15 Recent Movie Characters Destined To Be Iconic
9. T'Challa - Black Panther
Black Panther is important in many contexts: it proved many older Hollywood notions wrong, it painted a vibrant image of African-American culture and is a brilliant cinematic depiction of Marvel's first black superhero.
The Black Panther, also known as T'Challa when not in his costume, first appeared in the MCU in Avengers: Civil War, but today's entry we will be focusing on his standalone entry into the franchise.
Looking at the origins and transition of his home nation, Wakanda, into the modern day, the events of Black Panther occur in the aftermath of T'Challa's father's death, and so T'Challa has assumed the role as king of Wakanda. T'Challa is informed that his uncle had intended to distribute Wakandan weapons to oppressed Africans in order to overthrow society. This goal is continued through T'Challa's cousin, N'Jadaka, also known as Killmonger.
This is not typical hero vs villain story; Killmonger's views do have legs to stand on. In the mid-credits scene, T'Challa reveals the true nature of Wakanda to the United Nations in that they are not an impoverished third-world nation, but in fact an extremely advanced mega-power.
The idea of an African nation being years advanced of their majority-white counterparts is unfounded in Hollywood, and just another reason why Chadwick Boseman's portrayal of the Black Panther is not only important to the MCU, but to world cinema.