Rachel Schaffner – Staff Writer

rls6117@psu.edu

Spoiler Alert

Released a week before the new “Black Panther” movie, award-winning singer Rihanna dropped a song for the movie. The track titled “Lift Me Up,” gives a somber look upon listening after the movie, as it is the ending credits song. As all Marvel fans know, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was filmed after the late Chadwick Boseman passed away back in 2020. Marvel Studios wanted to respect the actor’s death and chose to continue without him. They did not replace Chadwick and did not CGI him into the movie to respect his passing. Marvel Studios showed respect for Boseman and his role in portraying the Black Panther.

“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” continues after the original “Black Panther,” unfortunately, without Boseman. Director Ryan Coolger did a great job with the direction of this movie with the passing of Boseman. He even used Boseman’s real-life terminal illness to drive the beginning of the movie forward, however, it was not explicitly said in the movie that the King of Wakanda died of cancer. With that being said, Angela Bassett, the actress of T’Challa’s mother, Ramonda, has to take the throne and oversee Wakanda as they mourn the loss of their King and their protector. In the previous movie, Kilmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan, burned the heart-shaped herb that gives people the power of the black panther.

The second movie plot starts as the world wants vibranium for themselves, something Kilmonger wanted in the first movie. He saw the world as something more dangerous and he wanted to give those who were less fortunate the power to protect themselves. With T’Challa revealing Wakanda to the world and the existence of vibranium at the end of the first movie, the people in power in other countries, such as France and the United States, want the metal. The people of Wakanda make sure vibranium does not fall into the wrong hands and create a war that they cannot win. Speaking of wars that they cannot win, as seen in the trailer, the new villain of this movie is Namor, a man who can breathe water and fly in the air.

Namor, coming of MesoAmerican descent, wants the help of the Wakandans to protect vibranium from the world, but he wants to go about it in the wrong way. With the opposing views of Shuri and Queen Ramonda, Namor brings war to Wakanda and the people. After the first attack and some casualties, the people of Wakanda are left to decide what their next course of action is when fighting against Namor, as he is seen to be strong in the air, but even stronger in the water. So how can Wakanda win a war against such a powerful force? By the return of the Black Panther, their protector.

As far as who the new black panther will be, Marvel comic fans might have had an idea of who the new protector of Wakanda is going to be. However, in the trailers, Marvel did a great job at hiding who the new black panther is. As for myself, I was in between two candidates: Shuri and Nakia. Ultimately, it was the former instead of the latter. While Nakia would have made a great black panther, Shuri outweighs everything Nakia has to offer. Nakia, being a spy, would be great at getting into places undercover as the black panther, but Shuri has the brains to where she can think her way out of situations, just like how she was able to replicate the heart-shaped herb that was necessary to give her the powers of the black panther. With Shuri being as smart as she is, she also has the resources necessary to make the iconic black panther suit a much more powerful weapon on her side. The question can be asked what prompted Shuri to become the next Black Panther? It was simple: Wakanda needed a protector and she was the only one to recreate the heart-shaped herb. It seemed fitting that she would take over that mantle her brother left behind. 

What tripped me up while I was watching, was when she went to the ancestral plain, which varies on the person, Shuri did not see her mother or her brother, more of her cousin, Kilmonger. In which he gave insight into her family and how they were seen as the black panthers. He asked her one question for Shuri to ponder: was she going to be noble like her brother or vengeful like himself? While it seemed she was going to be vengeful, she was both for not only herself but also for Wakanda’s sake. It was in the moment when she was about to kill Namor that she released the revenge holding her back and became noble like T’Challa, by letting him live and for both Wakanda and Talokan to come together. I loved seeing Shuri step into the role of the new black panther, giving Marvel another strong woman for young girls to look up to.

While the plot of “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” was a bit confusing to understand, there was one thing that was not: the absence of Chadwick Boseman. Throughout the movie, his loss was brought up many times, which was rightfully so as he made a big impact with the first movie and the others he was in. What Marvel Studios did well in the movie was the tribute they gave him in both the beginning and the end. All Marvel fans know the iconic opening of Marvel Studios being displayed on the big screen, with scenes from Marvel movies and the iconic soundtrack that goes with it. However, in this movie, there was no soundtrack, just silence. The scenes came from “Black Panther” or the other Marvel movies where Chadwick Boseman played the character. Right before the end credits begin, Marvel gives a dedication to Chadwick Boseman, similar to how in “Captain Marvel” there was a dedication message to Stan Lee, as that was the movie that came out after his passing. 

Rest in Power, Chadwick Boseman. Wakanda Forever