Synopsis: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever– The Casual Marvel Fan’s Guide
Riri Williams, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ role, and other details are explained.
Marvel Fan’s Guide to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
This article contains spoilers of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, read at your own risk!
Could you figure out the significance of the heart-shaped herb? Why was Shuri trying to create a new one?
The heart-shaped herb is a plant that thrives on soil rich in vibranium. The vibranium characteristics endow the plant with powers, and it is this herb that must be consumed in order to become the superhuman Black Panther. Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) destroyed the rest of the heart-shaped plant after drinking it and killing T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in the first film, trying to prevent anyone from gaining the Black Panther’s powers and fighting him. However, Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) kept one and used it to resurrect T’Challa. Wakanda is left without a heart-shaped herb and no method to rescue the dying T’Challa, let alone induct a new Black Panther at the commencement of Wakanda Forever.
Later in the film, Shuri (Letitia Wright) is able to produce a new heart-shaped plant using a relic from the vibranium-rich Atlantean city of Talokan.
What’s the deal with Nakia, and what is she doing in Haiti? That was a little perplexing.
The key to understanding Nakia’s plot is remembering that she lost T’Challa twice: once after Thanos’ Snap in Avengers: Infinity War, and again five years later in Avengers: Endgame, when he dies of an unknown illness. That’s why she’s been gone for six years: she fled after the Snap, and she didn’t even return for T’Challa’s funeral a little more than five years later, and the most of Wakanda Forever takes place a year after the funeral.
In Haiti, she appears to be taking the time to grieve that Shuri refuses to, and she’s teaching young children—plus there’s one more thing she’s been up to that won’t be revealed until the mid-credits sequence.
What should I be aware of regarding the mid-credits scene? Is there a post-credits sequence?
T’Challa and Nakia secretly had a son, T’Challa Jr., and she has been raising him in Haiti, away from the pressures of monarchy, per T’Challa’s desires, in the mid-credits sequence. Then there’s no post-credits sequence! All we see is the statement “Black Panther will return.” Perhaps they felt that teasing more Marvel stuff after the sweet mid-credits would be too obnoxious.
Why does Nakia state her son’s name “holds a great history”?
She’s referring to his Haitian name, Toussaint. He was named after Toussaint Louverture, the leader of the Haitian Revolution, which not only ended slavery on the island but also inspired anti-colonial revolts around the world. Louverture was such a superb leader that his mythology rose to the point where he was sometimes supposed to have supernatural powers, and his ability to evade capture was once compared to that of a tiger. So: liberated figure with superhuman strength in the shape of a large cat—you get the picture.
Who is this new Iron Man-like figure? I’m not sure what she was doing in this film, but I like her.
Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), aka Ironheart, is the character. (Perhaps you spotted the heart-shaped light in the centre of her supersuit.) The character initially featured in the Iron Man comics in 2016, and she has since grown in popularity to the point where she now has her own comics, created by Eve Ewing. In terms of what she’s doing in this film, it appears like they’re preparing for her Marvel TV show, which is expected to launch next year.
Since when has Julia Louis-Dreyfus been in a Marvel film?
Since the previous year! Louis-Dreyfus initially appeared in the MCU in a brief cameo a brief cameo in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and then again in the post-credits scene that followed Black Widow earlier this year. As previously stated, her character, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, is a bit of a double agent in the comics (among her aliases has been Madame Hydra), so we can expect her to play a bigger role in the future—including in Marvel’s upcoming Suicide Squad-esque film about a team of villains called Thunderbolts, due out in 2024—and perhaps in a way that will be difficult for poor Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), who we now
Let’s return to Killmonger. I thought we’d seen him last. Can you tell how they got him back?
Fans of the first film will recall that ingesting the heart-shaped herb, being put to sleep, buried, and then awoken in the Ancestral Plane, which is exactly what it sounds like except the sky is purple, is required to become the Black Panther. Before becoming the Black Panther, the future Black Panther will have the opportunity to speak with their ancestors, most likely for counsel and clarification. Shuri expected to see her mother, but instead found Killmonger in the ancestral plane, tempting her to the vengeance-filled dark side.
Why did M’baku declare a challenge to the throne at the end of the film?
It’s a little confusing, but by the end of the film, Shuri says yes to taking on the role of Black Panther but no to becoming the new Queen of Wakanda. M’baku issues a challenge to become king, but with Shuri’s blessing and no one to challenge him, it’s likely simply a formality to honour tradition.
How did the Talokan strike force get from Yucatan to Wakanda in less than a day? Can whales really swim so fast?
Friend, I don’t know how to tell you this, but Vibranium is also completely fabricated.
Haven’t seen the Trailer yet?
Read Also:
The Crown’ Season 5 takes dramatic liberties, but here’s where they lean into history
For more, visit Zesacentral!