It’s been two years since audiences have seen Wakanda. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released this Friday and fans are excited to return. Black Panther was first introduced in 2016–in Captain America: Civil War–when King T’Chaka contradicted the Sokovia Accords, which he later agreed to sign.
Previous to this agreement, the United Nations presided over all superheroes. The signing of this agreement, however, was disrupted by a terrorist attack which resulted in T’Chaka’s death. As written in Marvel comics, T’Challa was left with conflicted feelings about his father’s legacy and ended up seeking revenge against those he thought were responsible for the attack. In 2018, a standalone Black Panther film brought Wakanda and its inhabitants to the rest of the world.
Wakanda is one of the most compelling settings in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—all because of a meteorite made of vibranium. As Black Panther established, Wakanda’s natural resources proved to be too valuable to turn down and led to the creation of one of the most technologically advanced civilizations in the world.
Historically, the Wakandan people have been hesitant to share their technology with the outside world. Black Panther starts by showing off all that Wakanda has to offer.
Here are three things you need to remember before watching Marvel’s latest film, Wakanda Forever
The plot of Black Panther
The plot of Black Panther is about a prince who takes the throne after his father passes away and then faces an evil king who would like nothing more than for him to surrender.
The movie begins by explaining that a meteorite made of vibranium, the gift from the Panther god Bast, crashed into Wakanda. The meteorite mutated a plant called the heart-shaped herb which was eaten by one of the warriors and gave him his superpowers – he became the first Black Panther. While there were some tribes in Wakanda who experienced great unity, there was one tribe that remained apart – the Jabari people, who live in the mountains.
In order to avoid sharing their resources with other countries, Wakanda disguises itself as a poor country. In 1992, King T’Chaka visits his brother in Oakland, Calif., who is undercover. T’Chaka accuses N’Jobu of helping Ulysses Klaue steal vibranium from Wakanda, and that N’Jobu’s right-hand man had lied to him. This scene reveals Zuri (right-hand man) as a Wakandan who was undercover.
In the present day, viewers are introduced to T’Challa directly before he gets crowned king. This includes a ceremonial event in which any tribe in Wakanda can challenge T’Challa for the throne. M’Baku, played by Winston Duke of the Jabari tribe challenges him, but M’Baku yields and T’Challa becomes the King of Wakanda.
In this movie, T’Challa ingests the heart-shaped herb from Zuri and visits the ancestral plane. There, he speaks to his father and becomes king. This is ALL before going to London and taking down Klaue by stealing a Wakandan artifact made of vibranium.
The Wakandans find out that one of their artifacts has been stolen by Klaue and is set to be sold in South Korea. T’Challa, Okoye (head general of the Wakandan army), and his ex-girlfriend Nakia all go to South Korea to stop the deal. When they get there, CIA agent Everett Ross becomes the buyer and promises to hand Klaue over after Klaue had been “finished with”. But the King refuses and captures Klaue on his terms.
Klaue escapes with Stevens’ help. He then kills Kalaue and takes his plane to Wakanda. There, he interrupts a council meeting and reveals his identity: the son of N’jobu (a Wakandan who was killed by T’Chaka in 1992), whom T’Challa killed just hours before. Killmonger interrupts the meeting to challenge T’Challa, who refuses at first but eventually agrees to battle for the throne. Killmonger overthrowes T’Challa in combat and, upon becoming King Of Wakanda, orders the burning of Wakanda’s heart-shaped herb supply so that only he can have the Black Panther power. But Killmonger is thwarted when Nakia steals one leaves during the announcement that they will be burned
After Nakia takes Ramonda, Shuri and Ross to the Jabari people in the mountains, M’Baku explains a fisherman found T’Challa’s body. Nakia hands him a heart-shaped herb. He wakes up and creates an epic battle with Killmonger and eventually wins, restoring his rightful place as King of Wakanda.
The movie ends with T’Challa giving Shuri the responsibility of running the Wakandan International Outreach Center in Oakland so that Wakanda can share its science and technology, and then Wakanda joins the United Nations. T’Challa’s stirring speech is the perfect conclusion to bring about this change.
Infinity War and Endgame
In Avengers: Infinity War, the antagonist Thanos goes around the universe collecting the Infinity Stones so that he can get rid of half of Earth’s population to solve the overpopulation problem.
In the following films, the Avengers had help in their fight to protect Vision. In Infinity War, Bruce Banner was the Hulk. Thor joined on the ground and in space while he, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange all teamed up together to use their powers to take down Thanos rather than killing him. From Ant-Man and Hawkeye fighting on the ground to Black Panther who helped from Wakanda, these heroes were fighting for one cause: Protecting Vision.
Thanos managed to take the Infinity Stone from Vision, kill him, and snap his fingers. This resulted in half the population turning to dust, including T’Challa and half of the Wakandan army.
Avengers: Endgame, the last movie in Marvel’s Infinity Saga, caused half the population to deal with the loss of their loved ones. The Avengers that remain come together and, at one of the most epic battles of the MCU near the end of the movie, they can undo all of “The Blip” damage. This includes restoring Wakandans and T’Challa.
Boseman’s death
Boseman died in August of 2020. He had been privately battling colon cancer, but Boseman never spoke publicly about the disease or its diagnosis. According to The Hollywood Reporter, only a handful of people outside his family knew about the illness. Filmmaker Ryan Coogler talked to The Hollywood Reporter about how difficult it was when he found out that Boseman had passed away: “You’ve got to keep going when you lose loved ones,” he said. “I know Chad wouldn’t want us to stop.”
When Chadwick Boseman announced he planned to take a hiatus from the role of the MCU’s Black Panther, there was discussion about recasting or killing off T’Challa. Disney was quick to say they would wait for his return to decide what to do with the character, and in December 2020 Kevin Feige finally announced that T’Challa would not be recast and Marvel also plans on honoring him in sequels.
