Premiering just last week, Marvel's Black Panther is shaping up to be a major box office success. Since opening night, it has been racking up astronomical numbers at the box office, which only seem to be rising, with some fans seeing the movie three times in theatres! Marvel has continued to release heavy hitters in the superhero genre even as many thought Superhero Fatigue would have set in by now; the numbers show that this is clearly not the case. Fans came out in droves to see the director Ryan Coogler's 3rd film, continuing his streak of great films since Fruitvale Station (2013), Creed (2015), and now Black Panther (2018).
Before Captain America: Civil War (2016), Chadwick Boseman stole the show in every scene he was in, playing the commanding King T’Challa of Wakanda. It didn’t take long for Marvel to green-light a solo film starring the Monarch, and just a mere two years later it has arrived. While there was some skepticism before the release, Hollywood has a bad track record of whitewashing films that should be ethnically diverse: Exodus: Gods and Kings, Speed Racer, and Ghost in the Shell, just to name a few. Fortunately, Coogler and company more than delivered. Featuring astounding set pieces, a stunning cast, and a compelling story has propelled the Black Panther into the upper echelon of Marvel films. Here are 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Wakanda And The Black Panther.
20 A Pre-Avenger?
While Black Panther is the most recent entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he has indeed appeared in Captain America: Civil War. However, this by no means establishes him as an Avenger within the MCU. While the casual fan may think that this will be Black Panther’s first foray into the realm of superhero team-ups, that’s not the case!
Black Panther was solo back in the 1960’s, and he could in fact be considered one of the original Avengers.
He was an Avenger before the likes of Spider-Man, Vision, and Black Widow; just to name a few. All things considered, he is the perfect Avenger. There is arguably only one person more honorable than T’Challa, and that’s Captain America himself.
19 Black Panther In The 90's
Back in the early 90’s, actor Wesley Snipes was at the height of his fame following Blade and White Men Can’t Jump. There were rumors circulating that he was in line to star in a Black Panther movie.
In fact, the actor himself confirmed these rumors verbally!
However, due to complications with many different versions of the script and trouble finding a dependable director, a 1990’s version of the hero was never brought to fruition. Snipes is indeed a capable actor, but it’s very difficult to imagine anyone other than Chadwick Boseman playing T’Challa, and even harder to think that the early 90’s had the proper technology to bring Wakanda to life.
18 Love Is In The Air
Speaking of Storm, did you know that T’Challa and Storm were once married? That’s right, one of the most recognizable faces in X-Men and the King of Wakanda enjoyed a happy life together for a short period of time.
It sounds odd that two powerhouse characters from two very different publications would tie the knot, but when really considered, it makes perfect sense.
Storm is from Africa, and it’s hard to envision anyone else better suited top rule as Queen alongside T’Challa. The marriage happened in 2006, in Black Panther Vol. 4 #18 and ended six years later. The two fell in love as teenagers, then later in life decided to make their union official before breaking it off due to political reasons. It’s safe to say that Storm and T’Challa are a power couple on the same level as Superman and Wonder Woman.
17 Which Came First?
Many people believe that the hero Black Panther was inspired by the political organization of the same night, as both originated sometime in the 1960’s. Now, it’s time to set the record straight: T’Challa and his awesome vibranium suit predates the Black Panther Party, if only by a scarce few months. T’Challa debuted in July of 1966, making a guest appearance in a Fantastic Four comic.
T'Challa was created by comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, in an attempt to diversify the Marvel line-up.
The Black Panther Party was not officially founded until later that year, in October of 1966 by activists Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. While they share a moniker, the two are very different entities which would lead to a bit of tension between the comic and the activist group.
16 The Black Leopard
Briefly in 1972, Marvel attempted to re-brand T’Challa from "Black Panther" to "Black Leopard" in order to avoid confusion with the aforementioned political group. While Lee and Kirby were supporters and advocates of equal rights, the Black Panther Party had begun to garner a negative reputation as a violent activist group.
Marvel was worried that readers would associate their hero with the negative tensions surrounding the group.
The Black Leopard was their solution, but unfortunately the name just didn’t stick. Later that year T’Challa's handle reverted back to the Black Panther and has been that until this day. The moniker Black Leopard has been used sparsely by Erik Killmonger, T’Challa’s nemesis.
15 The Debut
As stated earlier, the Black Panther’s very first appearance was in July of 1966, and not in his own comic. When introducing a new hero, Marvel typically did not just give the new hero their own serial right off the bat, but created instead a sort of soft introduction.
By revealing him within the pages of a known commodity, such as the Fantastic Four, Marvel was able to gauge the audience interest in the hero. This limited any financial repercussions if he turned out not to be well liked. When he turned out to be a hit, he would go on to have guest appearances in Daredevil and the Avengers. In 1973, he received his very first solo comic Jungle Action, which was met with critical acclaim.
14 The Miracle Metal
In Black Panther, the raw material known as vibranium is considered something of a miracle metal. The famous heart-shaped herb mentioned above takes its special qualities from vibranium, which also powers much of the Wakandan technology. Captain America’s shield is also made of the miracle metal, and is widely considered unbreakable. However, there is one substance stronger and rarer than vibranium: the infamous adamantium metal alloy.
If adamantium sounds familiar, that’s because it is!
A well known member of the X-Men, Wolverine owes much of his power to the adamantium laced through skeleton, which is why he alone can cut through the Captain’s shield. While adamantium is stronger and more durable, it does not have the myriad of uses of vibranium. This makes vibranium still the more precious of the two metals.
13 They Seriously Added This Scary Group?
Early on, as Black Panther was just getting its footing and finding its identity, Jack Kirby's editors suggested adding more white people to the comic, in order to make it more accessible. Remember, this was the late 60’s and early 70’s and America was a harsher, more difficult place than it is now.
With that in mind, we can see why the editors would request such a thing.
Jack Kirby, never one to be difficult, agreed and promptly addressed the lack of white characters in the next issue. To satisfy his editors' demands, Kirby included an altercation where Wakanda enjoyed a crushing victory over a well-known group of scary enemies. For that act alone, Kirby went down in history as a legend.
12 How Much Did You Say?
A minted original copy of Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #52, featuring T’Challa as the Black Panther for the first time can be sold for upwards of $18,000! If you have a copy laying around then you need to get up and go to your nearest comic book store.
You’re holding on to a small fortune.
Seriously though, it’s no surprise that the comic is worth as much as it is. Vintage comics have always been valued at ridiculous sums of money, but this one is vindicated. With the release of the film, it only stands to reason that the comic's value should rise, so perhaps... ignore my earlier advice and hold on to your edition for a few more years?
11 Breaking New Ground
With his 1966 debut in Fantastic Four Vol. 1 #52, T’Challa’s Black Panther became the very first black hero to appear in mainstream American comics. While there had been other black characters in comics, T’Challa marked the first time that a black man was featured as an equal to his white counterparts.
He paved the way for the Falcon in Captain America #117 three years later, in 1969.
In 1972, the world was given the very first African-American hero to star in their own mainstream comic with Luke Cage in Hero for Hire, which predated T’Challa in Jungle Action. The 1970’s also introduced the X-Men’s Storm, the first female African hero. It is safe to say that none of this would’ve been possible without T’Challa’s first appearance back in 1966.
10 A New Black Panther
If you saw Black Panther in theatres, then you probably loved T’Challa’s younger sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright. Shuri often served as the comic relief for the film, but was also the lead scientist in all of Wakanda. Wright did an excellent job showing her sibling relationship with T’Challa, ranging from the teasing to the worrying that goes along with it. After the film, many of us were begging for more Shuri, and we might get just that!
In the comics, Shuri becomes the first woman to don the mantle of the Black Panther after her brother’s apparent death.
She even manages to wrest control of Wakanda back from Killmonger and prove herself worthy of the Black Panther title.
We hope to see her in the suit one day!
9 The Heart-Shaped Herb
A very little known fact about the Wakandan tradition of the Black Panther surrounds the heart-shaped herb from which they receive their enhanced abilities: this plant is poisonous to those not of royal blood. This is discovered in the comics when Killmonger tries to ingest it, putting himself in a coma. He then created a synthetic version of the herb in order to gain similar abilities to that of the Black Panther.
In the 2018 movie adaptation, the herb very well may be poisonous to those not of royal blood, but it is not explored. We see T’Challa and Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger ingest the herb, but both are of royal blood in the film version. However, Killmonger is not related to T’Challa in the original comics.
8 Bast, The Panther God
In addition to the enhanced abilities given to those who ingest the heart-shaped herb, the heroes also receive an instant connection with the Wakandan Panther God Bast. At first glance, one may think that Bast is a purely fictional creation made by Marvel to use in the Wakandan mythos. However, this is not true. Bast has origins in real life history.
Bast, or Bastet, was an ancient Egyptian goddess of the Sun, the Moon, warfare and felines.
In the 2018 adaptation, director Ryan Coogler and company used real life African tribes as inspiration, just as Marvel used real African history when creating the mythos of Black Panther.
7 Shuri's Rejection
We know now that Shuri was the first woman to don the Black Panther mantle, but did you know that her ascension to power was not smoothest? Upon taking the heart-shaped herb, the individual is brought before the Goddess Bast, who will decide whether or not they are worthy of inheriting the divine abilities of the Panther.
Upon confronting Shuri, Bast initially decided that she was not worthy.
Bast thought her to be too arrogant, selfish, and jealous. However, Rejection didn’t stop Shuri. The people needed protection with T’Challa gone, so Shuri put on the suit and went out into the field with no enhanced abilities. Upon seeing her show such commitment and self-sacrifice, Bast eventually decided that she was worthy of the mantle of Black Panther.
6 Who's The Smartest?
Within the Marvel Universe Reed Richard, Tony Stark, and Peter Parker are considered to be the most intelligent minds of all. Well, they're gonna need to make that trifecta a quartet because it has been confirmed that Shuri is as smart, if not smarter than the three men mentioned above. This is apparent in both the film and the comics as Shuri is the lead scientist in Wakanda and the pioneer of much of the technology used in Wakanda.
Also, it’s worth noting the Black Panther continues the trend of breaking new ground: Shuri is the first woman to be considered on the same intellectual plane as the original class of superhero geniuses. Progress is on the right track!
5 The Dora Milaje
Black Panther gave new meaning to what it means to be a strong independent woman. The Dora Milaje, a group of all-female warriors lead by Okoye (played by actress Dani Gurira), are the King’s personal soldiers, serving as a sort of Praetorian Guard. These women are the fiercest and deadliest warriors in all of Wakanda, aside from the Black Panther himself.
Not only are they dedicated to protecting the King, they are also tasked with the protection of Wakanda itself. Let’s face it, Wakandan Kings don’t need all that much protection. In times of war, the leader of the Dora Milaje becomes the de facto leader of the Wakandan army. The female militia are so feared that other Wakandan warriors would rather surrender than face their leader in one-on-one combat!
4 The Fantastic Four
Not only has T’Challa been a member of the Avengers, but he also has been a member of the Fantastic Four, and a leader at that! After the events of Civil War in the comics, Sue and Reed Richards take a leave of absence from the hero life.
In their place, power couple Storm and T’Challa gloriously stepped in the lead the Fantastic Four.
T’Challa and Storm both were natural leaders and a proven combatants, leading the Fantastic Four to many victories. During this time, the Fantastic Four flourished and were left in excellent hands while the Richards enjoyed civilian life for a small period.
3 A Gentlemen And A Scholar
We’ve already talked about how strong and honorable T’Challa is, exalting his abilities as a natural leader. We’ve even discussed how amazing and intelligent Shuri is. But while T’Challa may not be considered as smart as his younger sister, he’s no slouch. The King of Wakanda somehow found the time to snag himself a Ph.D in physics from Oxford.
While many of us complain about having too much on our plates now, we’ve got nothing on T’Challa.
His degree shows us again how capable of a leader and how humble of a man he is. While Reed Richards and Tony Stark lord their intellect over just about everyone they encounter, T’Challa usually keeps to himself. In fact, many of you wouldn’t know about his degree if you hadn’t read this list!
2 Social Commentary
The 2018 Marvel movie adaptation of Black Panther is more than just another comic book movie, and more than just the first black superhero movie. Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther served as an exploration of African culture, the African diaspora, and what it means to be black in America today.
Throughout much of the film, Europeans are referred to as colonizers; a clear jab at Europe's role in the course of history.
The Wakandans are also shown as ignorant of the plight of African-Americans, which is true of many Africans in the real world today. In many African countries, pre-Civil War America is not well-known, nor is the American Civil Rights movement. Coogler decided to use his platform and voice to educate, while also entertaining the masses.
1 The Soundtrack
Black Panther recruited some of the most sought-after names in Hollywood to make the film a reality. They brought on a hot-shot director, leading man Chadwick Boseman, Star Wars alum Lupita Nyong’o, and rising star Michael B. Jordan. They even took it a step further with the soundtrack by procuring perhaps the leading man rap and hip-hop: Kendrick Lamar.
By putting Kendrick Lamar in charge of the soundtrack, they not only increased hype ahead of the film’s release, but they also guaranteed an excellent soundtrack. Kendrick did not disappoint, and the soundtrack hit the Billboard Top 100 within hours of its release. If you haven’t heard it yet, go give it a listen!