'Black Panther's Mid-Credits Scene is a Great 'Iron Man' Callback

Like any Marvel Studios movie, Black Panther comes with the obligatory post-credits scenes, which [...]

Like any Marvel Studios movie, Black Panther comes with the obligatory post-credits scenes, which are used to set up the next chapters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's storyline. We've already broken down the implications of Black Panther's Post-Credits scenes, but in particular, the mid-credits scene, is a whole lot of fun for a whole other reason: It's a great callback to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's beginnings.

Warning - Spoilers Follow!

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In the mid-credits scene of Black Panther, King T'Challa follows the advice of his love interest Nakia to reveal the secret of Wakanda's existence, offering aid and knowledge to the world. T'Challa goes to the U.N. and steps up to the podium to make a rousing speech. He talks of Wakanda's long period of isolationism, why he's reversing it, and states their mission of helping to create a better world. After he's done speaking, the room of journalists and delegates from governments all across the world are all buzzing, but there's quite a bit of skepticism, with one figure asking what a 'Third World nation of farmers can offer,' Knowing the true secret of Wakanda's advanced tech and prosperity, T'Challa and his cohorts just smile slyly.

The way the scene is staged, and T'Challa's proclamation that Wakanda will show the world "who we are," is nice little callback to the ending of the first Iron Man movie. That film ended with Tony Stark calling a press conference to quell the rumors of his superhero antics - only to scrub the plan and frivolously proclaims to the world that "I am Iron Man."

Needless to say, T'Challa's style is a lot more smooth and cool than Tony Stark's eccentric ego-tripping, but the two Marcel Cinematic Universe scenes echo one another nicely, creating even more thematic continuity to the franchise, as well as narrative ties. In fact, "We Are Wakanda" could become as big a milestone moment in the MCU timeline as "I Am Iron Man," depending on how the future of the franchise unfolds.

...Of course, after Tony Stark's big moment in the spotlight, things got darker for him. Iron Man 2 explored how Tony's reveal invited a whole host of new problems to his doorstep; Wakanda will be a scene of intergalactic war in Avengers: Infinity War, and afterward, there's no guarantee that the bold new era ushered in by T'Challa will set well with his subjects. The King could be in for his most dangerous mission yet, as an ambassador to the world.

Black Panther is now in theaters. It will be followed by Avengers: Infinity War on May 4th, Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6th, Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019, the fourth Avengers movie on May 3, 2019, the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming on July 5, 2019, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2020.

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