Here comes the enemy of the White House
Black Panther's starring (motion) picture will be released on February 16, 2018. He would make his screen debut in "Captain America: Civil War". Fans and critics alike were praising Chadwick Boseman's swagger and accent. It would be a coincidence that Marvel comics published a compilation of his greatest adventures.
T'Challa, Black Panther's alter ego, would come from a privileged family who ruled Wakanda. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who created this black superhero, would insist that Black Panther wasn't their attempt for political correctness. But some would wonder if the duo wanted to play down the significance of this character. He made his first appearance in the 52nd edition of Fantastic Four on July 1966. It happened in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement. T'Challa and his family would remind some historians of the mighty civilizations that ruled the African continent. They might have predated the Egyptians who witnessed the pyramids in all its glory, but the elements buried whatever remained of their achievement. Some would suggest that this comic series could be a defiant stance towards the white colonizers. Indeed, T'Challa didn't hide his contempt to the US government. But he would go back and forth to the US. His enemies would keep on luring him.
Ryan Coogler, who helmed "Creed, would direct the big-screen version of "Black Panther". He and Joe Robert Cole will write the script. Now is not the time for pre-production. ("Spider-Man: Homecoming" will be the most anticipated Marvel film next year, followed by "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2". "Thor: Ragnarok" would be next.) But Marvel fans couldn't help but speculate the storyline. Let's have a look at the possible premises:
Everett K. Ross will form an unlikely alliance with T'Challa. Martin Freeman (of "Sherlock" fame) played Everett K. Ross in "Captain America: Civil War". He was the member of the Joint Counter-Terrorism Center, but Marvel comic fans knew his close ties with Black Panther. This is not a unique situation in the comics world. (Think of Batman and James Gordon.) But why Ross? T'Challa may not try to warm up to the US government, but he needed an authority who could give him the green pass (to come in and out of America). It won't take rocket science to figure out the reason. The US would be the place where his enemies live, and they could bring Wakanda down to her knees. Black Panther won't allow it, so he chose someone who didn't seem to be a racist at all.
Killmonger has unfinished business with Black Panther. Chinua Achebe could have penned a novella about the bad blood between Erik Killmonger and T'Challa. They could be two young (African) men from different tribes, and how the unwritten laws of the wild would make them sworn enemies. Killmonger's father was murdered, and T'Challa's old man had nothing to do with it. But circumstances prompted him to exile them. And the US would nurture them. It had nothing to do with the perennial problem of terrorism, though. (Let's not get too serious about it.) Coogler didn't reveal the villain, but Marvel might choose Klaw. He was responsible for the death of Killmonger's father, and both men might appear in the film. The more, the merrier.
It's time to meet the Army of the Damned. T'Challa must deal with a group of antagonists, who called themselves the Army of the Damned. Baron Macabre, Lord Karnaj, Salamander K'Ruel, Sombre, and Madame Slay. They used to be inhabitants of Wakanda, who found a second home in America's underbelly. And they looked to Killmonger as their leader. This doesn't imply the doomed state of Africa. (Economic prosperity is not a pipe dream.) However, this would suggest that Wakanda wasn't different from other African states. The ill effects of colonialism would keep Africans from moving forward, and they would struggle with poverty. If you think that T'Challa is a king of a troubled land, then you're right on the mark. He could be an easy target, but he would insist that there was hardly any trouble.
Perhaps Black Panther's most exciting moments involved the Avengers and the X-Men. 20th Century Fox might have a change of mind if there will be a sequel to "Black Panther".
