Revisiting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Two years before this movie was released, we lost an absolute legend: Chadwick Boseman. But when “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” finally hit theaters, we fully realized the loss. Much like Boseman’s unfortunate fate, T’Challa suffered from a terminal illness that Shuri desperately tried to cure with a synthetic heart-shaped herb (since Killmonger burned all of them in the last movie). However, she failed to cure him in time, leaving Wakanda without a Black Panther or a king. And the timing couldn’t have been worse, because Namor leads his underwater-dwelling people on a crusade against the surface world. This leads him on a warpath against Wakanda because, thanks to their global outreach in the last movie, people have been scrambling to find Vibranium anywhere they could, bringing them closer to Namor’s kingdom. Tasked with protecting a young MIT student who made this possible, Shuri must gear up to stop Namor, face difficult losses and decisions, and ultimately accept her new role as the next Black Panther.

Pro/Con #1: The Villain

Namor was a better villain for this story than I originally gave him credit for. When I first saw this movie, I thought Namor was a bit boring and two-dimensional. But after rewatching it recently, I realize that I was wrong. Even though the MCU largely disregarded his comic-book Atlantean origins, I was still moved when Namor recounted how conquistadors drove his people from their original homes and lives on land. I also found it interesting how they became “Atlantean” thanks to a Vibranium-infused plant that grew underwater, and as we’d later find out, how their whole underwater kingdom was also built on Vibranium just like Wakanda. Even though Wakanda was supposed to be the only nation that had Vibranium as its foundation, I love how this expands on that belief and changes everything we know from the first movie. The last part of his origin story I love is what drives him to declare war on the human race or anyone who stands in his way: seeing the horrors that the conquistadors did to his homeland, a dying man cursing him as a child without love (where he gets his name); it’s no wonder that he preemptively strikes to prevent the same horrors from reaching his new home. It’s almost like trying to solve a huge problem before it actually becomes one, which I can relate to. Anyway, despite being sympathetic, Namor reminds us we can’t take him lightly. His attack on Wakanda was extremely brutal, to say the least: he somehow bypassed high-tech defenses, flooded the streets, and skipped through the air, slashing through the best of Wakanda’s ships. The worst thing he could’ve ever done, though, was killing Shuri’s mom. Losing her brother recently was already taking its toll, but losing her mom not too long after? That’s just cruel beyond words. That line still chills me to this day: “Bury your dead. Mourn your losses. You are queen now.”

Still, as chilling as Namor was, I think he wasn’t as compelling a villain as Killmonger was. Before understanding why, it’s important to remember where Killmonger came from, just like we did with Namor. In this case, Killmonger’s father was labeled as a criminal for smuggling Vibranium and weapons out of Wakanda, was killed by his own brother, and Killmonger was left all by himself in America. Growing up alone in the harsh realities of life, it’s no wonder he became a stone-cold killer. But what made him such a great villain was his goals: avenging his father, killing/besting T’Challa and usurping him, arming oppressed African Americans, and placing Wakanda at the top of the food chain. He didn’t care about the costs or who got in his way; he only cared about getting to his end goals. Overall, this story felt way more grounded and compelling than Namor’s. This is because Killmonger had very close ties to T’Challa and Wakanda itself, especially serving as a mirror to him: both of their fathers were brutally taken away, and both had different views about Wakanda’s isolation and secrecy. With Namor and Shuri, on the other hand, they don’t really mirror each other. Both of their stories came from tragic loss, but under different circumstances. For instance, while Shuri lost her brother, it was because of a terminal illness rather than anything the world did. She also lost her mother later, but it was because of Namor and not anyone else. Shuri does mirror Namor in what she does with that loss and those horrible feelings, but that comes much later in the movie. With Killmonger and T’Challa, their differing views and responses were at least hinted at much earlier than in the sequel. Maybe I just like close dynamics between heroes and their villains, but if Namor is going to attack Wakanda, then I feel like he needs a better reason than “oh, these guys are hiding someone I wanna kill. I’ll just kill all of them.” At least in the comics, they actually built up the tensions between Wakanda and the people of the sea, and I believe that would’ve made the MCU version more convincing.

Pro/Con #2: The Story

Yes, the movie was longer than most other MCU films, and events dragged on sometimes, but for the most part, I didn’t mind it at all. This is because I love how much time they spend world-building the Talokanil, and especially laying the groundwork for Shuri’s reluctant character arc. For instance, as I mentioned previously, I’ve come to appreciate the MCU adaptation of Namor and his people’s origins, especially the mind-blowing revelation that Wakanda isn’t the only Vibranium-rich nation in the world. However, hearing all of these lore drops is one thing; actually seeing a glimpse into that world is another. It always amazes me when I see these different cultures in varying environments, especially under the sea. I mean, there was a whole kingdom built into the walls of an underwater cove; people farmed and prepared their own food, others played games, and they even have their own unique salute by cupping and curving their hands like a shark mouth. What’s especially impressive is how Namor constructed a device made of Vibranium, which provides light to the whole kingdom. It is genuinely astounding, and I still find myself wondering how they’re all able to see with limited light and live underwater. But I appreciate just as much how they wrote Shuri’s character. At the beginning of the movie, we see her desperately scrambling to find a way to save her brother’s life, which she believed involved the creation of a synthetic heart-shaped herb, but she fails to make one in time. Even though it wasn’t her fault, the loss devastated her. For a long time afterwards, she refused to make a new herb or even burn her mourning clothes to complete the tradition. She refused to accept that her brother was gone or carry on his legacy. But that would all change once Namor infiltrated Wakanda and made her aware of Riri Williams, the MIT student who made Vibranium detection possible. At first, she does her duty and protects her, even taking some time to understand Namor by seeing his kingdom. However, after Nakia rescues them, Namor nearly submerges Wakanda and kills her own mother. This unbearable pain and thirst for revenge finally drives her to finish the synthetic herb, but the biggest twist was seeing Killmonger in the afterlife rather than T’Challa or anyone else in her line. It’s darkly fascinating to see how Shuri, who believes she is nothing like the monster she sees before her, looks at the potential for what she may yet become. In fact, she almost does at the end, but she resolves it in such an amazing way that I’ll get into more later.

However, despite how inspirational I found this story, I couldn’t help but feel that the stakes were significantly lower than the first Black Panther film. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still understand the insane levels of danger Namor is capable of: he almost flooded Wakanda, he has an army of people who can fight underwater (which is already dangerous), and he even has his own squad of sirens to hypnotize people into suicide. Even so, I have trouble registering him as a personal threat to Wakanda or the world. This is because, aside from the shared origins in Vibranium, Talokan doesn’t really have any beef with Wakanda. The only reason Namor goes out of his way to flood it is to protect Riri, the only person he’s laser-focused on. Also, whenever Namor tries to convince Shuri to form an alliance with him against the surface world, he doesn’t really show any signs of wanting to conquer the world otherwise. Granted, maybe he thought he could just get rid of Riri and then move on to the rest of the world, but he still doesn’t show any signs that it’s a priority with him in the long run. In fact, after Shuri beats him and they form a real truce, Namor retreats into the ocean with no intention of killing Riri or declaring war on the surface world. Killmonger, on the other hand, made the stakes feel incredibly real. That man beat T’Challa within an inch of his life, burned the original heart-shaped herbs, loaded untold amounts of dangerous artillery, and made crossing the border sound like armageddon. The cherry on top was the sympathetic goal of arming oppressed African Americans across the globe, giving the already clear threat an extra edge. I’m not saying Namor had to do anything like this, but if he’d made just a little more effort to prove he was a global threat, I would’ve finally realized the full gravity of the situation.

Pro/Con #3: The Ending

Now, we reach one of my personal favorite parts of this film: the resolution of Shuri’s character arc. Throughout this whole movie, Shuri struggled with accepting an already hard loss and the refusal to move on with her life, only to face an even harder loss that drove her down a darker path. In fact, she starts down that path when confronting Namor. Seeing the fierceness in her as she beat the ever-loving crap out of Namor (even burning him alive) was chilling, and I would never have expected that Shuri would’ve been willing to take another life until she had Namor at her mercy. But instead of taking what some would argue was deserved vengeance for her mom, Shuri is compelled to show mercy. Not only do memories of her mom flood through her head, but memories of both her own people and Namor’s do as well, which prompts a sense of compassion and understanding for both cultures. I always love these moments where the hero spares their villain, despite having every right to end them, because it shows how they overcome the overwhelming darkness inside them. To show that it doesn’t define them, and they inspire me to be better as well. Speaking of which, I also love how Shuri finally planted new herbs and burned her mourning clothes, showing that she’s finally accepted the tragedies, picked herself up, and moved on. There will always be times that tear us down so much that we don’t wanna get back up, but that’s why Stan Lee created characters like Shuri: to show us that we actually can get back up just like she did. Finally, I love how even Namor, who was dead set on mowing through the Wakandans at this point, actually yielded to Shuri and especially agreed to an alliance. I love a good fight as much as the next guy, but I always love a good redemption between a hero and their adversary.

Great arcs aside, though, I still have an issue with how the movie itself ended. More specifically, there were some parts of this ending that didn’t add up in my opinion. For example, the truce between Namor and Shuri. While I do love it, it seems very weird how quickly they agreed to it. After all, Namor already had a deep grudge against the surface world and had the single-minded goal of wiping Wakanda from the face of the Earth. Plus, he also killed Shuri’s mom, and while I’m glad Shuri showed mercy, it still feels weird to be allying with the man who essentially killed her own mom in front of her. I’m sure this alliance couldn’t have been an easy decision for her to make given the circumstances, but it always confuses me how they managed to pull it off so soon after everything that happened. Moving on, I also have a problem with Riri leaving her suit behind in Wakanda. Not because it was a bad decision or anything, but because it’s ultimately pointless. After all, Shuri only made Riri leave it because she didn’t want to risk the Wakandan tech and Vibranium making her a target. However, as we see in her show, she makes her own suit anyway. Further, after allying with scumbags, she ends up making everything worse and making herself a target anyway. It’s like at this point, Shuri should’ve let her take the suit because it would’ve ended the same either way. The part I’m most confused about, however, is the moment when M’Baku enters the challenge arena. He tells everyone that Shuri sends her regards but is occupied, but then immediately challenges for the throne. This came out of left field for me, because even though M’Baku challenged for the throne in the last movie, he became a valuable ally to the other tribes and an honorable man. So this declaration feels like a complete 180 for his character, not to mention it’s convenient that he’s able to do this while Shuri is gone. I actually had to look up why this was the case, and apparently Shuri abdicated the throne. I suppose I missed it in the context, but it still went over my head, and I wish that Shuri furthered her arc by becoming the new queen. Also, if the monarch is usually the Black Panther, how will this new arrangement work with M’Baku as the king but Shuri as the king’s mantle?

Conclusion

This wasn’t the movie that Marvel had originally planned, but the unfortunate passing of Chadwick Boseman forced them to adapt. In the end, it was still a very compelling story with some great arcs and lore. I do wish, however, that they gave T’Challa a better death than dying of an illness. While I appreciate how they honored the real-life actor’s own passing, I feel like an ending for the King of Wakanda should’ve gone like what they did in Marvel Zombies. Otherwise, I still enjoyed myself way more than I thought during this rewatch.