'Wakanda Forever' honors Boseman

"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" is a film tasked with multiple missions.

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe expect it not only to pay tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman, who died of cancer in 2020, but also to show how the concurrent death of Boseman's King T'Challa would affect his fictional African nation of Wakanda, all while introducing the long-awaited Marvel Comics character of Namor the Sub-Mariner to the MCU.

Ryan Coogler co-wrote and directed both "Black Panther" films, and given the obvious affection and respect he's demonstrated for Boseman, it's no surprise that the real-life actor is elevated to the most prominent role in "Wakanda Forever," even in his absence.

In depicting T'Challa's passing, Coogler wisely glides over the reasons for his death, simply attributing it to an "undisclosed illness," rather than trying to explain how something as mundane as cancer could kill a superhuman hero, because he knows the real story lies in the grieving of T'Challa's living loved ones.

T'Challa's mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) is lashing out vengefully at anyone who dares to test her patience or betray her trust. His younger sister, genius engineer Shuri (Letitia Wright) has buried herself in her work and divorced herself from the faith of her ancestors, whom she blames at least a bit for not helping her save her brother's life. Even T'Challa's former rival for the throne, the once-hotheaded M'Baku (Winston Duke), has been turned somber and wiser by his loss.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world's nations have turned to the oceans in pursuit of a source for the precious metal Vibranium that might lie outside the borders of Wakanda. This has unwittingly brought them into conflict with the undiscovered undersea nation of Talokan, whose Mesoamerican-descended, water-breathing people are led by a flying mutant whom they've named after the Mayan feathered serpent god Kukulkan.

Of course, to his foes, including the Spanish colonizers who drove his people into the sea hundreds of years ago, he's known as Namor (short for "el niño sin amor," or "the boy without love") for his absence of mercy.

As much as I've enjoyed Jason Momoa's portrayal of Aquaman in the DC Extended Universe, I've increasingly found the whole conceit of the sunken city of Atlantis, managing to survive by turning its people amphibian, to be ever more hoary and dated, which is why I'm delighted to see the MCU abandon that aspect of Namor's origin entirely.

As much as Marvel Comics have harped on Namor being their "first mutant," the frisson of what it means for Namor to be caught between two worlds, biologically and culturally, is underscored by creating parallels between Talokan and Wakanda.

Although I'd initially favored an actor like Daniel Dae Kim to play a more comics-accurate Namor, Tenoch Huerta's performance deserves to redefine the character across Marvel's media. His Namor is at once arrogant and justified, since he's reacting to having lived through centuries of injustice, and he's built up the personal and collective strength to respond to the surface world's treatment in kind.

Divided allegiances also define a number of the supporting characters. CIA agent Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman) feels indebted to the Wakandans, not just because they saved his life, but also because he recognizes they're good people. Nonetheless, his covert attempts to aid them ultimately lead his previously acquainted boss, newly appointed CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (a dynamite Julia Louis-Dreyfus) to question his loyalty to his own country.

Shuri struggles to reconcile even more deeply internalized conflicts. She learns that the mechanism for detecting Vibranium was invented by African-American MIT student Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), a fellow Black girl genius who's developed her own Iron Man-style armor - in the comics, Riri's superhero alias is "Ironheart" - but Namor wants Riri dead, to keep Talokan's cache of Vibranium hidden, and he's willing to destroy Wakanda if they harbor her.

Worse yet, when Shuri finally reconnects with her ancestors, to seek the strength and guidance necessary to fend off both Talokan and American forces, she finds herself facing the absolute last relative from whom she should accept any advice.

Yes, the Black Panther mantle that was left vacant by T'Challa's passing is taken up again, but the identity of the new Black Panther almost doesn't matter, because what's important is that all those who counted T'Challa as a family member, a love, an ally or a friend strive to do what's right, because he's no longer with them to do it himself.

In the midst of all the other subplots, Danai Gurira (Michonne from "The Walking Dead") acts the absolute hell out of her arc as Okoye, who's forced to reckon with who she is when she's not the general of the Dora Milaje.

And I'd say more about Lupita Nyong'o's relatively brief role as Nakia, the expatriate Wakandan former love of T'Challa, except that literally anything I could think to add would qualify as a spoiler, especially the film's touching midcredits scene.

Fallen heroes

While we're paying tribute to real-life legends who helped bring our favorite comic book superheroes to life, I'd like to take a moment to observe the Nov. 10 passing, also from cancer, of 66-year-old Kevin Conroy, who was the voice of Batman to multiple generations of cartoon audiences from 1992 forward. If you're my age or younger, Conroy's voice is likely the one you hear in your head when you read Batman's dialogue on the printed page.

Conroy was as surprised as anyone by his own ability to inspire others, perhaps never more so than during the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when he volunteered to cook meals for the search-and-rescue personnel who were sifting through the rubble in New York City. One of Conroy's fellow volunteer cooks recognized him as the voice of Batman from the cartoons, and excitedly told the recovery workers in the dining area, "Guys, you'll never believe who's been cooking your meals! It's Batman!"

The weary, soot-covered diners were skeptical enough to yell "B.S." (albeit not abbreviated) and demand proof, so while he was still in the kitchen, Conroy bellowed his signature line: "I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman!"

After a moment of stunned silence, one man finally said, "Holy (censored), it IS Batman," and for the rest of the night, hungry emergency workers crowded around Conroy to ask him about different cartoon episodes.

People who pedantically feel the need to point out that superhero stories are silly and not real are missing the point, because much like fables such as "The Lord of the Rings," they feel real, and they supply people with real hope. Which is how, for one night, an actor who'd worked as a short-order cook was able to brighten the lives of a crew of folks who'd been given every reason to lose faith in humanity.

A toast, then, to Kevin Conroy and Chadwick Boseman, for being genuine good guys to the end.

Author Bio

Kirk Boxleitner, Reporter

Shelton-Mason County Journal & Belfair Herald
[email protected]