With all the fervor surrounding DC’s Wonder Woman and Marvel’s upcoming Captain Marvel, it’s easy to overlook even the most anticipated new franchises coming down the superhero pipeline. Now that the iconic “must haves” have all been checked off of either company’s respective lists, some of their smaller, more niche heroes can start to get the attention that they are long overdue for.
We’re not just talking about Luke Cage and Iron Fist here: heroes that exist on a small scale far removed from the global concerns of the companies’ flagship teams. We’re finally getting to the point where important, high-concept but narrowly-marketing characters are finally getting their place in the sun: characters whose appeal has historically been limited by their race and ethnicity.
Foremost among these character’s is Marvel’s Black Panther, who debuted in last year’s Captain America: Civil War. T’Challa is king of the isolationist African nation of Wakanda. In addition to wearing the mantle of monarch in his country, he is also its sworn protector: the costumed Black Panther.
Although just as mortal as Hawkeye or Black Widow — possessing no innate, superhuman abilities — he is garbed in Vibranium armor — made from the same metal as Captain America’s shield — and armed with a pair of retractable Vibranium claws. In addition to his deadly accoutrements, he is wealthier than Tony Stark, just as brilliant, and has his nation’s entirely infrastructure at his disposal. Oh, and he’s also married to the X-Men’s Storm.
Marvel, however, isn’t too keen on people forgetting about the first solo movie for one of their Black heroes. They released the first poster for the movie on Friday morning, with the promise of a teaser trailer dropping later in the day. And if this is what we can expect from the movie, it’s going to be something to see.
The poster shows T’Challa in his Black Panther outfit, minus his helmet, in the center of an austere, golden chamber. He sits on a jet black — presumably Vibranium — throne, carved with ornate white runes and accented with minimalist studs and scratch marks. He glares toward the camera, his Vibranium claws arching over the throne’s arms, daring you to approach.
I doubt that the trailer will reveal much more than this: the character in-costume and the heretofore unseen African nation that he rules over. We might get a hint at the film’s plot — maybe a peak at Captain America and the Winter Soldier, who we last saw in his asylum in a Civil War post-credit scene — but that’s it.
But for a movie that won’t be released until next February, it’s more than enough to simply see them doing the character continued justice on the big screen. Everything else — from longer trailers to magazine interviews — can wait until after Thor: Ragnarok, or at least until after Spider-Man: Homecoming. We’ll be seeing King T’Challa soon enough.
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