Love them or hate them, there is no denying that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has had a cultural impact on modern-day cinema. Whether it is the copycats that keep trying to make their own superhero ensembles into a combined universe or the outliers that think they can take any intellectual property they own the rights to and make it a shared universe, the cultural landscape of the popular film has shifted since 2008 and the release of Iron Man. For eleven years, it seemed like Marvel could do no wrong, and each film, some more so than others, furthered an overarching plot leading up to Avengers: Endgame. After that, though, it has floundered like a ship without a clear destination.
One year before this incredible streak of mega-blockbusters was to come to a conclusion, Marvel was going to break some new ground, though. They had already set the groundwork for this landmark film two years prior by introducing the character, but now they were going full force into the first big-budget Black superhero film, Black Panther. It was a bit of a gamble, but when the character was introduced in Captain America: Civil War, he received nearly universal acclaim. The casting of Chadwick Boseman had proved to be inspired. But being a popular guest character in an ensemble picture didn’t necessarily mean he could carry his own picture. Chadwick Boseman is a large part of the reason his solo film works. He made a big splash in his appearance in Captain America: Civil War, especially in the quieter moments towards the end of that film, and that translated over to his solo outing.
On top of that, Director Ryan Coogler had a reverence for the character, and, even more importantly, for the African setting. It would have been very easy to depict the African people in a stereotypical fashion as Hollywood has done for over a hundred years now. Coogler breathes life and humanity into the people and the setting, creating an environment that is not only fictional and filled with science fiction elements, but is also very much in touch with its African history and culture. At the time of its release, it was heralded as a film that Black children and adults, too, could look at and see someone that looked like them that was a superhero, something that had long been absent in mainstream cinema. In the past, Black superheroes were relegated to low-budget comedic affairs like The Meteor Man and Steel; this was a big-budget Marvel movie.
But if this film had only targeted the Black audience, it wouldn’t have been as successful as it was. It still needed to appeal to the majority in order to be profitable, especially with that massive Marvel budget. It needed to do that without compromising its setting, its characters, and the message that the filmmakers wanted to get across, a message that had the potential to make some audience members uncomfortable. Through Ryan Coogler’s capable hands, this film managed to do just that without compromises, allowing it to be an interesting hybrid of a Marvel superhero film and a message film. This is one of the primary reasons Black Panther managed to crack into the Oscar Best Picture race when no other film in the entire canon, before or after, has managed to do it. And while this film didn’t receive any nominations in the acting categories, Angela Bassett deserved to be on that list and would rectify that a few years later when she appeared in the sequel, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
While Black Panther is a stand-alone feature film, it still is tied into the greater narrative of the MCU. This means that certain plot points carry over from earlier films, in this case, the death of the King of Wakanda, which occurred in Captain America: Civil War. This film opens with a prologue where the then-current King, T’Chaka (John Kani), visits his brother N’Jobu (Sterling K. Brown), who has been working undercover in Oakland, California. T’Chaka, based on reports from another undercover Wakandan, Zuri (Forrest Whitaker), accuses N’Jobu of assisting black-market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) with stealing vibranium, a powerful element found only in Wakanda and the source of all their power and technology. T’Chaka demands N’Jobu return with him to Wakanda to face judgment. We learn much later in the film that N’Jobu fought back and died in the process.
In the present day, following T’Chaka’s death at the hands of terrorism, his son T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to assume the throne and to face any would-be challengers for the role of king through ritual combat. The only challenger is the leader of the Jabari Tribe, M’Baku (Winston Duke), a fierce opponent who almost wins the battle but yields rather than die when he is defeated so that he can continue to lead his own tribe, who desperately need his presence.
Meanwhile, Erik Stevens, aka Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), with assistance from Klaue, steals an artifact from a British museum that is, unknown to the Brits, actually Wakandan and made of vibranium. Klaue takes the artifact to South Korea ostensibly to sell it to American CIA agent Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), but T’Challa and a small team of warriors show up, and a fight breaks out, leading to Klaue being captured. Killmonger breaks him out, though, only to kill him and deliver him to Wakanda, himself, along with a revelation. He is the son of N’Jobu, the previous king’s brother, and thus has a claim on the throne. He challenges T’Challa to ritual combat, besting the standing king and taking over the rule of Wakanda. With that power, he has an agenda that threatens to plunge the world into war. T’Challa, thought dead, realizes that the world is not the place his father envisioned it to be and that Wakanda can no longer hide behind its technology and pretend the horrors of the world do not exist.
Black Panther, the character, came out of the 1960s during a time of political unrest and the call for equal rights amongst the races. While the character predates the Black Panther Party by a few months, it allegedly came out of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO), a group that utilized the image of a black panther as their logo. Creator Stan Lee insisted that the timing of the movement and the introduction of the character were coincidental and that very well may be true. It could also be rewriting history in an attempt to avoid tying a popular character to a political movement that often used violence to advance their agenda. We’ll probably never know for sure, and, quite honestly, it doesn’t really matter in the long run. Either way, the introduction of the character came about at a time when the world needed to see a strong Black hero that defied the stereotypes of the era.
The same can be said for today. In the modern world, where previously family-friendly African-American celebrities have tarnished their squeaky-clean images, we need role models of color that can be looked up to and admired. Chadwick Boseman seemed to be the perfect choice for that. He had already made a name for himself a few years prior, playing Jackie Robinson in the baseball docudrama 42, and came across as someone of solid character in the face of bigotry and hatred. In that film, he carried himself with dignity and grace, even if it didn’t come naturally to his character at first. It proved Chadwick was someone to keep an eye on as an actor. He would follow that up with his mesmerizing portrayal of James Brown before finally getting cast as T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War. The role required him to battle his personal demons and learn to forgive the man who killed his father. Introducing Black Panther into the MCU was a gamble, but not only did it pay off, it was about darn time we got a legitimate Black hero in this universe, one who could lead his own film. As of this writing, Anthony Mackie is slated to lead his own Marvel Movie, Captain America: Brave New World, and we will see how well that one does.
The same year Chadwick Boseman was being introduced to the world as Black Panther, the actor was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer. Most of the world was kept unaware of this diagnosis, and so in the summer of 2020, it came as a shock to the world when it was announced that this man who so many people looked up to, and who had broken through the color barrier in the superhero genre, had passed away suddenly. He left behind a powerful legacy amongst genre fans, and it was felt heavily when Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverreleased a few years later. Chadwick Boseman was an amazing actor and a wonderful man, to boot, and his legacy lives on in the work he has left behind.
Aside from Chadwick, there are plenty of other things that make Black Panther such a compelling film. For one, Michael B. Jordan is not playing a stereotypical bad guy. He has a point about how those with the means to help should feel obligated to do so. His methods are not in the right place, but his goals have a level of truth to them that T’Challa cannot ignore the way his father did. In this way, his death is a tragedy rather than a victory, and his final moment in the film is both poignant and sad. When offered the chance to be healed from his wounds, he rejects that offer, pointing out the history where slaves would throw themselves overboard the ships because they knew death was preferable to imprisonment.
In some ways, this is just another Marvel movie, there to add another branch to the already complex narrative. But in other ways, it is so much more than that. This film has a lot to say about race relations and the moral obligations those who have much have for helping those who do not. This helped elevate this film above the typical genre tropes, which got the attention of the Academy voters, propelling it to a Best Picture nomination. It didn’t win, but it did break through, not only as a genre film but as a film about Black people that portrayed them in a positive light when the world in general was so busy trying to do the opposite. It was a film that people of all races needed to see and appreciate, and it gave young Black kids a superhero role model they could call their own. As I said earlier, it was about darn time.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture: Kevin Feige
Best Costume Design: Ruth E. Carter (won)
Best Original Score: Ludwig Göransson (won)
Best Original Song: “All the Stars” by Kendrick Lamar, Mark “Sounwave” Spears, Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith, and SZA
Best Production Design: Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart (won)
Best Sound Editing: Benjamin A. Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
Best Sound Mixing: Peter J. Devlin, Steve Boeddeker, and Brandon Proctor
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Release Date: February 16, 2018
Running Time: 134 Minutes
Rated PG-13
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
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