Black Panther (2018)

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Fandom
Name: Black Panther
Abbreviation(s): BP
Creator: Ryan Coogler (writer and director); Joe Robert Cole (writer)
Date(s): 2018
Medium: Movie
Country of Origin: US
External Links: Black Panther on Wikipedia
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Black Panther is a 2018 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character T'Challa, produced by Marvel Studios. It is part of the greater MCU canon and continues T'Challa's storyline seen in Captain America: Civil War.

See also: MCU, The Avengers Movieverse.

Canon

The 18th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series, Black Panther was released in February 2018 starring Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan as Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia, Danai Gurira as Okoye, Letitia Wright as Shuri, Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi, Winston Duke as M'Baku, and Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross.

The character of T'Challa was introduced to the MCU in Captain America: Civil War, where he spent much of the movie seeking vengeance for the death of his father T'Chaka at the hands of Helmut Zemo. Black Panther picks up T'Challa's story one week after the events of Civil War, beginning with the events surrounding his succession to the throne of the fictional African nation of Wakanda.

A key conflict within the film is the question of whether the traditionally isolationist Wakanda should do anything with its highly advanced technology and vast stores of valuable vibranium to intervene in other parts of the world.

End-Credits Scenes

There are two end-credits scenes at the end of Black Panther. The first shows T'Challa speaking to an assembly of the United Nations, where he announces that Wakanda will begin to share its knowledge and resources with the rest of the world. This scene closely follows up on the promise of the movie's conclusion, which featured Shuri and T'Challa revealing their technology to a group of children in Oakland, California, while planning to open the first site of scientific and technological exchange between Wakanda and the United States. Both scenes can be understood as paving the way for the characters of Black Panther to be further integrated into future MCU storylines.

Ryan Coogler, the writer and director of Black Panther, has described the United Nations scene as a direct homage to the first Iron Man movie:

“'I saw Iron Man the first day it opened,' Coogler told io9. 'I was at film school the day it came out. I was in Los Angeles. Iron Man is the first movie I saw at the Arclight, which is like my favorite theater in Los Angeles. What I thought was great about Iron Man, which [Marvel does] a great job of in their movies, is that it feels like it’s happening in our world even though it’s not. Los Angeles looks like Los Angeles. Iron Man flies around and it feels like he lives in New York. The Iron Man press conference looks like our press conference. It feels tactile. I wanted to do that with Wakanda.'”[1]

In the second post-credits scene, the viewer sees Wakanda through the eyes of Bucky Barnes, also known as the Winter Soldier, as he wakes up to find a group of Wakandan children peering down at him. Outside, Barnes encounters a waiting Shuri; it appears that she has undone Barnes' psychological conditioning. This scene serves as a kind of sequel to one of the post-credits scenes of Captain America: Civil War, in which Barnes was put into medical stasis in Wakanda until his brainwashing could be reversed. In this scene, Barnes is called "White Wolf" by several Wakandans; this has been largely received as a reference to the Marvel Comics character of the same name: Hunter, who becomes known as the White Wolf.[2]

Fandom

Popular Pairings

Popular Tropes

  • Get Together is one of the most common tropes for the first two pairings listed above.
  • Erik Killmonger Lives - In these fics it's usually T'Challa who doesn't respect Erik's last wish and saves his life. Following his recovery Erik may be imprisoned, or make reparations to the people of Wakanda in another way. These works often involve the rehabilitation of Killmonger and family reconciliations.
  • Meeting the Avengers - Many fics imagine the first meetings between Black Panther characters and other Marvel characters. Most popular among these include Shuri meeting Peter Parker

Controversies

Spoiler Warning: This article or section may contain spoilers. If this bothers you, proceed with caution.

Prior to the movie's release, many fans had been anticipating shipping T'Challa with the movie's antagonist, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens. This anticipation was fuelled in part by Michael B. Jordan stating that the two characters have a "Magneto/Professor X type of chemistry,"[3] as the characters he referred to (Charles Xavier/Erik Lehnsherr) have long been a popular pairing in the X-Men fandom. After the film revealed that T'Challa and Stevens are first cousins, fandom became divided over the T'Challa/Erik ship, with some disavowing it after discovering the pairing represented a form of incest.

Prior to the release of Black Panther, there was already a concern that predominantly white fanfic writers, unfamiliar with writing fics focused on POC, may inadvertently rely on racial stereotypes of black masculinity and sexuality in BP fanworks.[4] Many fans were conscious of these issues and sought advice on how to appropriately tell the stories they wanted. [5] Some fans believe writers should not create works based in this fandom unless they are black. While others went so far as to call non-Black BP writers racist.[6]

Meta and Education

Fanworks

Fanart

Fanfic

  • Home Training by theformerone, T'Chaka takes Erik back to Wakanda. Erik is a problem child.
  • White (Boi) Wolf by Lasgalendil, The one where Shuri sciences the shit out of everything and adopts a puppy—er, sad disgruntled POW in desperate need of a snarky little sister and an upgrade. Set pre-Black Panther
  • All The Stars by manic_intent, post-Black Panther AU looking at the consequences of M'Baku's actions during the film. M'Baku/T'Challa
  • A Rare Bloom by Gileonnen, When Shuri finds evidence that the heart-shaped herb might still be growing wild in Jabariland, T'Challa and M'Baku embark on a quest to find it. As the journey takes them deep into the mountains, though, their newfound trust—and growing attraction—is tested. M'Baku/T'Challa
  • 5 steps to peeling an onion by sabrina_il (marina), “A prison’s still a prison, cousin,” Erik says, AKA: my take on the ~classic~ Erik wakes up in Wakanda and nothing goes the way he expects fic. Erik Killmonger/T'Challa
  • Clash of the Geniuses by KSTodd, Shuri and T'Challa are visiting America for diplomatic talks. How will the first meeting between Shuri and Tony Stark play out?
  • Black Boys Bloom Thorns First by uzumaki_rebellion, “Prince N’Jobu Udaku meets the mother of his secret son, Erik Killmonger.”
  • in cayenne and honey, in vinegar and lime by Nonymos, M’Baku fought for T’Challa. But should he keep fighting for T’Challa’s vision? The king is professing change, such deep change, while the Jabari are supposed to be the guardians of tradition. It’s a complex problem, which demands a cool head. So M’Baku could really do without an old love coming back to haunt him, an obnoxious royal teenager, and T’Challa’s secret one-armed guest. post-Black Panther, M'Baku-centric M'Baku/Okoye, M'Baku/James Bucky Barnes
  • The Long Path by NyxEtoile and OlivesAwl. Nakia/T'Challa. Glancing over, Nakia said, “You once put the idea of being a spy in my head, and I still can’t shake it.”
  • Wet Sugar by Uzumaki_Rebellion, Erik Killmonger infiltrates Ulysses Klaue's mercenary unit and plots to kill him while getting mixed up with a woman employed by Klaue at his hideout.
  • Stark's New Intern by Uzumaki_Rebellion, Tony Stark brings the best and the brightest to his annual internship program in Los Angeles, and this year, nineteen-year-old Erik Stevens from Oakland California, and fresh out of the Naval Academy, is the new kid on the block who Tony takes under his wing.
  • The Interpreter by Uzumaki Rebellion, Prince T'Challa clashes with the U.N. interpreter assigned to his father King T'Chaka in New York and is forced to work with her on a U.S. Press Tour.
  • Messy Boots by Uzumaki_Rebellion, Ororo "Storm" Munroe divorces King T'Challa and takes up with his cousin Erik Killmonger as a dig at the news that the new King of Wakanda is marrying his old flame, Nakia. At a U.N. dinner honoring Captain America Steve Rogers, old hurts and new emotions spring forth as they all must band together with Cap and the Falcon to fight off an attack aimed at Steve.

Fanvids

Archives and Communities

References

  1. ^ "There's More Going On in Black Panther's End Credit Scenes Than You Realize," Germain Lussier, io9. Posted on February 20, 2018. Accessed on April 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "White Wolf (Hunter) (Earth-616)," Marvel Database. Originally posted on December 27, 2005. Last updated on March 24, 2018. Accessed on April 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Michael B. Jordan Compares Relationship Between Killmonger and T'Challa to Professor X and Magneto
  4. ^ Black Panther and Fanfic a tumblr discussion February 2018. Accessed 18 July 2018.
  5. ^ Black Panther Fanfic Writing Masterpost a tumblr post by writingwithcolor, 28 June 2018. Accessed 18 July 2018
  6. ^ Dear Non Black People a tumblr post. Accessed 18 July 2018
  7. ^ The Black Panther Reader Google Document
  8. ^ Wakanda Curriculum Google Document
  9. ^ TESA Facebook Post
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