Marvel's Black Panther (Earth-113599)

Marvel's Black Panther is a 2018 live-action superhero film produced by 20th Century Fox and Marvel Studios. It is the overall twenty-third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe released worldwide on February 16th.

Production
In the 90s, Wesley Snipes was in talks with 20th Century Fox to star in and produce a Black Panther adaptation, believing Africans needed more representation in action films. The project flickered in and out of development throughout the decade but was eventually scrapped entirely due to name confusion with the political Black Panther Party, which Fox was scared could cause outrage and hurt their box office.

Nothing progressed with Black Panther for a long time until Marvel Studios acquired permission from 20th Century Fox to use the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe if they so chose in 2008. By the time Phase 2 came around Kevin Feige was heavily considering moving forward with a Black Panther movie thinking he would fit in well alongside the Avengers. At Comic Con Summer 2015 Black Panther was announced as part of their slate to be released in February 2018. Purposely placed in black history month in order to capitalize on the character's inherent themes of African representation. Chadwick Boseman and revealed to actually have his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War in May 2016.

After Black Panther's successful debut in said film, award winning director Ryan Coogler was tapped to helm the project. Filming began and concluded in 2017 in Georgia and Black Panther was released on schedule February 16th 2018.

Cast

 * Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther


 * Michael B. Jordan as Erik Stevens/Killmonger


 * Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue/Klaw


 * Letitia Wright as Shuri


 * Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia


 * Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi


 * Danai Gurira as Okoye


 * Forest Whitaker as S'Yan


 * Angela Bassett as Ramonda


 * Florence Kasumba as Ayo


 * John Kani as T'Chaka


 * Ebon Moss-Bachrach as David Lieberman/Micro (Cameo)


 * Sterling K. Brown as Hunter Stevens (Flashback)


 * Nabiyah Be as Linda Stevens (Flashback)

Plot
The film starts showing the night sky and the voice of a young T'Challa asking his father, King T'Chaka, to tell him the story of "home". T'Chaka narrates how millions of years ago a meteor struck the continent of Africa gifting the plants and soil with Vibranium. The narration continues while the audience is shown a sculpted reenactment of the meteor striking. That many tribes fought over the land until one day a warrior shaman of the Adowa Tribe received instructions from the Panther goddess Bast to ingest a special heart shaped herb. He did as told and became the first Black Panther who united the tribes of Simbi, Vanyan, Jabari, Anansi, and Nri into the Kingdom of Wakanda. The Vibranium allowed the Wakandans to develop technology more advanced than anywhere else in the world, leading to a golden age of prosperity. But the peace did not last forever, foreign enemies came desiring to enslave their people and exploit the land. In order to protect what they had accomplished, Wakanda chose to hide in plain sight, keeping the truth of their power hidden from the outside world. T'Challa asks if they still hide and T'Chaka answers by simply stating always.

It then shows in Oakland, California where a child named Erik is outside playing Basketball with his parents, Hunter and Linda. Erik makes a good shot and he jokingly asks if his real parents were NBA stars, Hunter plays along saying they adopted him from Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, he can't remember. The three of them continue to enjoy themselves until a police car shows up and demands to know what they're doing. Linda says they're just playing basketball and Hunter asks if there's a problem, the officers respond they're just doing their jobs. Hunter then reaches into his pocket taking out a phone but the Police think he's pulling a gun and proceed to shoot him, Linda then freaks out and they shot her too. Erik is stunned by the entire ordeal as the Police realize what they've done. They place weapons into both Hunter and Linda's hands and then take Erik into the car buckling him in the back seat, the blood of his parents still on his face.

Cut to present day, where a Dragon Flyer aircraft is seen flying through the wilderness of East Africa and into a "cliff" that is actually the hidden entrance into the advanced Afro-Futurist society of Wakanda! The Dragon Flyer goes over the capital of Birnin Zana where the citizens are enjoying the advanced technology until the aircraft lands in the large Necropolis within the middle of the city. King T'Challa flanked by his mother Ramonda, and sister, Princess Shuri walk out of the Dragon Flyer as all the citizens begin to chant. The High Priest S'Yan tells T'Challa the Heart Shaped Herb is ready for him. He then goes into the garden and picks the ripest one handing it to his King. T'Challa proudly swallows it and shouts out WAKANDA FOREVER and all the people respond back in unison. He then gives a speech how all of the people in their glorious land are his comrades and he will protect them with the power of this Herb until his dying breathe. T'Challa continues to drone on until Shuri yells out for her brother to hurry up complaining that the traditional headgear she's forced to wear is uncomfortable. Ramonda makes her hush but T'Challa heeds her advice and ends the ceremony early, thanking S'Yan before heading to the Royal Palace.

T'Challa begins walking inside while Ramonda tells Shuri she must behave during her brother's Herb rituals. Shuri insists that it interrupted the update she was developing on the Vibranium Monorail. T'Challa chimes in saying maybe she should spend her time developing an update for her ceremonial attire. Shuri proceeds to walk away giving him the middle finger and T'Challa simply laughs before entering the throne room. There he is greeted by his wife, Queen Nakia, and takes his seat. It does a montage of the two of them ruling Wakanda together and T'Challa being a fair and noble King to all who need his wisdom. That night he's still on the throne performing his duties until the Head of Security, W'Kabi, enters and explains that his men have recently discovered a group of Vagabonds in Wakanda who have been kidnapping citizens whom the National Guard has had difficulty stopping. He is requesting the King's justice to help restore order. T'Challa says he will ready the Dora Milaje and take off shortly.

In a Dragon Flyer over the jungle, Ayo is driving and informs T'Challa that they're almost in the vicinity of the criminals. He graciously puts on his Black Panther suit and looks at the 3-D hologram map with Okoye discussing the plan. She'll lead the Dora Milaje to rescue the citizens and he'll take care of the criminals. Okoye whimsically warns T'Challa not to freeze out there but he insists he never freezes, putting on his helmet before being released from the Dragon Flyer into the Jungle canopy. In the air, Black Panther throws tech dampening Kimoyo Beads that disable the criminal vehicle and while investigating he takes them out one by one using his incredible martial arts skills and Vibranium claws. Okoye begins finding the kidnapped citizens and brings them to safety while Ayo finds stashes of Vibranium canisters in their trucks. She shows Black Panther and Okoye says these weren't Wakandans, they were foreigners. T'Challa muttering there's only one foreigner he's ever known who had the nerve to send men into Wakanda to steal from them. Ayo gulps while Okoye says Ulysses Klaue, Black Panther comments that Wakanda must prepare itself if the Slicing Talons have returned.

In London at a History Museum an African-American man is looking at a collection of masks. The curator asks if she can help him and he insists that he's just browsing and wonders if she could explain the history of one particular mask to him. The curator says it was picked up by British Soldiers in Nigeria and the African-American man insists she's wrong, it was found in Nigeria but it's actually from Wakanda and is made out of Vibranium. But that he'll take it for them, the Curator informs him they aren't for sale but the man claims her ancestors stole it and he's just repaying them. Before she can respond they all start to hearing ringing while the African-American quickly jumps out of the way and a loud sonic boom comes over the entire room killing everyone inside and shattering all the artifacts, except for Vibranium objects.

Afterwards, Ulysses Klaue himself spotting a sonic cannon "claw" in place of his right hand walks in and tells Erik that was a job well done. Erik insists his name is Killmonger and that he wants to keep this Vibranium mask, to be his own claw. Ulysses asks why he would care about that hideous thing and Killmonger claims it makes him feel closer to his roots. Klaw lets him have it and starts collecting all the Vibranium treasures while Slicing Talons thugs undercover as EMTs escort Klaw and Killmonger off the scene while the police run right past them. In Wakanda, T'Challa is in the throne room with all the tribe elders and W'Kabi discussing how to handle the Slicing Talons. Ramonda asks W'Kabi how these colonizers get into their homes, he answers that he does not know that perhaps they have found the hidden entrance. T'Challa stands and tells him the Nri tribe must be more vigilant then! This is the second time Klaw has discovered the way into Wakanda, the first time countless good men including his own father fell to that madman and he will not put his people through that again. All the tribe elders are shocked by his outburst and W'Kabi insists he will move the entrance again and send the Nri men to secure the entire perimeter.

T'Challa leaves the room to get some air and Nakia followers him outside. The Black Panther is on the large balcony watching the beautiful sun set claiming this never gets old. Nakia says that she understands how he feels, the idea of Klaw and his Slicing Talons carving up Wakanda is that of nightmares. But it has made her think the only reason that Klaw has been able to get away with this for so long is because no one even knows what he's doing. Wakanda is a mystery to anyone who isn't one of them, T'Challa asks what she's suggesting and Nakia claims that perhaps it is time for Wakanda to open its borders. Black Panther insists that is out of the question their Kingdom has been hidden precisely because of people like Klaw. If they open their borders now there will be more of them, he is sure of it. Nakia says or they could help other Africans who are not as fortunate as they are. T'Challa insists foreigners bring their problems with them, it could put their whole way of life at risk. Nakia responds that the Slicing Talons armada is made up of Africans all over the continent who work for Klaw because they need a roof over their head and food on their plates. Wakanda is strong enough as a nation to protect itself and help others. Black Panther still stands by his initial position that he is the King of Wakanda, and will protect all people born here with his life, but the outside world is of no concern to him.

Meanwhile, the Slicing Talons are shown to have made a base of operations around the remains of the Churchill in rural South Africa. There, Killmonger is sorting through the stolen treasures and once he's done delivers all the scraps to Klaw. He goes through it disappointed that's all they have after a whole year of pirating. Erik asks what he expects, not a lot of Vibranium on this planet and his system stealing little bits from Wakanda every now and then isn't going to make up for that. Klaw insists last time he launched a full scale invasion into Wakanda it was a disaster. They might be savages but their technology is too much for idiots like them to even comprehend. Killmonger clarifies idiots like you to Ulysses and that he understands it plenty, Vibranium has a weakness, Erik takes out a blueprint and Klaw listens. He explains that Vibranium metal and vegetation is resistant to vibrations which gives it incredible properties. But as he knows sounds are one of the few mediums that can somewhat slow it down. That if math is right a calculation tuned to just a high enough frequency can actually nullify Vibranium's superhuman properties altogether, temporarily disabling it. He starts to sketch on the blueprint insisting the only problem with this theory was that you need Vibranium to actually make a device capable of producing such a precise soundwave. Lucky for them that's just what his claw happens to be made out of.

Klaw starts to laugh and kisses Erik on the forehead claiming he thought he was just some crazy American. That big brain of his is going to make them both richer than the pope. Killmonger remains unfazed and tells him all they need is a top of the line Sound Converter, he knows a guy who could hook them up. In Wakanda once again, T'Challa goes to the Necropolis where S'Yan is tending the burial sites and asks him if he has a moment to spare. S'Yan claims for him always but T'Challa insists he just wishes to talk to him as friends, not as his King. S'Yan insists though that it makes little difference to him. The Black Panther explains his Queen Nakia wishes to open Wakanda's borders to the rest of the world. He naturally opposes it as he was raised to do, but his bride, she's so stubborn. It's why he fell in love with her but he cannot deal with conflict in his marriage while protecting all of Wakanda from Ulysses Klaue. S'Yan says that he is right to put his people first, but he knows there is conflict in him. Nakia's words could not have sent him into this spiral if he did not have a small part of him that understood the wisdom in her words. He is a good man with a good heart, and it is hard for a good man to be King.

Black Panther asks what he can do and S'Yan says he has ruled for such a short time, and has had the fortune of inheriting a peaceful era. But in times of hardship the Black Panthers of history went to the one who originally showed them the way, Bast. T'Challa tells S'Yan to bring him to her and he proceeds to bury his King is ritual Necropolis sand until he's completely submerged and when he rises finds himself in the a savannah dazzled by a night sky with purple lights emanating from it. Bast who appears as a giant black panther with glowing white eyes approaches him and takes the form of the previous King T'Chaka. T'Challa mutters under his breathe father and Bast says its merely a form she is taking. Asking what troubles him that he would come to her seeking guidance, Black Panther explains that Wakanda faces the return of one of its greatest threats, and he does not know what to do to stop him, his heart tells him to do one thing but his head another. Bast responds that the Panther does not think before it pounces on its prey, it simply does. What does his heart tell him to do, T'Challa insists he wants to respect the decisions of his ancestors and keep his Kingdom safe. Bast proclaims than that is what he must do and all who oppose him are inconsequential. T'Challa is then waken up by Ramonda removing the sand from his face proclaiming that he is needed in the throne room.

In the Palace, Okoye informs her King that Klaw has been spotted in Barcelona along with the Slicing Talons. She strongly advises action be taken to detain him as soon as possible. W'Kabi on the other hand says that there are still Slicing Talons in Wakanda and the Black Panther must remain on the throne should they attack again. T'Challa insists that not a day goes by where he doesn't dream of bringing Klaw to justice for all that he's done, and because of that he will follow his heart and go to Barcelona. He suggests that Nakia come with him, she discussed a desire to help those outside of Wakanda and perhaps this quest will satisfy her need to do so. Nakia responds that it couldn't hurt and that it's a good opportunity for him to try out Shuri's new Panther Habit design. T'Challa asks what she's talking about and it then shows a Dragon Flyer entering the Wakandan Vibranium Mound revealing the inside of it to contain an advanced mining system that extracts thousands of tons of Vibranium, in addition to housing Shuri's personal lab.

She greets her brother when he enters telling him about all the new technology she has invented recently that can be used when fighting Klaw. Including Kimoyo Beads that allow remote control over any vehicle they're attached to and an updated Black Panther habit. T'Challa asks what's wrong with his design, and Shuri claims it's old and impractical. When people are shooting at you you shouldn't have to stop and put your helmet on.The upgrade is fully automated, literally stored within the necklace and is completely sound resistant, he can sneak anywhere in it while moving as fast he wants. T'Challa tries it on and the Panther Habit literally synthesizes around his skin, Shuri claiming it looks good on him. Black Panther says that it lacks the traditional designs of the older habits and Shuri insists it's the way of the future. That they cannot stay stuck making everything look the same just because they've always done it that way.

T'Challa though says it's not about being the same, it's about respecting their heritage and history. Shuri claims he didn't discuss respecting their heritage when she introduced the Maglev Train to extract Vibranium replace the Anansi mining workers. T'Challa tells her point taken but that there's a way to value science and efficiently while still respecting what makes the legacy of the Black Panther what it is, Shuri tells him but if they ever have to make a choice progress must always come first. In Barcelona, Klaw along with Killmonger and his entourage walk into a Casino (with this playing) where they meet Erik's contact Micro busy gambling. He becomes startled seeing them and quickly folds taking them away from the tables. Micro then shows them the Sound Converter and comments that when Killmonger called again after their last encounter, he didn't expect him to be asking for a machine used in quantum physics experimentation, what gives.

Klaw answers asking Micro what he knows about Wakanda. Micro answers it's a third world country but Ulysses insists that's all a front. They are sitting on the world's largest stash of Vibranium, they built technology out of it, weave it into their clothes, heal themselves, do everything the stuff. A modern El Dorado, everyone thought it was an South America, but it was in Africa this whole time. He's the only one who's seen it and made it out alive. Micro looks confused and asks Erik if this is the man he's working for. Erik doesn't respond and simply takes out a wad of cash giving it to Micro before telling Klaw they need to leave. It then shows at the front door T'Challa, along with Nakia and Okoye enter where they quickly spot Klaw and his Slicing Talons henchmen all over. Nakia observes he's leaving and insists they must hide outside and ambush him there but T'Challa insists that will only prolong the inevitable and gives the signal to Okoye. She then snatches her wig and takes out a Vibranium spear attacking the Slicing Talons' thugs while Nakia does the same on the other side of the Casino. T'Challa jumps down onto Klaw and tells him he is a sick and greedy man, after all these years he will finally be put on trial for his crimes against Wakanda! Klaw laughs hysterically and mockingly sings "What is Love" to him before blasting Black Panther with his claw and escaping along with Killmonger.

Nakia tries to fight Erik using her ring blades while Klaw and the Slicing Talons escape. Killmonger is able to dodge all of Nakia's attacks and easily beats her down using his martial arts skills brutally killing all the Dora Milaje who get in his way before putting on his Vibranium Mask and catching up with the others. T'Challa is then seen running after Klaw's van on the street before attaching a Kimoyo Bead to an empty car allowing Shuri to literally drive it while still in her Wakanda lab. He then has his necklace synthesize the new Panther habit around his body and jumps on Shuri's car while they chase after Klaw. Killmonger and some other Slicing Talons get in their own van and begin driving away while Nakia and Okoye get inside their Vibranium car and chase after them. Black Panther and Shuri are in hot pursuit of Klaw all over the city while the Slicing Talons proceed to shoot Nakia and Okoye's Vibranium car to little effect, Erik needing to remind them it's completely bullet resistant. Okoye stands up and through the sun roof and throws her Spear at Killmonger's van, however Erik is so skilled he's able to catch mid air and throw it right back at them, slashing the tires of the Vibranium car.

On the other side of town, Black Panther is getting closer and Klaw shoots a sonic blast that destroys Shuri's car and the Kimoyo bead disconnecting her from the fight. T'Challa though is able to evade on the sides of buildings and keep his momentum going and is able to flip Klaw's car over. Ulysses tries to crawl out and fight T'Challa but despite his sound manipulation is easily beaten, the Black Panther then pulls the claw out of Ulysses' arm socket and demands to know how he found the entrance into Wakanda again and he insists "you savages" can't even keep your own people in order. T'Challa asks what that means and before Klaw can answer Black Panther gets hit with a rocket launcher being held by Killmonger. T'Challa quickly gets up and tries to fight back but Erik uses the Sound Converter against him which deactivates his Panther Habit along with Killmonger's own mask. He then kicks him down and takes Klaw into his van before driving away. The Panther Habit only recalibrating and herb based superhuman abilities returning after they're already gone. Okoye and Nakia catch up and ask what happened, Black Panther explains that Klaw had an accomplice who was somehow able to nullify Vibranium, the device he used to do it must've been what they came to Barcelona for. Nakia asks how that's even possible and T'Challa claims he does not know.

In Wakanda, Shuri is doing research in her lab with T'Challa and W'Kabi. She clarifies that even the Heart Shaped Herb's abilities were ineffective and T'Challa insists everything that made him King was no more. Shuri is stumped claiming she's never heard of something that could do that to Vibranium, she'll have to think about this. W'Kabi tells her to do so as fast as she can, something that can disable Vibranium in the hands of the Slicing Talons is by in large the greatest existing threat to their entire Kingdom. T'Challa tells her to just work hard as she can and walks with W'Kabi in the hallway. There, Black Panther tells the Head of Security that Klaw gave him an ominous message in Barcelona, implying that there was a traitor in Wakanda who revealed the force field entrance to his henchmen. W'Kabi asks who could be doing this and T'Challa claims their conversation was interrupted before he could find out, W'Kabi claims the only ones who know are the high court and his guards in the Nri Tribe. Black Panther asks him how well he knows those men and W'Kabi insists he trusts each and every one of them with his own life. They are loyal to Wakanda, he assures him. T'Challa tells him that the true evil in this world can be ultimately deceptive, and pull the wool right over your eyes. Check with all the guards in the Nri tribe and be sure of his assessment, if there is even a fraction of a doubt, they look into it. Wakanda's independence might depend on it.