Ryan Shoots First: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is really unlike anything Marvel has done before in the way it tells its hero’s story since both heroes have a murky road to their mantles.

We know the drill hero gets powers, the hero doesn’t recognize the responsibility of said power, event forces hero to realize that power. The difference in Wakanda Forever is the next Black Panther is fully aware and close to that power. They have seen the responsibilities of ruling a nation, being its protector, and handling that power. It’s that weight coupled with enormous grief and the ability to cope with the loss that fuels the conflict even more so than that of the sea-born nation ruled by Namor. Grief is nothing new with Marvel, Wanda and Peter Parker have both had to manage it in Phase 4 but here there is a pressure those two didn’t have to manage. A nation is at stake, a world is at stake as Wakanda coming out of the shadows has placed it as the strongest world power. And you might imagine not being the most powerful nation on the planet does not sit well with the good ole US of A or the rest of the world for that matter. Every decision and action Wakanda takes is twisted and warped and the rest of the world sees them vulnerable in the wake of The Black Panther’s death.

And that is of course the dark cloud looming over this whole picture, the untimely passing of Chadwick Boesman. As you might imagine this is a huge factor in the film not just as the catalyst of events in the plot but the motivation for many of the character’s actions in the film. Of course, Marvel handles the whole thing very gracefully. The opening music and the way he is honored both in the plot and in the credits is tasteful and you can feel the emotion in the cast and crew woven throughout the film. And this film has some great performances, Letitia Wright, and Angelica Houston brings the power in their emotion and in their delivery as the women left to run this nation and film. Director Ryan Coogler continues to show his mastery of the story and world of Wakanda. Representation absolutely matters and it joys me to see such ownership of this film by not only its cast but its crew, writers, and composers. The people behind this film believe they are doing more than just making a film and it shows as this entry stands out from the other chapters in Phase 4 of the MCU story. 

I wasn’t sure if continuing the franchise was the right move, I hoped they could find a way to keep it going but Chadwick meant so much to that hero as a symbol in pulp culture and in representation. It wouldn’t have been fair to rob people of those experiences but I would not have blamed Marvel for putting it on the shelf. After the initial trailer, I really felt they had nailed it and my confidence was high. I probably watched that trailer as many times as any trailer maybe outside Infinity War. It was so good and really showed everyone, we’re doing this and we know how to handle it. And I am so glad they did. 

With that, we end Phase 4 of the Marvel MCU Journey and head full-on into Phase 5 with a ton of new heroes and one looming villain we will see soon in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantimania.