To this day, fans criticize the Marvel Cinematic Universe for having run-of-the-mill villains. All are essentially inverse versions of the hero characters. Ultron was inverse Vision, Red Skull was inverse Captain America, Yellowjacket was inverse Ant-Man, and so on. Arguments have been made for Loki and Thanos as unique contenders in the series, but they were designed to be an antithesis to the Avengers as a group, not individually. What is the opposite of a confident unified team? An illusionist trickster who changes allegiance every chance he gets. Thanos assembles various Infinity Stones for his plan of annihilation? So too must the Avengers assemble all their various superpowers to defeat him. Of all the malign mirrors in the MCU, the fan-favorite is unquestionably Killmonger of Black Panther. As popular as he is, however, his villainy should not be overlooked. He is as vicious and evil as the rest of the pack.
Black Panther is one of the most popular MCU films. It is the fifth highest-grossing film in the series, only behind all the Avengers movies. It received seven Oscar nominations and won three, making it the only MCU movie to win an Oscar and the first superhero movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture. Black Panther was a critical and cultural phenomenon. One of its major themes is national isolationism versus global exceptionalism. The earliest tradition of Wakanda required the people to hide their vast resources and wealth from the rest of the world, making them culturally insular and socially cloistered. The Kingdom of Wakanda was more than capable of participating in the world stage, yet they chose to disguise themselves as a third-world country and ignore the plight of their neighbors. This was partially what Killmonger was arguing about against T’Challa, the new King of Wakanda, and what made him such an intriguing villain.
In the United States, he was known as Erik Stevens, codename Killmonger. His real name was N’Jadaka, son of the secretly executed Prince N’Jobu. Erik grew up in a poor, racially oppressive environment in the USA. He only heard stories about the paradise of Wakanda from his father, prior to his execution by then King T’Chaka.
He became a Navy SEAL black op to grow his fighting power, then fell in with criminals to pursue his plan of conquest. Killmonger specifically argued two things. First, that Wakanda should reveal itself on the world stage. With all its technological advancements and wealth, it is one of the leading countries of the world, the best of them even.
Second, that Wakanda should take responsibility for all the racially oppressed and systemically impoverished people. He believed that Wakanda could be the instrument of a new African imperialism, avenging the crimes of colonial and slave history. This was a position in opposition to the ruling elders of Wakanda, including the newly crowned King T’Challa.
The methods that he took to achieve his goals were downright murderous and destructive. His hatred and merciless ambition far exceeded his expressed beliefs in an Wakandan Empire, and had he truly killed T’Challa in the duel, he would have torn down everything that was beautiful about their nation in a bitter bloody world war. His kill streak includes the poisoned Museum Director lady, he shot his own girlfriend Linda when she was used as a human shield by Klaue, he gunned down Ulysses Klaue, he speared tribal leader Zuri (Forest Whitaker), and later he slit the throat of Xoliswa, a Dora Milaje (Royal Guard), during the Battle of Mount Bashenga.
He attempted to kill Everett Ross when he broke Klaue out of captivity, and nearly murdered Nakia and Shuri before T’Challa tackled him. The fact that he torched the Heart-Shaped Herb that gave him superpowers (like Captain America’s super-soldier serum), meant he had no intention of continuing the line of Black Panthers, or the Monarchy, after himself. He was dead set on nose-diving the Kingdom into oblivion. He aired the face of change and progress for Wakanda, even convincing W’Kabi and his warriors to join him, but he always sought the death of T’Challa and the dismemberment of the throne. His views were always sullied by an obsessive vengeance.
Fans argue that Killmonger was correct in his views, and that T’Challa grew as a King by taking his advice. However, T’Challa faced the pressure to open Wakanda despite Killmonger, and made his decision for many reasons – not just Killmonger’s coup. Nakia believed in opening the nation, telling him so while they strolled along the city.
T’Challa made the first steps toward Wakanda’s emergence when he rescued the life of Everett Ross (Martin Freeman). Ross is shot in the spine as Killmonger breaks Klaue out of jail. Instead of leaving Ross, T’Challa takes him to be treated by the advanced medicine of Wakanda, against the advice of Okoye. This action makes the decision personal, gives it a face. It is no longer T’Challa keeping isolationist because of tradition, but T’Challa personally breaking the rule to save one man’s life. So should Wakanda, then, save all lives. T’Challa would have inevitably opened the doors of Wakanda because it is the right thing to do for humanity, not because of the attack of a mad man.
It will be interesting to see how the sequel to Black Panther turns out without its lead. The loss of Chadwick Boseman last August is a grave impact to the MCU and to the film industry.
Black Panther 2 is scheduled to be released in theaters on July 8, 2022.
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