Black Panther is poised to be the next big success story for Marvel Studios — a solo character film that will open up an entire new world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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This article does not contain spoilers for the upcoming film Black Panther.
However, while Black Panther‘s homeland of Wakanda is an entire world all to itself, the Black Panther movie will actually have a great deal of impact on the happenings and developments of the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The New World Order
Here’s the film’s official synopsis:
“After the events of 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, Wakandan special forces, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.”
As you can read, the major thrust of Black Panther‘s story revolves around King T’Challa’s dilemma of returning to inherit his father’s throne while trying to decide how Wakanda should re-evaluate its role on the world stage. Without knowing the exact details how things play out, we know from seeing the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War that Wakanda will present a united front when Thanos comes calling. That suggests that the country will emerge from seclusion, adding a major new superpower to the world stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That new status is going to assuredly come with a major new shift in power for the MCU.
New Tech
One of Wakanda’s greatest strengths is the unmatched level of technology the African nation has developed while in seclusion. Black Panther will see T’Challa get a major costume upgrade, with the new suit able to incorporate cutting-edge vibranium tech, like the ability to phase shift on and off of the wearer’s body.
Once Wakanda opens itself up to the world, the technological advancements it can offer will radically transform the entirety of the MCU. There’s already hints that the vibranium tech could go so far as to help Iron Man make his next armor upgrade. If that’s not a possible sign of major influence, nothing is.
Soul Stone
We’ve already broken down how Black Panther will likely reveal the MCU Soul Stone; it doesn’t need to be explained in great detail just what a major development that would be for the MCU. The Soul Stone isn’t just a major piece in Thanos’ quest to obtain the omnipotent power of The Infinity Gauntlet: it could be the explanation of Wakanda’s strong spiritual connections, as well as the source of the vibranium ore that gives the country is advanced tech. The bigger question will be iff the Soul Stone is discovered in Wakanda, what will it take to keep it there?
Villain Upgrades
Spider-Man: Homecoming introduced an interesting sub-plot of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on how common criminals are attempting to upgrade their wares in order to keep pace with the expanding world of superheroes, aliens, Inhumans, and so on that are springing up all around them.
Black Panther will continue this evil progression by having plunderers like Ulysses Klaue upgraded with a vibranium sonic blaster and Wakandan exile / special forces soldier Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) getting his own “Golden Jaguar” vibranium suit. Black Panther isn’t just going to give the MCU a new tech standard for its heroes — it’s going to give its villains the opportunity for drastic upgrades of their own.
The Wakanda Soldier
We know that Black Panther has two post-credits scenes, so if the main film doesn’t address the issue, we expect that at least one of the post-credits scenes will reveal how Bucky / Winter Soldier gets thawed out from cryogenic stasis.
Winter Soldier still has a pivotal and influential arc to play out in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his ties to Wakanda will play a big part in getting him there. After all, how can Bucky ever become the new Captain America without the technological advances needed to repair his bionic arm, and/or possibly fix his sabotaged psyche. He may end up being the new Cap, but he would also be through and through a product of Wakanda.
The Next Avengers
T’Challa’s emerging role as a world leader, and his previous connection to the Avengers (or at least some of them), will leave him in the position to become an official member of the superhero team once Black Panther is over.
Avengers 3 and 4 are going to bring some pretty drastic changes to the Avengers roster, with Phase 4 of the MCU expected to look very different from what we’ve previously seen. Having Black Panther standing front and center to lead the next iteration of The Avengers is a no-brainer.
Long Live The Queen
Finally: what is a Marvel solo character movie if it doesn’t tease the debut of new characters that will come in later films? The first Iron Man teased War Machine’s introduction, The First Avenger set up Bucky’s change into Winter Soldier, we’re still waiting on that promise of The Leader made in Incredible Hulk, and Black Panther will have its own heroic foreshadow for fans in the know to gush over.
The character to watch in the film is none other than Shuri (Letitia Wright), T’Challa’s young sister who is Wakanda’s top engineer and said to be smarter than Tony Stark himself. It’s Shuri who designs T’Challa’s new Panther suit, and in the comics, it’s Shuri who eventually takes up the throne of Wakanda, and the mantle of being the first female Black Panther. Needless to say, that’s something fans really want to see go down in the MCU.
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Black Panther opens in theaters on February 16th. Other upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include 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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