When it comes to the Marvel Universe, there are plenty of famous rivalries, but few match the scale of one X-Men duo. The years have shown Professor X and Magneto have a rather interesting relationship, and Fox’s movie franchise only took their feud to another level. So, fans won’t be out-of-the-loop when Black Panther introduces a similar frenemy relationship to the MCU.
MORE: Who Killmonger Is Working With Revealed
Videos by ComicBook.com
Marvel Studios is slated to debut Black Panther next spring, and the film will follow T’Challa as he comes to terms with his new kingship. The movie will see the hero as he goes head-to-head against a well-known baddie known as Killmonger. And, according to Chadwick Boseman, the two men will have a relationship like the one Professor X and Magneto have.
“Me and T’Challa have two totally different approaches to the throne as well and you see those two opposing sides clash,” Boseman told Entertainment Weekly at San Diego Comic Con.
“So you can call it a Magneto/Professor X type of chemistry. That’s all I can give away.”
X-Men fans will be able to piece together how T’Challa and Killmonger mirror the elder mutants. Professor X and Magneto are famous for feuding over their beliefs about mutants. While the former believes humans and mutants can live together, Magneto is of the opinion that mutants should conquer mankind given their superior genes.
When it comes to Black Panther, T’Challa and Killmonger clash over their views about Wakanda. In the comics, Killmonger comes to resent the country and its direction after his family is exiled. Killmonger’s father was branded a traitor and killed after he was forced into assisting the villain Ulysses Klaw invade Wakanda. The boy held a grudge against T’Challa and Wakanda for the slight, and Killmonger dedicated his life to exacting revenge against those who turned on his family.
It’s not clear how the MCU will set up Killmonger’s relationship with T’Challa, but it sounds like an ideological rift will cause the two to feud. If Killmonger wants to become Wakanda’s king, there must be a reason why the villain thinks the country would flourish under himself rather than T’Challa. But, if the film’s trailers have anything to say, Killmonger might be alone in that belief seeing how many people are backing T’Challa these days.
After the events of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, King T’Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne from factions within his own country. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must team up with C.I.A. agent Everett K. Ross and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakanadan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
The film stars Chadwick Boseman (Get on Up), Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Lupita Nyong’o (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), Martin Freeman (Sherlock), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), with Angela Bassett (American Horror Story), with Forest Whitaker (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and Andy Serkis (Avengers: Age of Ultron).
MORE BLACK PANTHER: How Black Panther Has Super Strength Revealed / First Details On Shuri Revealed / Black Panther Villain Will Have His Signature Weapon