There's no point in writing a review about the Black Panther movie. If you have not seen it yet there's nothing I will say that will change your mind. What I will say is that it was a good movie. No, it was not the greatest movie of all time. No, it wasn't the best Marvel movie. No, it wasn't even my favorite black superhero movie. Okay, that last one has changed. It's my favorite black superhero movie now, sorry Blade. But did is it really a paradigm shift in comic book movies?
I think it's a interesting thing it's done as well as it's done. Thinking back to before it came out I'll admit I was worried. As a comic reader, movie watcher, as a black heterosexual male living in the United States of America anytime a movie starring a black superhero comes out I get worried. You have to understand, contrary to current popular belief Black Panther isn't the most successful comic character on his own. The character has had his best moments in team books. So when I here he's getting his own movie it worried me. The movie ended those worries but what comes next?
We are getting more Wakanda this year if you are not aware. The next Avengers movie has Black Panther and his people play a big role in it. I think because the story has Thanos looking for the Infinity Stones. The most important stone is the Soul Gem. Yes, Wakanda in Africa is probably where the gem of Soul lies. A little chessy but whatever. There's another Avengers movie after this and then we get a change to the Marvel movies that no one is telling you about.
There will be no more Iron Man movies, no more Captain Americas, no more Thor movies. These were the big single lead movies that Marvel had in its arsenal. Without them a new set of single lead movies have to fill the void. That's where Black Panther comes in. Along with Doctor Strange 2 Marvel has to get another Black Panther movie ready to go. Marvel just announced that there will be a sequel. It helps that it just made $1 billion dollars at the box office. I think this will speed up the creative process for a sequel. Having Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel lead the charge for Marvel is a big deal. But the pressure on Black Panther is different then the other two.
Black Panther has positioned itself as the lead series for the next phase of Marvel movies by making so much money. The problem is I think they emptied the load as far as it's villains are concerned. When Klaw was introduced in the second Avengers movie I figured he would be the main villain for the first Black Panther movie. I thought M'Baku would be the lead in the sequel. The third movie would have Kilmonger as the lead. Well that's not gonna happened obviously. So the next movie will be as much of a surprise to me as it will be for you. Black Panther doesn't have a large rogues gallery at all. This leads me to wonder if Black Panther can really carry the weight of the future expectations of the lead Marvel movie.
I've seen this happen before from Marvel and so have you. Remember the Blade movies starring Wesley Snipes? Those were the first official Marvel Studios movie. If you remember those movies than you'll remember what happened. The first movie was dope. It was a movie that kicked ass. The second movie was so-so. The third movie was a waste but it did finish the Blade story. Now I worry that Black Panther may follow the same path that Blade took. If so then the other Marvel movies may or may not be affected but it will be a case of some people saying, see we knew the Black movie couldn't carry the Marvel legacy.
That's the other side of things that people won't tell you about. As a black man I encourage enjoying this moment. We had a movie where a black superhero with ninja powers is a King. Yes, his powers could be taken away by grape juice but so what. Yes, he was doing a Nelson Mandela accent while playing the role of Dr. King. Yes, his main adversary was playing the role of Brother Malcolm meets Tupac. We know this but we also know that when this moment passes, and it will, we have to get ready for the next thing. If the next Black Panther movie drops the ball even a little bit it'll be like we all dropped the ball. We know that won't be true but the feeling will be there. We don't get superheroes that look like us often so we get sensitive about their succeeding but their perceived failures weight heavier on us.
This is why I wonder if this movie truly was a paradigm shift in superhero movies. Superheros that star black superheroes male or female especially. Here's something to think about, DC Comics Cyborg has a movie planned for him. Do you think he'll match Black Panthers success? After you stop laughing think about what will happen when it's failure is measured against the rest of the DC movies. That poor reflection won't help get that movie a sequel. It certainly won't help other potential movies starring superheroes who are not caucasian.
I enjoyed Black Panther enough to watch it twice in theaters. I just didn't get carried away with it. I'm glad it was good but for the sequel I hope it does what the Captain America movies did. The first one was good, second one better and the third was great. I hope the next ones follow and even exceed those expectations. The team behind the movie set themselves up in a way I can't see through. I have a few ideas about where they can go but that's not enough to make even half a movie. Now try to make a sequel that matches the $1 Billion that this movie made. That's going to take some serious powers that I hope the Black Panther has otherwise the paradigm shifts back to where it use to be which I hope does not happen. Wakanda Forever. Enjoy.
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