10 Things Marvel Wants You To Forget About Black Panther
7. Man-Ape
Even though Marvel fans expected M'Baku to make an appearance in the Black Panther film, many were surprised to see how well the power-hungry warlord was fleshed-out. In the comics, M'Baku is a generic villain who desires to rule Wakanda. Although he's perceived as a one-note baddie in the movie at first, we later see M'Baku transcend into a more intricate and complex character.
With his appearances in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and his inevitable return in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, M'Baku has become a major player in the MCU (mainly because of the charismatic performance of Winston Duke).
But another change that was made with M'Baku's depiction in the MCU is his name. In the comics, M'Baku goes by the title, Man-Ape.
Because of the racial connotations associated with the word "ape", Marvel Studios wisely decided never to refer to M'Baku by this term. On top of that, Marvel rarely use this name in recent comics to disassociate the character with terminology that's outdated and potentially offensive.
Nevertheless, it's awkward when you read older comics, and stumble upon a page of M'Baku proudly identifying with this label.