3 Years After His Death, the MCU Just Gave Black Panther His Best Moment Yet

The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn’t been the same since the death of Chadwick Boseman. Playing T’Challa allowed the actor to provide hope to boys and girls around the world who didn’t have many heroes who looked like them. Rather than recasting the role, Marvel Studios decided to kill off Boseman’s character instead, not wanting to tarnish his legacy by giving someone else the reins. Of course, death isn’t the end in Wakandan culture, and the MCU continues to show love to both T’Challa and Boseman by keeping his memory alive. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, in particular, honors the hero by showing how much he means to the people of Wakanda.

Throughout his time in the MCU, T’Challa puts his life on the line for his friends and family, fighting against Killmonger’s tyrannical regime and seeking revenge for the death of his father. However, there’s one villain that gets the better of not only Black Panther but Wakanda as a whole. They miss having a rematch with T’Challa in Avengers: Endgame, but they couldn’t avoid him a second time around, opening the door for the MCU’s best Black Panther moment yet.

T’Challa Defends His Home One Last Time in Marvel Zombies

Fully diving into Marvel Studios’ latest animated project, Marvel Zombies, means doing a little bit of homework. The show takes place immediately after a Season 1 episode of What If…? that pits some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes against the undead. With the world being overrun, a group heads to Camp Lehigh to search for a cure, only to find that Vision is keeping Scarlet Witch around by feeding her people. A fight breaks out, and the heroes are able to acquire the Mind Stone, which can reverse the effects of the virus. However, only Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Scott Lang’s head make it out alive. Their plan is to travel to Wakanda, where they can develop a way to rid the world of zombies. A zombified Thanos is waiting for them, though, and he already has all but one of the Infinity Stones.

Marvel Zombies continues T’Challa’s story as soon as his team lands in Wakanda. The heroes do all they can against the Mad Titan, and things start to look up when Thor arrives with Stormbreaker. Unfortunately, he’s severely wounded, leaving Black Panther to do the heavy lifting. Once Thanos acquires the last gem, he prepares to snap his fingers and do untold damage to the universe. Black Panther isn’t going to let that slide, so he tackles the villain into Wakanda’s vibranium core, killing them both and destroying the Infinity Stones. As Spider-Man explains, Black Panther is solely responsible for saving the remaining living creatures on Earth. There’s no better way for the hero to go out, especially if the MCU is really considering changing its tune.

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A New Black Panther Could Be Coming to the MCU

Despite initially making it clear that no one can ever take Boseman’s place, the powers that be are seemingly exploring a workaround that would allow them to have their cake and eat it too. The heavy emphasis on the multiverse in recent years has led to the introduction of variants, versions of characters from alternate realities that sometimes look a little different than the original. Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are sure to feature their fair share of variants, and based on leaked concept art, a new Black Panther might be among them. The face in the image bears a striking resemblance to F1 star Damson Idris, who has been vocal about his interest in taking on the role.

Since the MCU is loosening its grip on T’Challa in the animated medium, giving him new stories, there’s every reason to believe the same could happen in the live-action one. Idris or another actor could appear in a movie or two, continuing to highlight T’Challa’s importance not just on Earth-616 but across the entire multiverse. There’s no better way to honor a character that means so much to so many.

Marvel Zombies is streaming on Disney+.

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