Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: 23 WTF Moments

13. Namor Is A Mutant Confirmed

Black Panther Wakanda Forever Shuri
Marvel Studios

One of the film's most interesting scenes involves a flashback detailing Namor's origins, where we learn that his ancestors in the 1500s fled from the Conquistadors and, in an attempt to cure the smallpox plague they brought with them, made use of a blue plant grown in vibranium-rich soil.

Namor's mother was pregnant with him and so initially refused to take the cure, but was ultimately persuaded to.

Like others who took it, Namor's mother's skin turned blue and she became able to breathe underwater, while as a result Namor was born with winged ankles and pointed ears.

Namor then straight-up tells Shuri that he's a mutant, which is significant given the MCU's historic tendency to shy away from using that word for legal reasons.

But with Disney now owning Fox and consequently their dominion over that word, those prior restrictions need not apply. Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) was the first MCU character to be referred to as a mutant out loud in her recent MCU series, and now Namor is the second.

It's especially fitting for Namor given that he's also presented as a mutant in the comics, and this hopefully suggests we'll see a greater incidence of mutant characters in the future, leading up to the X-Men being formally introduced into the MCU at some point.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.