The new year is here, and what better way to start off then to talk about superheroes. As a follow up to my blog post about one superhero in particular, Black Panther, let’s talk about how they can specifically bring a variant of him to the main universe. Now as you all know, I’m proudly pro-recast when it comes to T’Challas future in the MCU and since my blog post last year Chadwick Boseman’s brother, Derrick Boseman has come out and said that he would’ve wanted the role of T’Challa to be recast since T’Challa is too important of a positive role model for Black children (especially Black boys) to shelve forever. Not only that but as I am writing this, the Recast T’Challa movement has gained some steam and the petition started by Chicago film critic Emmanuel “E-Man” Noisette has amassed an impressive 54K signatures.
Which bring us to today. I said last year that Marvel recasting via variant would probably be the best way to continue to use the character. But now we’re gonna focus on exactly how they can bring a variant of T’Challa to the main universe. Well there is one Black Panther storyline in particular that explicitly deals with the multiverse, and it could be the perfect way to introduce audiences to a new T’Challa. That storyline being the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.
The Comic Storyline
In the comics, T’Challa sent an expedition team into space to find the source of vibranium. The team ends up being sucked through a wormhole and end up 2000 years in the past and end up using their advanced technology to conquer five galaxies and form the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. When T’Challa finds out about the empires existence, he goes up into space but is soon captured and stripped of all of his memories. He’s later rescued by a resistance known as the Maroons, led by different versions of M’Baku and Nakia, and T’Challa eventually finds his way back to Wakanda Prime in which the empire led by Emperor N’Jadaka (Killmonger) wants to conquer as its crown jewel. Eventually T’Challa defeats Killmonger and becomes emperor of the Intergalactic Empire. Now why would this storyline in particular be the perfect way to introduce a new T’Challa in the MCU? Because there are factors in both this story and the MCU that Marvel can use to their advantage to make this work.
Ultron Killmonger
For those of you who watched Marvel’s “What If?”, you’d know that in the multiverse there is a version of Killmonger that not only killed Tony Stark but also killed T’Challa and became the Black Panther and started a war between Wakanda and the United States. This Killmonger was taken from his timeline by the watcher to be a part of the guardians of the multiverse in order to stop Ultron Vision who was going on a multiversal rampage. Ultron is eventually defeated by Killmonger then betrays his team by using Ultrons body a way to control the Infinity Stones. Thankfully the Watcher traps both him and Zola in a pocket dimension where they will be watched over by Doctor Strange Supreme.
Now here’s where the IGEW comes into play. In the trailer for “Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness”, we see what appears to be Stephens variant from “What If”. So what if when the films events conclude and we get a post credits scene where Doctor Strange Supreme returns to his pocket dimension and finds Zola destroyed, but Killmonger is nowhere to be seen? Then in a possible Black Panther 3, we find out that Ultron Killmonger escaped to a different universe to a point in time where he was able to found the intergalactic empire and use the infinity stones to further his goals of universal conquest. And remember during the final fight of Black Panther where T’Challa told Killmonger that he’s become like the people that he despises? Well with the adaptation of this storyline, the audience can see that come to fruition with Killmonger in control of an empire that was built on the back of other races and will prove once and for all that no, this guy can’t be redeemed and he should NEVER be the Black Panther.
Ultron Killmonger was set up for a reason, not to mention that Michael B. Jordan said in an interview that he would be more than happy to reprise his role as Killmonger. And this would not only serve as a way for Killmonger to come back without cheapening the emotional impact of his death in the original film, but it would also be a way for him to become an even bigger threat than he was before. But now let’s move on to Killmongers natural foe: T’Challa.
The New T’Challa
As I’ve stated before, variants can look, sound, and act different from their mainstream counterparts. A variant of T’Challa would be perfect for this story since the original comic storyline dealt with concepts such as time displacement, which the MCU is no stranger to (just ask Gamora). However should this storyline ever be adapted to the MCU they should tweak it a bit to specifically deal with the multiverse. In the original storyline, characters that are essentially variants of Nakia and M'baku end up coming to 616, especially considering both of their mainline counterparts from that universe are deceased. And since all signs seem to be pointing to the mainline T'Challa being unfortunately killed off in the upcoming sequel, the IGEW could serve as a precedent for the variant coming in.
As for T’Challa this would be a way to essentially reset the character but this time with his more comic accurate traits such as his genius level intellect, his paranoia, and being five steps ahead of his enemies. And plus for the first half of his journey more time can be focused on developing him and making a good impression on the audience since a common criticism of the original film was that T’Challa didn’t seem as interesting in comparison to the other characters.
With this new T’Challa the audience can see him put his intellect and tactics to good use in order to remain ahead of Killmonger and the empire. We can see him developing new tech for the maroons to remain in the fight or better yet develop some of the tech and science that we know him for in the comics such as the energy daggers and shadow physics. And all of this will culminate in T’Challa coming to the mainline MCU, earning the trust of the Wakandans we’ve grown to love and with them teaming up and bringing Ultron Killmonger down once and for all. And when the dust finally settles we will finally have a T’Challa in the MCU proper once more and become a major player in the universe like he was always meant to be.
But What About Shuri?
As I’m writing this, we still don’t know what the fate of Shuri will be in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but all signs seem to be pointing to her taking the throne. I did say that a T’Challa variant coming to the main MCU universe wouldn’t undermine her in the slightest in my previous blog post, but I would go a step further for this idea should it ever come to fruition. When Killmonger is beaten, the new T’Challa will be crowned Emperor of the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda just like he was in the comics and they will set up shop in the main universe and become a major player in the MCU from that point. However while T’Challa will be recognized as emperor for the empire, Shuri can still be recognized as the Queen of Wakanda prime (aka Earth Wakanda). This way T’Challa can be restored to a position of power in a way that doesn’t step on Shuris toes.
And yes something like this has happened before in the source material as back when Shuri was the Black Panther, the Panther goddess Bast crowned T’Challa “King of the Dead”, which was essentially a way that let T’Challa be king again while not taking away from Shuris development. So yes it is possible.
Conclusion
Ever since my last blog post, more and more people have been coming around to the idea of a T’Challa recast. And my position on using the multiverse to do hasn’t changed in the slightest. Heck if anything it only strengthened over time. Especially with a recent interview Marvel Studios VP Nate Moore had on the Ringer-Verse podcast in which he said “you will not see T’Challa in MCU 616”. Now he could’ve just simply said something along the lines of “nah you ain’t ever seeing him again, stop asking”, but no. For some reason he was very specific with that comment of “mcu 616 (aka main timeline)”. I even discussed this with a fellow Marvel fan and he told me this: Words. Are. Important.
While it’s too late for T’Challa to be recast for the second film, the amount of people wanting a new actor to finish what Chadwick Boseman started is rising. And with the man’s family wanting T’Challa to live on in the MCU, plus with the multiverse giving Marvel a way to do it, there’s no reason why it can’t happen. As I’ve said before, T’Challa forever means Chadwick forever. Thank you for reading and Wakanda Forever.
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