How Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Helps Pave the Way for X-Men in the MCU

By Nicole Drum

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is finally in theaters and while the eagerly anticipated film closes out Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it also opens the door wide open to some incredible new stories in this ever-expanding world of heroes and villains. That includes a pathway to the introduction of what is arguably one of most-wanted groups within all of Marvel: the X-Men. While we know that the X-Men are indeed coming to the MCU — Ms. Marvel gave us our first "mutant" moment with Kamala Khan's (Iman Vellani) being made a mutant rather than an Inhuman and it was recently revealed that Deadpool 3 will see the return of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, it's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's story that best sets up story potential that could ultimately usher in the iconic superhero team.

Warning: Spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever beyond this point. Do not read any further unless you really want to know.

In the film, Namor (Tenoch Huerta) tells his history to Shuri (Letitia Wright) when the latter is brought to Talokan. Namor explains that centuries ago — nearly 500 years ago, to be exact — the Spanish were invading his people's home and had brought with them disease. In an attempt to escape and also be able to fight against the colonizers, his then-human people ingested a glowing plant found underwater that transformed them and led them to live in the sea. Among those people were his mother, Fen (Maria Mercedes Coroy) who was pregnant with Namor at the time and initially resisted, concerned what the plant would do to her unborn child. She eventually relented and Namor was the first of his people born in the sea — complete with his ankle wings and ears that point to the sky. Namor tells Shuri that this made him the "first mutant".

That mention of "first mutant" is significant and, based on what we know of the MCU at this point, accurate. Namor is the first mutant (and, as an aside, is actually Marvel's first mutant in comics having been created by Bill Everett in 1939.) That Namor exists truly opens the door for the possibility of there being a lot more mutants across not just history, but the present tense within the MCU which has the domino effect of there being enough mutants to recruit into a team.

But outside of the confirmation that mutants have existed in the MCU for centuries, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever also sets up story potential that could create a narrative basis for the need for a mutant team. While most of the film centers around the conflict between Talokan and Wakanda over the latter's protection of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), the real central issue is Vibranium. Until it's revealed in the film that Talokan also has the incredibly rare and coveted metal, Wakanda is believed to be the only place on Earth with it meaning that the rest of the world — aka the mostly white Western world — wants it for themselves. They don't end up getting what they want, but that isn't likely to stop the West from trying. It's something that could lead to scientists working to create an alternative or even something that could best Vibranium, leading to the discovery or creation of Adamantium.

In comics, Adamantium is a nearly indestructible man-made steel alloy. It doesn't occur in nature and exactly how it is created is a secret classified by the United States government. The creation of Adamantium within the MCU has a lot of applications. It could be a situation where the formula to create it gets stolen or sold — prime opportunity for Sharon Carter/Power Broker to do some shady stuff here — resulting in a threat that the current roster of heroes can't handle, thus leading to the need for mutant heroes and the dawn of the X-Men. And considering that Wolverine has a major, major history with Adamantium, there's just a ton of possibility beyond Namor simply being the "first mutant".

However, the X-Men finally make their way to the MCU remains to be seen, but one thing we do know is that we're getting every closer, something that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige himself confirmed late last month.

"That's what Jennifer Walters just asked the robot in the final episode of She-Hulk, and I'll give you the same answer he gave: no answer," Feige said. "But you know, Deadpool and Wolverine so we're getting close."

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing exclusively in theaters.

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