Black Panther Appreciation: Wakanda Forever!

[Marvell2100]

That would be an amazing twist! But unfortunately that’s a bit too imaginative for someone like Coates.

I don't know how he intends to explain this but like I said, it gives him a chance to do the story without him giving BP/Wakanda another black eye(rape camps, misogynistic nation, women bred to serve men, etc.)

[Agent Z]

Sandy Kim of The Herder Witch talks about Black Panther.

https://twitter.com/skimcasual/statu...24582832443392

And from another writer, Rahawa Haile talks about watching the film from a first generation African-American perspective.

https://longreads.com/2018/02/22/how...o-one-another/

She's a bit critical of the character of Ross.

[Ezyo1000]

I have a theory on the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.

It was founded by Skrulls.

Remember the Skrulls who Panther let live and return home at the end of SWaD? These survivors in defeat somehow came to be impressed by how BP and Wakanda played them and beat them. However, they couldn't return home to the Skrull empire in defeat. So they went into hiding in a remote corner of the universe and began emulating the enemy who had just beaten them.

Pretty soon they are worshipping the Panther as a god, taking the shape of Wakandans and before long an empire is born.

That would be insane! I love the theory... Probably too big of imagination for Coates/ of he did he would f it up hard

[Cville]

It was a good issue. Finally a real all out battle. This is how the battle in the first arc should have been. He didn't get any lines, but Kasper was there in his new outfit.

[BlackClaw]

Eh, it was alright. But it was cool seeing Kasper again.

[Cville]

Eh, it was alright. But it was cool seeing Kasper again.

Well, I've taken the advice of MoS and called it World of Wakanda. Without the stereotypes of arc one I can justify it being good. lol

[BlackClaw]

Speaking of Kasper, who can you guys see playing him if he shows up in the sequel? I can picture someone like Micheal Jai White pulling it off.

[Moose100]

I have a theory on the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.

It was founded by Skrulls.

Remember the Skrulls who Panther let live and return home at the end of SWaD? These survivors in defeat somehow came to be impressed by how BP and Wakanda played them and beat them. However, they couldn't return home to the Skrull empire in defeat. So they went into hiding in a remote corner of the universe and began emulating the enemy who had just beaten them.

Pretty soon they are worshipping the Panther as a god, taking the shape of Wakandans and before long an empire is born.

Ohhh dude this might be it!

[Moose100]

It was a good issue. Finally a real all out battle. This is how the battle in the first arc should have been. He didn't get any lines, but Kasper was there in his new outfit.

What issue?

[Harsh Lesson]

Another Skrull invasion is imaginative?

[Montez]

He will never appear in any MCU movie and thank goodness

[Harsh Lesson]

You find it interesting that many people like Priest's work but don't agree with him about Coates? What, people are supposed to step in line because it's Priest?

I give him major props as the greatest BP writer and I am very thankful he brought him out of limbo.

He revitalized BP and dropped that noble negro syndrome nonsense. He stopped all that pyrrhic victory bullisht as well.

But he is not head priest of the BP fan club and no one is under any obligation to fall in line behind him and his views.

CBB.

Yes, I find it interesting that someone who has a thorough understanding of the character, and whom played a major role in his development, is pleased with Coates writing while many who frequent here have accused him of having no grasp of T’Challa.

[Cville]

What issue?

New BP out this week. I will say the dialogue got in the way a little bit. This might have worked better as the silent issue.

[Blind Wedjat]

I think people who think T'Challa was outshinned in this movie or think he had no agency need to give the movie another watch. When a lot of critics and other people say this isn't your standard MCU movie, they really mean it. Not just in how it looks and sounds (the cinematography and score are probably the best the MCU has to offer), but in the kind of story it tells and especially with T'Challa's character. To think T'Challa is simply reacting to things and has no agency I think is completely false

This movie's central theme is about balance. The balance between tradition and innovation. Wakanda in many ways is that balance, from their architecture, their technology, aesthetics. Their country is essentially highly advanced, yet their culture has been untouched and is very traditional (such as how they choose their king through ritual combat). Many characters in this film symbolise tradition and innovation, with some being moderate and some being extreme. For instance, M'Baku is extreme traditionalism while Okoye is moderate traditionalism. Shuri is extreme innovation and Nakia is moderate innovation.

T'Challa's arc in this film is about finding that balance, deciding the kind of king he wants to be (and not what others expect him to), and realising and accepting that his father is not the perfect man in his eyes that he was. I'm not sure how other people didn't realise it, but I noticed it on first watch. T'Challa rise to the throne is signified and symbolised by defeating M'Baku, the agent of extreme traditionalism (as the sun rises). When T'Challa sees T'Chaka in the Ancestral Plane for the first time, he falls to his knees overcome with emotion and says he's not ready to be without him (if anyone thinks this is honestly a problem, remember his father literally just died a week ago), and also asks him how best should he lead Wakanda. He still has that perfect image of his father (if I'm correct, it's in the Ancestral Plane visit that we see some quick flashback shots of both young and old T'Chaka touching T'Challa's face). But look at the actual Ancestral Plane, though: This one is dark almost like a night sky, to show that T'Challa is still in the dark about his father's actions.

I really can't complain about T'Challa losing to Killmonger at all. It's a necessary part of his arc. Killmonger is the face of extremely negative innovation and Westernisation, and he has to succumb too that a little to bit too, to discover what he wants by loosing to Killmonger (as the sun sets). Again the moments before this show T'Challa learning and making decisions by himself, and also trying to be like his father. His very first instinct is to be just like T'Chaka ("Take him away.") It's only when Erik announces himself in front of everyone that he accepts his challenge. Now as for the fight, at first I thought it was a bad fight through and through, but watch it again. T'Challa as distracted as he was had more than one clear opportunity to kill Erik. He chose not two because he knew who he was and again this is a T'Challa deciding to be his own person and not what is expected of him. That is the very definition of having agency. It's a mistake that he makes, yes, which cost him the throne and almost his life. But nonetheless he was distracted and for very good reasons. His perfect image of his father had started to crack, and spoilers:

Zuri had been killed in front of his very eyes

end of spoilers. Some more information and clips of how skilled Killmonger was might have really drove home just how good he was, but I think the film does a good enough job at both showing that Killmonger is a talented fighter without downplaying T'Challa's abilities at all. For Bast's sake, T'Challa along the side of a freaking wall in this film. He leaps more than 20 feet in a single bound in this film. He accurately plans out an attack on the Nigerian traffickers and executes it, throwing the EMP beads at their cars perfectly. He's the only one showing to not struggle a little during the Busan casino fight, survives and doesn't seem hurt at all by Klaw's sound cannon (which could wreck a car completely), takes out three cars (including the one with Klaw in it) during the chase scene while Okoye took out only one or two (I think it was just one). He was the only one who could take out Killmonger. Okoye and the Doras couldn't. Nakia and Shuri couldn't. T'Challa's the one that did it and he used his both his skills and his brain to do it, hence showing that ultimately after dealing with his own internal conflict he was better than Killmonger.

I also don't agree that T'Challa feels dumbed down or incompetent in the film either. Yes, I too was bothered about making Shuri a genius but Shuri has a clear belief that just sets her thinking aside from T'Challa: She believes a piece of technology can always be improved. That doesn't mean that T'Challa somehow is not smart or that she is even smarter than him. He designed his own suit and jet. He immediately starts understanding how to use his suit once Shuri tells him about it. He also understands without anyone telling him that the Mag-Lev train will affect both his and Killmonger's suit and that will be the way to defeat him (Killmonger even compliments him on the move).

But back to T'Challa's arc, he is able to understand the truth about who his father really was, accept that T'Chaka wasn't perfect and that he made mistakes, and that he will be a better king and man than T'Chaka was. What I discovered from this film (and considering Civil War) is that T'Chaka taught T'Challa how to be both a warrior, a king and a good man, but T'Challa learned how to be a warrior the best while still being a good man (who could spare Zemo and grant Bucky asylum for instance). I think that's why T'Challa gravitated towards the role of Black Panther very early, and even when he became king he still had the mentality of a warrior, such as hunting down Bucky for vengeance and going after Klaue (remember one of his councilwomen said Wakanda needs a king now and not a warrior). It's at the very end of this film that T'Challa finds out and truly understands that being a good person is more important, and that being a king is not about having power, doing what is expected of you or honouring tradition, but by striving to improve your society, correcting the wrongs of your forefathers, and improving the world around you if you can. T'Chaka was like this as well, but it seems he had learnt this valuable lesson when it was too late and during his last moments. T'Challa has learnt this lesson early enough and with that, is already a better king and man than his father (which ties into another theme of the movie -- wanting the next generation to be better -- and is a common culture with African societies). And to me, that is one of the most satisfying and unique arcs in any superhero movie, and that makes T'Challa one of the most inspirational characters in the MCU. His character has the most growth in the entire film, so I can't really see how Killmonger for instance was given the most by Coogler. Sure, Coogler obviously related to Killmonger by making him 'from' Oakland, but he makes it very clear that Killmonger while having righteous intentions, was full of hate and that what he wanted to do was wrong. T'Challa is clearly the noble man at the end of the film, even though Killmonger's political view at the basic level is also correct. I mean, am I the only one who saw some similarities between Killmonger and the current POTUS. He only adheres to rules and tradition when it benefits, such as when he wears the tribal mask because he's "just feelin' it", scars his body for self motivation and stroking his own ego, and challenges T'Challa just so he can kill him and get the throne. Notice how when he came into power all of that went out the window, by trying to change Wakanda isolationist view and waging war on the rest of the world, and also refusing to continue the challenge because T'Challa neither yielded or died. Killmonger also appealed to the vengeful and worse nature of the Wakandans such as W'Kabi, and ultimately sets off a civil war.

At my showing, the audience was really feeling T'Challa far more than Killmonger. There was quite some talking during the film, and I don't think a lot of people were really moved by Killmonger. Yes, his last line is great and all, but I think a lot of people relate to it and to him because they're Americans. T'Challa is less relatable in that sense because he's African and his thing is more about isolationism and anti-colonialism, which I think most Americans obviously can't relate to. A lot more people, including my friends I saw it with and someone I sat next to ended up really rooting for and liking T'Challa because we could all see his arc in the film, and Chadwick Boseman shows the most range in the entire film. Not many origin stories show that well rounded of a character and I really do not think Coogler did the character an injustice. Having that good of a supporting cast is something many superhero movies do not have and most of us aren't used to it, so we think of it as stealing the spotlight. But to me, unlike Coates' T'Challa, this version knows what he wants to be, does end up figuring it out, is competent and knows how to handle himself (something none of the other MCU heroes start of as in the beginning of their origins). In my opinion Coogler found the right balance between making changes for an adaptation whilst remaining faithful to the source material.

Sorry this is a very long post.

[butterflykyss]

Loved the issue!! Can't wait to see how this all culminates.