If you haven’t seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever yet, only continue at your own risk. The following article contains spoilers on major plot points of the sequel.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ended Phase 4 by further exploring the concept of grief, but with some real-world thrown into the mix. Director Ryan Coogler and his crew used the film to work through their own challenges after the loss of Chadwick Boseman, which leads to a powerful film reflecting back on the legacy he leaves. In the middle of it all, Angela Bassett offered a powerful performance as Queen Ramonda. In an interview with IndieWire, she highlighted what it was like taking on the role and returning as the character and how Coogler supported the cast throughout production.
He’s extremely clear on the story and what he’s doing, but the way he carries himself around the cast and the crew. It’s so collaborative. He’s so self-effacing. That impostor syndrome that we’re feeling or whatever, he will just say it out loud. ‘I don’t know about these words. Are you OK with them?’ And he really invites you to have your say, be a part, which is wonderful. He doesn’t straightjacket you.
Angela Bassett
Of course, the big move in this film was her death at the hands of Tenoch Huerta‘s Namor. A powerplay to showcase his power before Wakanda and especially Letitia Wright‘s Shuri. In a story already fighting through the loss of a character, it seemed harsh to add one more to the list, but Bassett shared how the Black Panther director convinced her of taking the story down this route.
I objected. Yeah, I was like, ‘Ryan, what are you doing? Why? You will rue the day! You will rue the demise of [Ramonda]. People are gonna be so upset. He was like, ‘Angela, I know, I know, but look, to die is not really to die in this world. It doesn’t really have to mean that.’
Angela Bassett
It definitely was shocking and added to the emotional gut punch that was Wakanda Forever. Shuri’s character has gone through a lot in this film. So, it just added even more weight to the events that transpired. Still, it almost seems like we could expect Bassett to potentially return in the MCU’s future if that is how Coogler sold her on the story decision.
Marvel Studios has just left Phase 4 behind and is getting ready for the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After going through its grief phase, it’s time to see what a new kind of super team may bring to the table. While the Avengers‘ next two entries aren’t set for 2025 and 2026, we’ll get a very different kind of team-up to wrap up Phase 5, the Thunderbolts.
Outside of a look at the roster, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the project. Perhaps Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is setting up some story points, we don’t know what will force the hands of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to form such a ragtag team. David Harbour agrees and gets a chance to sit down with ComicBook.com’s Phase Zero podcast while promoting Violent Night, where he got an opportunity to tease the newly formed group of “losers” of the MCU.
We’re… like, losers, which I like. We’re like, you know, the losers. And I think it’s fun to watch us just mess everything up. I think that’s the spectrum. I think it’s very funny, but there’s also a lot of pathos in that. There’s a lot of drama in a bunch of people that just keep getting their lives wrong and, because of character flaws, keep messing things up. And nobody gives them the respect that they do to Captain America and Iron Man, very capable people. So there’s a lot to draw on there. There’s a lot of movie there that’ll be fun.
David Harbour
It’s definitely a fun way to introduce the team, but it’s not the first time that Marvel took this approach. James Gunn introduced the world to the Guardians of the Galaxy as a bunch of “a-holes” that don’t usually belong together. Now that we have a group of anti-heroes working together, it does seem like their personalities are going to clash quite a bit throughout the film’s runtime.
With the revelation that Wakanda is no longer the only nation with access to Vibranium, the landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe changed dramatically. For all the reasons clearly outlined by Queen Ramonda in her speech to the UN and seconded by Everett Ross in his conversation with his ex-wife and current CIA Director, Valentia Allegra de Fontaine, it seems best if Vibranium is kept out of the hands of other nations. Fortunately, the two known locations of Vibranium on Earth now seem safer than ever with Wakanda and Talokan forging an alliance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, if Vibranium could be found buried in the ocean floor, who is to say that’s the only place outside of Wakanda where deposits of it might exist?
An increasingly popular fan theory posits that it won’t be long before Vibranium’s history in the MCU is revised once more and that another deposit of the alien metal will be discovered in another place, like Wakanda and Talokan, thought to only exist in legend: the Savage Land. Hidden away in Antarctica, the Savage Land is a tropical game preserve created by an alien race over 200 million years ago that first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1941. Over the years, several individuals stumbled upon the Savage Land, filled with prehistoric flora and fauna such as dinosaurs, saber-toothed tigers and early hominids, allowing legend of it to spread among mankind and into “fictional” accounts. In addition to the wild array of creatures that inhabit it, the Savage Land from the pages of the Marvel Comics is also the only known location of an alternate form of Vibranium known as Anti-Metal. While Savage Land Vibranium shares some properties with Vibranium, its unique properties could make it, in many ways, a more dangerous alternative.
By embracing the more fantastical elements of Namor and Talokan, Marvel Studios kept the door open to introducing the Savage Land in the MCU. And if the Savage Land does exist in the MCU, it could provide a fascinating opportunity to make good on Namor’s promise that one day the world would come for the resources of Wakana and Talokan. As eager as Val is shown to be to get her hands on Vibranium in Wakanda Forever, she’s not foolish enough to think her team of Thunderbolts could possibly be well enough equipped to take on either Wakanda or Talokan, much less their combined strength. However, the uncertain fate of Riri Williams’ Vibranium detector in the film could be just the type of unresolved plot point that could set the course of the Thunderbolts’ mission in the 2024 film: a trip to the Savage Land.
Sending a few Super Soldiers, a cyborg, a spy and a sneaky quantum-phase shifter into the Savage Land to bring back some Anti-Metal might sound like a relative day at the park; however, as fans of the comics know, it isn’t just the dinosaurs and Man-Apes of the Savage Land that the Thunderbolts would have to deal with. The Savage Land has its own protector, Ka-Zar, and it’s unlikely he and his Smilodon companion Zabu would take kindly to a group of outsiders coming to raid his land.
Since the Disney-Fox merger was completed, I’ve consistently heard whispers that Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige was eager to bring the Savage Land to the MCU. Fox never explored the potential of it and its inhabitants, making it ripe for Marvel Studios. Feige found a way to include a “Savage World” in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which served as a Savage Land Easter egg. Is it possible it also served as a way to prime audiences for the eventual inclusion of the location within another project?
While on the surface, the group Val has assembled to be her Thunderbolts doesn’t really inspire much awe; however, putting them in the Savage Land and pitting them against Ka-Zar and/or the elements does seem to spice things up a touch. In the comics, Anti-Metal’s unique properties allow it to liquefy other metals. So much for John Walker’s shield. Could Anti-Metal do the same to Wakandan Vibranium? Bucky’s arm would make for an interesting experiment. Savage Land Vibranium also has unique vibrational properties. Could those be used to disrupt Ghost’s phasing abilities?
Of course, Ka-Zar is no villain and if Thunderbolts was going to follow along this “hunt for Vibranium” path, the team wouldn’t spend the entire film locked in battle with him, but the idea of that team on a mission to the Savage Land is much more palatable than them taking on Wakanda, Talokan or really any group of powered people. The current makeup of the team is pretty weak and couldn’t handle any sort of Avengers-level threat. So who else could be in the Savage Land that would make a formidable and realistic threat to the team? Skrulls have been known to be interested in Anti-Metal in the comics and would provide just the kind of threat the Thunderbolts could handle while teaming up with Ka-Zar. It could also provide a great opportunity for Marvel Studios to adapt the big Savage Land battle from the Secret Invasion comic event into a smaller-scale third-act brawl that would make Thunderbolts a whole lot of fun.
Another, less exciting option for a big bad in Thunderbolts could be the MCU’s Power Broker, Sharon Carther. It’s worth noting that the D+ series Secret Invasion is said to lead right into Armor Wars, which is now being developed as a feature film. Having competing parties searching for Vibranium in the Savage Land is a lot less exciting than having Skrulls there, but it could also be said that they don’t have to be mutually exclusive. I’ve not heard exciting things about the big bad of the Thunderbolts’ film, however, so this is just one boring place my mind goes while pursuing the possibilities.
Again, it’s all just speculation generated from what’s become a fairly well-shared fan theory about what Val’s team will get up to in Thunderbolts, but there are certainly enough dots to connect to make up the bare bones of a boring story. However, given its slot as a July film, Marvel Studios will certainly want Thunderbolts to look and feel like a blockbuster and a trip to the Savage Land would go a long way in that regard.
Marvel Studios’ final Phase 4 theatrical release, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, hit theaters this weekend. You can read Hunter Radesi’s advance review here, but what did the rest of the team think? We team up to share our thoughts.
Mary Rowe
Overall, I think I loved Wakanda Forever as a total package, but I think I may have enjoyed it in the theater a little less than others seemed to. The overarching concept and plot for me was a 10/10, the actors and their performances were a 10/10, Namor was a 10/10, and the excruciating emotional heaviness that felt like a constant crushing sensation was a 12/10. Substantively, for me, the film was absolutely masterful in those regards. I did find it overly packed with what it wanted to do, and it was something I felt like I noticed frequently while I was watching it. Some amazing scenes felt abruptly cut short before transitioning a bit awkwardly to other (sometimes jarringly different) scenes. I struggled with Riri’s role in the film. I loved the character and Dominique Thorne, but Namor’s sole motivation being to kill her did not make a ton of sense. Clearly, others knew how to make the vibranium-sensing machines based on her invention and the general threat from world forces to find vibranium would never be solved by killing one scientist. So the driving force of the overarching plot felt weak, and Ironheart’s big role took up too much time and attention from the rest of the film, which was far more compelling. Val’s role in the film seemed absolutely unnecessary, especially since she really did not do anything that set up any other project in any way. A lot of people refer to a Thunderbolts setup, but literally at no time was that project actually set up or advanced in any way. Even if it was, the side plot of the U.S. government considering taking (idiotic) action against Wakanda was OK, but had too much time given to it. I think the film overall is a triumph, and it is wild how big of a film it is considering it is technically a solo sequel. I also think it is not discussed enough how the film is led by women and easily the most representative MCU film in that regard. I would be genuinely surprised if Angela Bassett did not get an Oscar nod for her performance, and I think the film (like its predecessor) has a strong chance at a Best Picture nod as well.
Joao Pinto
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is nothing short of an incredible achievement given the terrible circumstances its development faced. But even though I’ve been a strong proponent that, following the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, Marvel Studios should not recast the role, there is no denying that that choice would present a few issues when it came to the project’s script and overall tone. Acknowledging Boseman’s passing would imbue the feature with almost inescapable emotional gravitas, something that would make everything else a Marvel movie is known to feature pale in comparison. And, in my opinion, Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverstruggleswhen trying to mesh everything into a single vision, revealing itself as a bit unfocused when moving from one thematical approach to another.
All in all, honoring Boseman’s legacy all while expanding on the Black Panther mythos, introducing an entirely new civilization and its background, moving the Cinematic Universe forward by hinting at several future projects, and doing all of it in a little less than 3 hours would always be a herculean task. What Ryan Coogler managed to deliver is about as good as one could expect given the hand he was dealt, and the entire cast was pretty much brilliant in the way their performances honored both their characters and their friend.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will surely be widely regarded as a standout project within a franchise with an already extremely high bar. It will be revisited countless times. and I’m sure time will keep doing it justice given the way it sets up the MCU’s future as well as it warm-heartedly honors its past.
Anthony Canton III
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is an emotional sledgehammer and a necessary one for all parties involved. Ryan Coogler’s effort is full of all the emotions one can go through in dealing with the loss of a loved one. It is the truest of parallels from real life to screen. Chadwick Boseman’s absence is felt in this film and I say it endearingly. The director and cast wanted us to know this and didn’t hold back in expressing it as such. There are MCU ties sure, but this movie is more than that. From Angela Bassett’s Oscar-worthy performance of a heartbroken Queen to Letitia Wright’s powerful showcase as Shuri, we were reminded that these people went through this hurt on a grander level. It was touching, it was angry, and it was chaotic at times. Most importantly, it was real.
The stages of grief, from regret to outright frustration were transferred to the viewer. Through Tenoch Huerta’s explosive arrival to the MCU as Namor, we saw a window into what endless vengeance could look like. Through it all, the end of the film is a stark example of life. There are the darkest of times, but through it all there is the simplest sliver of hope, and that hope saves. Salute to Ryan Coogler and the cast for making an unforgettable movie.
Torbjorn Frazier
There genuinely isn’t a Marvel Studios movie, let alone a major blockbuster film, like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The themes of grief and loss are explored in such a visceral way that are greatly unexpected, even with an understanding of what the film would be going into it. Ryan Coogler adeptly leads the audience through an odyssey of emotions that lead to hopefully some closure for the legacy of Chadwick Boseman. With that, the director proves himself to be truly one of the best of his generation. Each of the leads brings their best into their performances and highlights why Wakanda deserves to have a marquee role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Special attention needs to be placed on Tenoch Huerta Mejía as Namor, who provides the MCU with another all-time great antagonist and a character that should be primed for a massive role in various future projects (and rightfully so).
Though with that in mind, it does lead to the one noticeable folly I had with the film. While the threads being set up are certainly interesting, essentially all of the content involving Martin Freeman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus would’ve been way better served in a different project (ie Secret Invasion or Ironheart). The extensive runtime of the film isn’t an issue at all, but it would’ve been much better served to focus directly on the themes of grief and legacy alongside the conflict with Talokan. There are some noticeable nitpicks with the film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever absolutely sings in the parts where it needed to, and that’s what matters most at the end of the day. It’s a bonafide 9/10 in my book.
Dalbin Osorio
10/10. Zero notes.
Seriously, it was that good. Namor was incredible, and I think that’s a good place to start. This isn’t a villain who you root for because he’s conflicted: this is a villain that you root for because he’s 100% right in a way that Killmonger was not. His warning about other nations coming for Wakanda seems incredibly predictive, given that it seems Val (hello CIA Director) is sending the Thunderbolts in to get it. His mistrust of the surface world drives him to seclude his Kingdom much like the Wakandans and Wakanda. The parallels between him and T’Challa are hard to ignore, and I can’t help but wonder how powerful T’Challa versus Namor would’ve been.
However, Shuri more than holds her own weight. Her arc, like Okoye and M’Baku, is earned. That’s the best thing I can say about this movie: every choice is earned, and there are actual consequences to decisions made in the first. It’s what you want to see in these sequels. Riri Williams is a star, and I cannot wait to see her build her Mark 3 suit and battle The Hood. Angela Bassett deserves all the praise: her grief as she banishes Okoye was palpable, and Bassett remains one of the more underrated actresses of our time. It’s Marvel’s best sequel, and if Ryan Coogler can stick the landing in the third Black Panther film, it will be Marvel’s best trilogy.
Charles Murphy
It has never seemed fair to critique a movie for what it is not, but it’s nearly impossible to think about what Black Panther: Wakanda Forever could have been with Chadwick Boseman. Though the film was reworked after Boseman’s passing, the shadow of what it was is still visible. Boseman’s death turned the cast and crew of Wakanda Forever inside-out and the film necessarily expresses their grief and mourning; it would have been impossible to make the sequel without addressing it. The cast and crew handled this with incredible poise and their work was beautiful.
As writer/director Ryan Coogler has pointed out, Namor was always on track to be the villain of Wakanda Forever. The introduction of one of Marvel Comics’ oldest and greatest characters needed to be done no a big stage and it was. The choice to adapt Wakanda vs. Atlantis into the film was ballsy. Add to it the choice to completely reinvent Atlantis into Talokan and provide a backstory to it that was on par with the one given to Wakanda in Black Panther was even ballsier. The cast and crew nailed this. Talokan was beautiful. Namor was every bit who he should have been. Maybe the action wasn’t 10/10, but it was plenty.
Wakanda Forever, ultimately, had to try to balance these two stories and blend them into one coherent film. It did that unequivocally. However, it was the ancillary plot that threw the film off-kilter. Despite Dominque Thorne crushing her role as Riri Williams, the character’s arc in the film never felt as though it fit smoothly. Even less smooth was the inclusion of CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in what seemed to be nothing more than a set-up for another project and a poor one at that.
The principal cast all delivered monster performances. Letitia Wright’s performance hasn’t garnered anywhere near enough praise. Tenoch Huerta gave Namor all the edges he should have and still made him just likable enough. Angela Bassett went off. Lupita Nyong’o, DanaiGurira and Winston Duke were all givenopportunities to mourn their onscreen and real-life friend AND be a part of the other arc as well. One would have to think the entire experience was cathartic for them all.
Incredible performances. Two impossible stories intertwined into one. Just a few speed bumps along the way. As always, I’ll have to see it again to really know where it fits, but I do know this: unlike some of Marvel Studios’ recent theatrical releases, at least I WANT to see it again.
Joseph Aberl
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a film that explores grief in a complex world that wants you to push forward. Most of the film’s conflict centers around Letitia Wright‘s Shuri and Angela Basset‘s powerful performance as Queen Ramonda, who bring their A-game to this film. One can feel that this is an emotional journey for everyone involved, especially with how difficult it must be to handle the tragedy of Chadwick Boseman.
Tenoch Huerta is a new powerhouse and a reminder of the star power that Marvel Studios creates with its projects. He brings a balance to Namor that wasn’t going to be easy to handle by introducing him as the film’s main antagonist but they pull it off. While the film can drag at one point or another, it feels like a project that wants to take its time. And, it’s something we don’t see often in these bombastic larger-than-life films. The film doesn’t want to run away from the grief but forces us to face its consequences through many eyes.
While all eyes are currently on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, there’s always a small glimpse into the future. That is especially true when someone gets a chance to sit down with one of the producers behind the project that can offer at least a small update on what to expect. luckily, Collider got a chance to discuss Captain America: New World Order with producer Nate Moore, who offered a small glimpse into what to expect.
In the interview, he doesn’t go into any details but does confirm that the production will “start shooting next spring.” He also goes on to highlight the new cast additions, especially confirming Harrison Ford taking on the role of General “Thunderbolt” Ross, taking on the mantle after the tragic passing of William Hurt.
Well, look, Sam Wilson’s Captain America, he is going to bring his own team to play. It’s no secret that Samuel Sterns is making his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is fantastic because Tim Blake Nelson’s the best. Harrison Ford is taking on the role of General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, and to see Sam Wilson and Thunderbolt Ross – which if you remember actually threw him in prison at the end of Civil War because he violated the Sokovia Accords. There’s going to be some natural sparks there, which I think are going to be really fun.
Nate Moore
It’ll be interesting to see what Ford brings to the role and the reintroduction of the character opens up the possibility of multiple appearances. Perhaps the Marvel Cinematic Universe takes the direction of naming the unlikely team after him. With the production start not too far away, we may get some casting news in the coming weeks.
There’s always some excitement about a new project, especially when it comes to crossovers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While we’ll have to wait a while until we get to see the next Avengers team-up, we’ll have a different kind of project with the introduction of the Thunderbolts into the MCU. The film’s roster was revealed during D23 with a very super-soldier centric offering, especially with the major returning cast from Black Widow.
One of its stars, David Harbour has been quite excited to share what he can from the project without giving anything away. In a new interview with Gizmodo, the Stranger Things star got to boast about his excitement about working with some of the cast, highlighting Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Wyatt Russell, and SebastianStan. Yet, he also puts in a good word on what they have planned for Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova
I’ve loved Wyatt [Russell], and Sebastian [Stan] and Julia [Louis-Dreyfus]’s characters throughout the universe. What [director Jake Schreier] wants to do with Florence’s character is very interesting and how I factor into how we develop our relationship is very interesting. And then when you see what Jake and Eric Pearson is trying to fashion, it’s really clever…So you have this movie that’s, you know, kind of ragtag.
David Harbour
Harbour‘s excitement has always been infectious, and it’s great to see that he’s all-in for this new project. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Red Guardian as a recurring character moving forward. Yet, it’s quite interesting that he highlights the development offered by Pugh‘s character. It also seems we’ll see a lot more interaction between them moving forward. Perhaps the family will finally find each other again.
Fans of Black Panther and its sequel should be happy to hear that Marvel Studios has confirmed that there are multiple Disney+ projects in the works based on Wakanda. According to Marvel Studios EP Nate Moore, some of the series in mind would involve existing characters, such as the Okoye-centric project that’s been in development for some time, while others would focus on characters “that would be completely new.”
Daredevil: Born Again is one of three Disney Plus streaming series set to film in the first half of 2023, joining Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Wonder Man. Early word had the Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio-led Daredevil series headed to New York City for production, returning to the familiar locations fans grew accustomed to over 3 seasons of the Netflix series. Production is expected to last nearly all of 2023, beginning in February and wrapping in December.
Indiana Jones is set to make a big comeback with the upcoming fifth film starring Harrison Ford in the iconic role once again. Yet, it seems that Disney is not interested in leaving it with just that single project. According to a new report by Variety, it seems they are also hoping to develop a Disney+ series based on the iconic archaeologist’s globe-trotting adventures. They don’t have a writer or showrunner in place. So, it’s not a definite project at the moment but definitely something they are looking into.
Lastly, a very heartbreaking exclusive about the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch movie revealed that the iconic character Cobra Bubbles will be replaced. Of course, news that one of the greatest Disney animated films of all time would be receiving the latest live-action treatment was distressing enough. Still, the fact that Agent Bubbles was not deemed worthy of making the cut is absolutely absurd and a crushing blow to any reasonable-minded person. Perhaps the only post-1990s 2D Disney animated films to actually become a classic, Lilo & Stitch is a journey that spans space, friendship, and family. The film boasts an amazing soundtrack as well, and it is unclear how a live-action film could ever do it justice. Bubbles was a pillar of the original film, serving as the social worker constantly threatening to separate Lilo and her sister, Nani, as Nani does her best as a teenage older sister and pseudo-single-parent after the two’s parents die tragically as per Disney tradition. It is near impossible to see how a remake that forsakes Bubbles could be the Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride that the beloved Lilo & Stitch embodies. Disney apparently forgot the film’s most famous quote: “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has dominated the box office, as the film will pull in $180M over the weekend. Cinemas have been waiting for a project to finally give them a boost, especially after Black Adam was a more mellow premiere, and it has arrived. Not only that, the film has now taken the record of thehighest November opening from Hunger Games. Catching Fire, which stood at $158M since 2013. The film will also end its global release at around $330M.
It’s a sigh of relief for Marvel Studios, as there were a lot of troubles facing this production. It had to film during COVID, Letitia Wright suffered an injury that halted production, and it lost its main star when Chadwick Boseman suddenly passed away forcing the production into a new direction. It also can’t rely on an international bo office with markets like China, Russia, and Ukraine not available for understandable reasons. It’ll likely not pass the original’s $1.4B worldwide release but it could have a chance at inching its way towards a billion if its A CinemaScore gives it some much-needed word-of-mouth.
The film stands as the second biggest opening for Marvel Studios this year, as it passed Thor: Love and Thunder but is behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which goes against early projection. Though these two films had the summer market to play with and the Doctor Strange sequel was heavily frontloaded. If Wakanda Forever doesn’t face a harsh drop in its second weekend, especially with it not sharing the B+ CinemaScore, it could have a chance to potentially surpass that film’s box office in the long run. Though it might be safer to say it’ll reach at least 800M and grow from there. Still, this is the fourth-highest superhero movie opening and it doesn’t seem like Marvel Studios is slowing down any second. Of course, the second weekend is the only one that could really tell if that’ll be the case.
In introducting Namor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever writer/director Ryan Coogler almost entirely recreated on of Marvel Comics’ oldest characters. Coogler created a brand new backstory for the character, a new “lost city” and a new timeline. In doing so, Coogler created one of the MCU’s most fascinating and powerful characters by managing to keep him true to who he has always been in that comics despite the changes. One of the aspects Coogler chose to keep was Namor’s identity as a mutant and by giving the character such a long life span, he also made good on one of the many aliases the character has been given over his decades in the comics.
Avenging Son. The Savage Sub-Mariner. Lord of the Seven Seas. Those are among the many titles given to Namor in the pages of Marvel Comics and they could all certainly all still apply to the MCU version of the character (though Avenging Son would have to be more of a title and less the Atlantean translation of his name). One title that absolutely applies, however, is The First Mutant. Given Namor has been alive in the MCU for 500 years, give or take, Wakanda Forever chronologically established the character as the first MCU mutant. While Kamala Khan may have been the first character to have been identified as a mutant, Namor just flat out did it first.
Of course, in the comics the title ultimately became a bit of a misnomer. While he was the first mutant to be introduced in the comics (his first appearance in comics predated the X-Men by 25 or so years), there are plenty of other mutants who walked the Earth before him. Apocalypse, Selene and even Amahl Farouk all predated the known history of Namor but, in the pages of the comics, he came first.
So what Coogler has done in Wakanda Forever is not only introduce an incredibly complex and conflicting character, he’s also retroactively established the existence of at least one mutant in the MCU to a time well before the word was first uttered on the timeline. Could other ancient mutants find their way into the MCU? Or does the future of the mutants lie in one of the infinite Earth’s in the Multiverse? MCU fans might not find out as quickly as they’d like, but Namor’s identity as The First Mutant now makes either option possible.
Afro-Latinos (read Black Latinos) don’t have many heroes in superhero movie mediums. We have seen a lot of cis-hetero white dudes carry the superhero mantle, be redeemed for their mistakes, and lead teams with reckless abandon. Those same dudes review-bombed two really good women-led superhero films, which really highlights how they believe the superhero space just belongs to them. A lot of those same dudes reviewed T’Challa’s first appearance (“what is with the horns whenever he’s on screen”, they said, like a superhero theme playing when a hero was onscreen was somehow an anomaly) and 2018’s Black Panther with a serious lack of cultural-competency. We heard that it wasn’t very good, wasn’t Marvel’s best, and how they didn’t really understand Killmonger’s beef with America.
It was strange, word to Stephen, but expected.
In a post-Black Panther world, we saw Marvel position T’Challa as the man who would lead and influence the next iterations of the Avengers. It was not a mistake for the final stand versus Thanos to take place in Wakanda, or for the first person to walk through the portal to be her King. Whereas the first version of the flagship group included absolutely zero diversity, this next generation would be made up of not just the Black Panther, but a new Captain America, two LGBTQ+ heroes, a Muslim mutant, a Jewish protector (unfortunately played by a Guatemalan actor, but progress brings missteps sometimes) with mental health issues, and two Black, armored Avengers. With diverse heroes, we were bound to get diverse villains, too: Black Panther gave us our first non-white villain and Marvel then cast an absolute legend in Tony Leung in a movie with a primarily Asian cast. Progress was slow but steady, and people were not happy. Still, for us Black folks, T’Challa represented so much more than just a seat at the table: he was the guy the table was built for.
When he died, there was this absurd movement to recast T’Challa led by A LOT of neckbearded cis-hetero white dudes. This seemed to coincide with the rise of scoopers who would throw so much at the wall with the hope that clout would follow if even 20% was right. They could then say that Marvel changed what they got wrong, which means they were never wrong, and rinse and repeat for the next movie. The sequel to Black Panther brought even more of that: we heard of an imaginary scene with a Fantastic Four villain making their debut, how it would end with the Thunderbolts descending on Wakanda, and how Lake Bell was playing a bigger character than what she really ended up playing. It was frustrating but expected. I treat “leaks” like fan fiction anyway and love coming back to them to see what they got wrong and whether there is ever any accountability. You guessed it: there isn’t any.
However, there should be, and it was during the lead-up to Wakanda Forever ‘s release date that I first thought “this is some bullshit.” If you’ve seen Wakanda Forever, you know that there is only one tag after the movie concludes, and it is a pretty important deal. I will not spoil it here, but needless to say it is one of the more impactful scenes Marvel has ever added both in terms of what it means for the future of the MCU and how it ties into the theme of Phase 4: grief and legacy are always intertwined, and as we try to grapple with those who aren’t here we have to come to grips with how we will remember them. Wakanda Forever, in that regard, almost gives us a front-row seat to the homegoing of T’Challa and lets us remember him for what he is and what he could’ve been. The tag at the end of the movie, then, acts as a way for us to see a future where the grief has settled. To have that moment ruined a full year before the movie came out would’ve been bad enough on its own. To have the choice to ruin it be justified as something fans needed to know made it substantially worse. That scene was so beautifully executed, but to have experienced that scene with no prior knowledge would’ve hit substantially differently. Nobody would’ve had less clout had it not been shared prematurely, and as a man of color and father, it hit a little differently than your normal Marvel stinger. Because of those two things, Wakanda Forever hit differently than your normal Marvel movie. Chadwick deserved for us to experience it the right way.
Scoopers will go back to ruining movies: they can’t help themselves, after all. It is telling that a Native American site owner is letting me write and publish this, and I’m eternally grateful to Charles for giving me this platform. It’s also telling that, even with us knowing things, we’ve never ruined a movie for anyone. The goal for us is to write about the stuff we’ve loved since we were kids. I thought that was the reason we all started doing this, anyway. Cheers to Black Panther, and to the Scoopers Who Almost Ruined it: I hope you chew gravel.
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![‘Wakanda Forever’s Angela Bassett Initially “Objected” the Decision to [SPOILER]](https://assets.murphysmultiverse.com/uploads/2022/11/angelabassett.jpg)
