especially if BP2 falters, which is a lot more possible than some are willing to admit.

The Wakandans not accepting T’Challa right off the bat could make for a very compelling story that could tug at the heartstrings. Just imagine him coming back to a place that’s supposed to be home only to find out people that are supposed to be his friends and family giving him the cold shoulder. Especially if the most hostile ones are Shuri, Nakia, or Ramonda (boy the last two option would REALLY sting). Of course not all the Wakandans would be hostile. Maybe one of the people willing to give him a chance would be W’kabi, as he probably still feels guilty about aiding Killmonger and probably sees befriending this T’Challa as a way to atone for his past misdeeds. Or maybe Okoye, though she obviously has reservations she realizes that the new T’Challa is still a person and doesn’t deserve to be treated like ****.

Those are just some ideas I have but overall, I understand that bringing in a variant means that we’ll essentially be starting from scratch but the positive thing about this scenario is that it allows more focus to be on T’Challa. The first movie pretty much shared the wealth between him and his supporting cast and the second one will entirely be about the supporting cast. So if a variant comes in the third movie, the supporting characters will already be established and developed so this time T’Challa get a lot more shine character development. A story about an outcast monarch earning the trust of his people could be a very compelling one if done right.

[BlackClaw]

What’s good Marvel, I’m still lurking through the usual threads just been busy with work and the kid

Also never really got to give my thoughts on the War for Wakanda DLC and What If….?, I’ll probably give extended thoughts sometime. But they were both fantastic, that episode left me a mess and reminded me why I still can’t get through Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom lol. I really do understand why people find it so hard to replace Boseman.

And minus some of the Coatesisms (“Orphan King” will never sound cool in the BP mythos lol) Narcisse did his thing. Wish we got to see more of T’Challa working with the Avengers because I think he handled T’Challa’s dynamic with Shuri and Okoye so well that’d it would’ve been dope to see more of his relationships with some heavy hitters. I definitely see inklings of a spin-off/return to Wakanda but with the game’s numbers looking like they are it wouldn’t surprise me if they never amount to anything.

Let’s be real Square dropped the ball so damn badly with Avengers that not even Black Panther or even the upcoming Spider-Man for PS4/PS5 could save it. But the expansion overall was well received, especially Christopher Judges performance as T’Challa. So let’s all hope it leads to a Wonder Woman in BvS scenario, in which a certain character is the best received thing in a lukewarmly/negativity received product and goes on to have their own solo to damn near universal acclaim.