The Wonders of Wakanda
On February 16th, 2018, the biggest movie of the Winter will release, that is Marvel’s Black Panther. Sadly, no one really payed attention when the movie was announced all the way back in 2014. Everything changed when the trailer dropped on June 9th earlier this year. The internet exploded, and just like that everyone couldn’t wait. Before I give you some background information on the character that everyone should know, let’s talk the basics.
If you plan to go see this movie, there is one requirement. WATCH EVERY SINGLE MARVEL MOVIE IN ORDER. I’m just kidding, the movie you do have to watch though is Captain America: Civil War (yes it is on Netflix). You ask why? The reason is because Black Panther makes his first official appearance in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). I do love Spider-Man, and I couldn’t wait for him to make his debut as well, but Black Panther is equally important. And I would also argue that his scenes were more dope than Peter Parker’s too. Anyways, the point is that Black Panther’s introduction is marvelous… even if he is on the wrong side of the war.
His actual name is T’Challa, T’Challa son of T’Chaka. They are from a fictional east African country named Wakanda. It is surrounded by other fiction countries such as Azania, Canaan and Narobia. So what’s so special about Wakanda? The country is not only the most technologically advanced on the planet, but also top tier in pretty much every other category.
Their government is based on a psuedo-tribal society. The king is known as the Black Panther, and the throne he holds is hereditary. This means if the king dies his son will take his place. Surprisingly, an ordinary Wakandan citizen can challenge the Black Panther to a combat ceremony, and if that person were to win, he/she would be the king/queen.
Wakanda is the vibranium capital of the world (vibranium is a fictional metal and the hardest in the MCU). It can cut through any metal, scratch diamonds and be shaped in all sorts of forms, Captain America’s shield is made of the material. The most intriguing fact about the element is that it absorbs sound and vibration. As the amount of energy increases, the metal gets tougher, if it successfully penetrated, instead of it shattering, the stored up energy explodes. Now I want you to keep this in mind, Vibranium is sold at $10,000 per gram, the country of Wakanda has approximately 10,000 tons of it. I tried to do the math, I really did, but the number is just too big. What I do know is that it is well above $1 trillion.
As you can imagine, their government is beyond stable. Generations on generations have been fed top tier education. Every student is given a free 11 year schooling plan, once it concludes they either chose to go to a free college or find work elsewhere. Along with this, all citizens of Wakanda have free health care for their entire life. Wakandan doctors are so intelligent that they have found a for cure cancer, but are reluctant to share it with the world (I’ll get into why later).
Now moving on to defense and military. It’s hard to believe that T’Challa would need bodyguards, but he is a king, and most kings have bodyguards. His are extremely unique. They are called the Dora Milaje, an elite group of women that serve as security for whoever sits on the Wakandan throne. Each woman generally carry 2–3 weapons at all times. Not many people fight the king because of his security, they are just as dangerous as they are beautiful. When it comes to military, the government has divided it into four sections. (Everything is made of vibranium, weapons, uniforms, artillery, jets, all of it)
- Wakandan Army — Ground forces
- Wakandan Navy — Naval forces
- Wakandan Air Guard — Air force
- Wakandan Spy Network — Undercover Agents
If they fight, they are almost never defeated in battle due to a high amount of experience training against each other fiercely.
One question remains unanswered, and I know what you’re thinking, why on God’s Earth won’t they share the cure to cancer with the rest of the world? It’s simple, seclusion. With Wakanda holding a humongous amount of one of the worlds most prized and expensive elements, they generate enough money to hide in plain sight. The entire world believes that the nation is a third world country, but the things the east African country has are what foreigners dream of. However, the citizens of Wakanda don’t leave the country, as the higher powers believe that there is nothing in the outside world that Wakanda does not already have. I feel like life would get boring living in the same place but when you have the best technology, you get free top tier education and your king is a warrior, it’s hard to complain.
Black Panther is set to be the first blockbuster hit of the year. The cultural impact that the movie will have on African Americans is going to be incredible. When October rolls around in 2018, Black Panther costumes will be flying off the shelves for black children who will finally have a superhero that looks like them. The movie is stacked with stars like Chad Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker just to name a few. So as you can see, it’s booming with talent. With every single Marvel movie scoring positive with both fans and critics, Black Panther will no doubt have audiences in awe. Check it out on February 16, 2018.
