10 New MCU Characters To Look Out For In 2018 - Ranked By Anticipation

There are signs that Marvel has finally started doing its villains justice on the big screen. Spider-Man: Homecoming's Vulture and Thor: Ragnarok's Hela will both go down in MCU history as foes who actually lived up to the lofty standards set by Loki in Phase One, and Black Panther's Erik Killmonger should continue this trend.

In the comics, Killmonger is a Wakandan native who is exiled from the country after his father is forced to work for Ulysses Klaue. He attempted to overthrow T'Challa from the throne upon his return, and the movie looks set to adapt at least part of this origin.

Michael B. Jordan's villain is an expert martial artist and a rival for the Wakandan throne, making him a threat to T'Challa on both a political and physical level.

A recurrent criticism of MCU foes is that they're too often a mirror for the hero, and while this could apply to Killmonger, there should be enough depth to the character to make the rivalry work on the same level as Tony Stark versus Obadiah Stane.

Jordan has compared his character's relationship to T'Challa to that of Professor X and Magneto, hinting at a layered conflict that spun out of a friendship soured by conflicting ideologies. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.