Black Panther Wakanda Forever Is Breaking Boundaries Never done Before

In February 2018, the first “Black Panther” film debuted. Since then, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the one that most non-superheroes are forced to live in have seen significant alteration. Black Panthers’ release was unlike anything else. The effects were cosmic, both short-term and long-term. The fact that the movie was released in the dystopian years of the Trump administration when Black existence felt more vulnerable than normal, and the need for Black superheroes was more essential than ever, gave its message a unique punch. It was successful on all three fronts: commercially, critically, and culturally. 

The death of Chadwick Boseman in 2020, whose performance as King T’Challa had seemed to herald the birth of a franchise-defining new star, was undoubtedly the most heartbreaking and significant shift. Even before that, the Marvel/Disney business strategy was transitioning into a post-“Avengers” era as the well-known heroes were scattered over various platforms and tales, occasionally joined by alternate versions of themselves. Naturally, back here in the real world. King T’Challa was a modern hero for an avant-garde, unsettling era. Chadwick Boseman, who is used to playing characters with a lot of personality, joined an all-star cast that featured Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan to provide a poised and charismatic performance. Black Panther has teeth and was astute enough to avoid the convenient trap of representation in a severely lacking color and significance field. The film, which is a testament to its creators, director Ryan Coogler and co-screenwriter Joe Robert Cole, was about more than the miracle of being noticed; it was an indication of real advancement. When it spoke to us, we responded. Complex, lush, and free new Black futures were emerging. 

One of the possibilities does not account for Boseman’s death from colon cancer in 2020. Franchises are based on star power, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is haunted by Boseman’s absence, wrapped in the melancholy that is impossible to ignore. Boseman is

one of Marvel’s brightest and most promising actors. It’s uncommon for MCU movies to portray the turmoil of sorrow with such unwavering emphasis (WandaVision came close in its unconventional depiction of spousal heartache and psychological aftershocks). The positioning is odd, but successful. While Wakanda Forever hasn’t entirely redefined the superhero movie, it comes close. Though it is rather odd to call it that. Coogler has given his follow-up a new vocabulary, speaking from a place of sorrow and accomplishment. Wakanda, a hypothetical African nation, already has a difficult political situation. The tale in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is infused with tragic notes of family loss and public sorrow thanks to filmmaker Ryan Coogler, who also incorporates his pain and that of the audience. There is also a sense of the chaos that accompanies a charismatic, unifying leader. 

Now that the king is dead, Wakanda is in the spotlight. Following the death of her son, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) has ascended to the throne and has worked hard to keep the African country’s status as a sovereign entity. Wakanda is the only known country to possess vibranium, a mysterious ore used to make cutting-edge technology and weapons, and it is unwilling to share its resources with allies (in one early scene, French soldiers attempt to steal some and quickly get reprimanded by undercover Dora Milaje agents). Cooler and Cole are eager to introduce the story in this way because they believe that greed has been the cause of numerous conflicts throughout history. Wakanda can compete with the United States and France because of Ramonda’s regal diplomatic abilities and the martial ability of the Jabari, commanded by M’Baku (Winston Duke), and the Dora Milaje, led by the powerful Okoye (Danai Gurira). The only other vibranium supply on the globe, controlled by the long-isolated aquatic nation of Talokan, is where the real danger lies. The people of Talokan, an underwater empire

that is home to the only other source of vibranium on Earth, strangely block the US government’s attempt to track down vibranium in the Atlantic Ocean 

Their wounded commander Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejia) is adamant about keeping Talokan’s existence a secret. Due to the wings on his ankles, he can fly and has mutant characteristics that include increased strength and aquatic regeneration. He rules his country with a thorough but firm hand. (In the comics, Namor is from Atlantis and is referred to as the Sub-Mariner.) His oceanic utopia is in danger of being revealed by the mining operation, so he comes up with a scheme to stop it: assassinate the brilliant scientist who created the vibranium-tracking device (Riri Williams, who introduces Ironheart to the MCU), and side with Wakanda against the surface world. Though Wakanda declines. The two countries are now facing an almost definite conflict. This storyline explanation may seem excessive, but “Wakanda Forever,” like many Marvel films, contains much of it. There are many characters to remember. While Okoye has a sidekick in the form of Aneka, Shuri has one in the form of Riri (Michaela Coel). Everett Ross, a C.I.A. agent who sympathizes with Wakanda, is back and arguing with his supervisor, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who is also his ex-wife. There are fistfights, car chases, battles in the water and the air, high-tech suits, and ear-shattering explosions because this is an action movie with a major emphasis on spectacular effects. 

It turns out that the war isn’t exactly as compelling as the guiding ideals that led to it. similar to the US government’s insatiable thirst for international sway. Or the overwhelming hatred Shuri (Letitia Wright) experiences as a result of losing her brother motivates her in a very real way. Or how Namor’s villainy, if it can even be called that, is anchored in a more fundamental, human place. He is modeled after the traditional MCU antiheroes.

Namor embodies paradox, and his anger isn’t entirely unfounded. It all depends on how well his backstory is supported: He is an ancestor of a Meso-American tribe that was forced to seek refuge underwater in the 16th century after fleeing slavery. He comes from a group of people who developed the ability to endure in the face of terrible odds. His morals are significant. 

These are all of Coogler’s identifying characteristics. He adopts the same diasporic fusion that made the first Black Panther a remarkable achievement (production designer Hannah Beachler and costume designer Ruth Carter both returned for the sequel). This time, we are introduced to Namor’s watery paradise outside Wakanda’s verdant fields and bustling markets. Beachler and Carter created a visual elixir based on Mayan mythology, with remarkable Indigenous features woven throughout the attire, speech, and architecture. However, one of the film’s biggest flaws is that we don’t spend much time wandering about the underwater city and learning about its inhabitants and culture. 

I’ve heard that trauma freezes at its height previously. It calls for us to slow down and consider everything that has transpired in its fullness and agony. Ramonda and Shuri try to cope with unfathomable pain and remember their losses. The problem is that the narrative logic of superhero movies necessitates a certain momentum. They must proceed forward. They move quickly from one scene to the next, flickering like a comic book, pane by pane. Grief asks us to do the opposite. It asks us to pause and move more slowly. Where Wakanda Forever conflicts the most is in this: It struggles to decide exactly what it should feel or where it wants to land in terms of feeling. But perhaps that is the more accurate film. the more sincere. It’s less organized. It’s unsightly, but because of that, it’s more exposed.

Grief serves as Wakanda Forever’s core theme, making it distinct from other Marvel films. It’s also the component of the film that I find least satisfactory. Of course, in a movie like this, you can’t just ignore it. The ache that seems like it will never go away and the cloud that appears cannot be avoided. It must be circled. You must confront it squarely. You must make it the story in some way. 

And what it looks like—what it so brilliantly manifests as in a film like Wakanda Forever—is exactly what it has always looked like: strong, compassionate Black women—mothers, sisters, and friends—using the sadness they have been burdened with rather than allowing it to use them. A truth of Black life that persists despite all Afrofuturist utopias is that not even our superheroes can outwit death. 

And what happens if they don’t prove unstoppable? The survivors manage to fight and recover. It’s a well-known tale that is regrettably all too true. You’ve undoubtedly heard about it before. Its significance never wanes.