The Marvel Cinematic Universe has one last stop at the movies before Phase 4 comes to a close. November’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the final theatrical installment of this fourth batch of franchise content, and its expected to be as crucial as they come. Wakanda Forever will primarily deal with the aftermath of King T’Challa’s death while also being the launching pad for characters like Tenoch Huerta’s Namor and Dominque Thorne’s Ironheart. The latest trailer for the Black Panther sequel brings a bulk of those plot points to the forefront, specifically highlighting the kingdom of Talocan’s intentions with the surface world.
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That said, there are plenty of blink-and-miss-it frames and lines of dialogue that hint at the film’s bigger picture.
Who is Namor?
The submariner has arrived.
This trailer gives significant spotlight to Namor, the primary antagonist of Black Panther 2. Even though he’s positioned as the bad guy in this footage, actor Tenoch Huerta has emphasized that his water-based character walks the line much more than traditional villains.
“Latin-Americans are always the bad guys in Hollywood movies. And now we are the heroes, or an anti-hero, in this instance,” Huerta said in an interview last week.
Regardless of his allegiances, this iteration of Namor strays a bit from the comics. His kingdom is that of Talocan, not Atlantis, and much of his design is inspired by Mesoamerican lore. This is amplified by M’Baku noting that Namor is not called general or king by his people, but rather “K’uk’ulkan, the feather serpent god.”
While these origins are not a mirror image of the page, Namor’s get-up doesn’t get much more comic accurate. He rocks the famous green trunks and winged ankles while also having pointed ears.
“Eternal war…”
M’Baku warns that while Namor poses a threat to the surface world, taking him out completely is not a strategy that they can implement.ย
“Killing him will riskย eternalย war.”
While M’Baku is likely just using eternal as an adjective, there are parallels between Namor and Marvel’s immortal ensemble. In the final act of 2021’s Eternals, a celestial begins to emerge from Earth’s crust, but his birth is indefinitely halted by Sersi and company. Tiamut the Communicator’s head and hand stick out of the Indian Ocean, but the rest of his body remains submerged in Earth.
It’s unclear exactly where Talocan is located, but there’s a chance that Tiamut’s emergence disrupted the underwater kingdom. If that’s the case, M’Baku’s “eternal” warning could have much greater significance.
Wakanda and Talocan Alliance?
Will the two kingdoms eventually see eye to eye?
Members of the Dora Milaje take the fight to military-esque men late in the trailer. These men appear to be the same guards that the Talocanians attack at the beginning of the footage, leading many to believe that the Dora’s fight takes place on the same ocean base.
This could be a case of an outside party getting in the way of a Wakandan-Talocanian conflict, leading the Dora with no choice but to also take the fight to the armed soldiers. That, or this could come late in the film, potentially after an olive branch is extended between the two, and this is an instance of Wakanda assisting Talocan by taking out an enemy that is bringing harm to the underwater people.
As for who these military men are aligned to, obvious answers point to a governing body of sorts, potentially linked to the United Nations. That said, there’s a possibility that these guys work with Latveria, the fictionial nation ruled over by Doctor Doom. The infamous Fantastic Four antagonist has been rumored to be involved in Black Panther 2 for months, and these soldiers could be Doom’s way of making his presence felt without fully showcasing himself on screen.
Ironheart’s Involvement
The Iron Heir is about to make her debut.
After making her debut in the film’s first trailer, Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams gets more spotlight in the latest Wakanda Forever trailer, specifically in her Ironheart armor.
Ironheart is seen flying through the streets of Boston alongside a muscle car and motorcycle, driven by Okoye and Shuri, respectively. This clunky armor takes flight again later in the trailer, getting a juice boost that bears resemblance to Iron Man from Avengers: Infinity War.
Towards the end of the footage, Williams can be seen alongside Queen Ramonda in Wakanda’s throne room. A reflection of Namor can be seen in the window, indicating that the submariner is beginning an attack on Wakanda.
License Plate
Marvel never wastes an opportunity to sneak in some significant letters and numbers.
Okoye’s muscle car contains a license plate that reads “EE 0710.” There’s nothing blatant from Marvel Comics that links to this plate, but there are some imaginary dots that can be connected to Doctor Doom. Doom makes his comic debut in Fantastic Four #5, released in July 1962. Doom’s plays an antagonistic role in Black Panther Vol. 4 #19, which had its alternate cover released in October 2006. Exchanging those months for numbers and 0710 remains.
It’s grasping at straws, but if Doom is going to be involved in this movie, any hints towards his presence are going to be heavily hidden.ย
Another theory is that EE can be substituted for the number five, as E is the fifth letter in the alphabet. In Sub-Mariner: The Initiative #5, released in October 2007, page five features Namor being accused of committing treason.
This could hint at Wakanda Forever‘s larger narrative, one that features Namor aligning with Wakanda in the end. As shown in Black Panther (2018), these fictional nations are not always on the same page. If there’s a larger, more sinister force manipulating Namor into waging war, perhaps this page could hint at a lecture between the feather serpent god and the puppet master late in the film.
Enter Attuma
Namor isn’t the only Talocanian warrior.
Showcased in his full glory is Attuma, Alex Livanalli’s blue-skinned character. While Namor teeters between hero and villain, Attuma is a full-on antagonist in the comics. On the page, Attuma is prophesied to conqueror the Atlantean Empire and often stands opposite Namor. He is a member of a barbaric tribe that was banished from the main kingdom of Atlantis, which draws some parallels to the Jabari, M’Baku’s Wakandan tribe that removed themselves from main Wakanda.ย
It’s unclear if Attuma is friend or foe of Namor at the time of Wakanda Forever, but his presence could be planting the seed for him to become an eventual antagonist in a potential Namor solo project.
