Marvel’s Black Panther: an Analysis

Tens of thousands of movies have been made in this country. But not many have had as much talk around it as Marvel’s Black Panther. Black Panther was written and directed by Ryan Coogler, released on February 16, 2018 it was an instant hit with viewers, raking in over a billion dollars at the global box office with a budget of $200 million. The film not only made headlines for breaking many financial records, but also crossing several milestones in terms of representation in film. Black Panther brings together one of the most impressive principally black casts ever assembled for a major Hollywood movie.

The movie is set in the fictitious African country Wakanda, a land that not only has been untouched by the cruelty and violence of colonialism, but is home to limitless supplies of vibranium. This makes Wakanda the strongest and most advanced nation in the Marvel Universe, a hopeful idea of what could have been if not for the interference of violent colonists. Black Panther completely celebrates Africa and those of African descent instead of the usual trend of Hollywood movies only portraying the days of the American Slave trade or other depiction of struggle.

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The film centers on Prince T’Challa, played by Chadwick Boseman, who returns to Wakanda to assume the throne and of the countries protector as the hero Black Panther after the assassination of his father, King T’Chaka. In the opening narration, we are told the story of how the nation of Wakanda and its development was affected by the presence of the valuable mineral vibranium and how Wakanda initiated a policy of isolation due to the desire to maintain its traditions and hide from dangerous foreigners, while elsewhere we see the rise of colonialism, slavery and wars that are synonymous to our actual history.

The film immediately transitions to a flashback to 1992 Oakland, California, to set the tone. We are introduced to the father of the main antagonist, N’Jobu, as he’s planning an armed assault on the California National Guard in response to the beating of Rodney King and the uprising that ensued in Los Angeles. N’Jobu is the brother of King T’Chaka, and Uncle to a young T’Challa. Once King T’Chaka realizes N'Jobu plan and the theft of their vibranium. N’Jobu attempts to defend his radicalization, explaining it is in response to the injustice and judgement America has imposed upon Black people. He comes to the conclusion that Wakanda, as a nation untouched by colonizers and/or the slave trade, had a responsibility to the black Americans who experienced racial discrimination, the drug war in Black neighborhoods, over-policing, and systemic poverty.

N'Jobu makes implications of taking out the entire system of oppression by creating violence against those who have been historically cruel to African Americans. While the implications may be violent, the goal is simple: Liberation from oppression. When considering the broad scope of the history of America, it doesn’t seem completely unreasonable that someone would want a violent retribution for the horrors that the original african americans experienced. T’Chaka eventually refuses any intervention of any kind from Wakanda and in a quick scene, ends up tragically murdering N'Jobu and makes the decision to keep all that occured that night a secret.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has been criticized in the past for writing poor characterization for Villains, citing that the motivation is always lack-luster and unrelatable, Black Panther turns this trope entirely on its head. The true complexity of the films villain, Killmonger, Son of N'Jobu lies in his identity as a product of America’s racial experience. In the film we learn that he grew up an orphan as a result of the death of his father at the hands of the former Black Panther King T’Chaka. He then joined the military due to poverty and experienced the full brunt of America’s systemic oppression of Black Americans.

In the film, after he seemingly defeats the Black Panther in ritual combat, he chastises the Wakandan royal council and says, “There are about 2 billion people who look like us who have been put through hell, while you have sat here comfortable. All of that is going to change. Right now.” Killmonger is not the usual, maniacal villain bent on destruction and bloodshed, but instead, his motives stem from a far deeper and more realistic scenarios involving the liberation of African Americans from oppressors. His desire is not only to liberate, but to conquer and install a new world order, putting Wakanda at the center. The dynamic of T’Chaka and N'Jobu is mirrored between Killmonger and T’Challa, forcing T’Challa to face the result of his Uncle’s murder in the hands of his father.

Overall, Black Panther is not just a story of heroes overcoming evil and saving the day, but of nation-building, family, honour, civil rights, and social justice. Instead of the usual feelings of fantasy and fictitious adventure that superhero movies produce, Black Panther brings a more realistic idea of a world with Villains and Heroes. At the climax of the final fight between Killmonger and the Black Panther, the latter remains champion and Killmonger is fatally wounded. The common ending to movies of this kind is that when the villain dies, their ideal dies with them as well.

This film takes a different direction. Sitting on the edge of a mountainside in Wakanda, Killmonger decides he would rather accept the freedom of death over a remaining life of a prisoner. He pulls the dagger from the fatal wound in his chest, and soon passes seconds later. The scene is both beautiful and tragic, a sense of victory but also a sense of loss and underlying tension. In the final scene King T’Challa makes the decision to open the borders of Wakanda to the rest of the world, ending their isolation while retaining the state of world peace. 

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