The politics of the Marvel films so far are kinda strange. Whilst The Winter Soldier tapped into the current paranoid vein that's been resurrected in Washington thanks to the Edward Snodwen NSA spying allegations, and Iron Man involved Tony Stark realising that maybe manufacturing arms to be used in the Middle East to kill people wasn't that great, for the most part the films have otherwise been fairly conservative. Might makes right, and the people with the might are always right about the people they fight. That's a tongue twister. Hopefully Black Panther will mix things up a little. The character was, surprisingly, not named for the radical movement - he debuted a few years before them - but the very appearance of a black superhero is awesome, especially one who wields considerable global power and rules over an entire nation. How will that square up the likes of Captain America, who believes unfailingly in his country, and Tony Stark, who has some Ayn Randian ideas about government? Black Panther, obviously, won't be a political tract. It'll be an action movie. It'll be fun, and awesome, and a much-needed addition to the MCU. It could also be the chance to explore some different approaches to what being a superhero means.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
