10 Ways What If... Could Change The MCU
5. What If T’Challa Was Exiled?
This is a big ‘Sliding Doors’ moment for the MCU, which sees Erik Killmonger exiled and T’Challa raised to be King of Wakanda; the What If here just swaps them around and positions Killmonger as the rightful heir and sees T’Challa cast out.
How would their legacies be different? Their natures? Would Killmonger still be the power hungry boy that claims the throne in Black Panther? Even in that question, there’s a multitude of options.
It’s not unlikely that Killmonger would have started a war, but his ideas in the movie do have progression at their heart, even if they’re built on Pax Americana. Would he have instead pushed for progress much sooner than T’Chaka and T’Challa did?
Or, in different circumstances, would he have been a noble ruler just as T’Challa was?
As for Black Panther himself, would he retain his nobility and dignity, or would a rougher upbringing have knocked it out of him? Like Killmonger, would he have been consumed by vengeance and turned to crime?
With Black Panther 2 only mentioned briefly at SDCC, it seems like it’s a while away yet. A Black Panther What If segment might be used to tide fans over until then.