Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

 

The film is called to respectfully introduce a new Black Panther and push the MCU forward with the introduction of Namor an Indigenous Mesoamerican king-god figure of the undersea, isolationist kingdom Talokan — which has its own cache of vibranium and superhuman strength that makes Wakanda buckle.

Black Panther :Wakanda Forever begins with the funeral of T’Challa — a sight tinged with joy and sorrow.T’Challa’s coffin is carried through the capital of Wakanda by the tearful Dora Milaje led by Okoye (Danai Gurira). The cortège and people of Wakanda are dressed in all white — a striking touch from costuming legend Ruth E. Carter.In the wake of T’Challa’s death from an unnamed illness, his mother, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), must help her empire navigate assaults from within and without.

They soon learn that an even greater threat than Wakanda is Talokan — led by Namor, who is eager to fight against the surface world in order to protect his kingdom. Namor isn’t so much a villain as a misshapen antagonist forced into violence by a script that requires it to push the plot along, yet he cares deeply for the barely sketched supporting figures of his kingdom. While the threat of Wakanda and potential world-ending ramifications of Namor's forces attacking are felt, it's made that much more messy by the introduction of Riri Williams "Iron Heart". Namor’s introduction sees him flying in to see Shuri and the Queen with wings attached to his ankles.

When both the Queen and Shuri refuse to help Namor, unwilling to kill Riri in order to settle this peace, Nakia shows up and saves them both, which riles up Namor. As a result, he attacks Wakanda and drowns the queen, flooding the streets and almost killing Riri too. He promises to come back, setting up the final showdown between both sides.

While Ironheart whizzes around in her new armour (which looks like a rejected design from Power Rangers I may add), trying to help Wakanda defeat the Talokan warriors, Shuri – who is now the new Black Panther – squares off against Namor. After using a special ship to dry up the moisture from Namor, he’s already slightly weakened as the fight spills over the beach.Namor impales Shuri but she recovers, shrugging off the injury and overcoming Namor, delivering a final blow that burns his back and puts a stop to this invasion.

Instead of killing him however, Shuri thinks back to her vision, where the Queen questioned what sort of leader Shuri should be, and decides to spare Namor’s life. In fact, she agrees to a truce, agreeing to keep the secrets of Talokan safe.