Have you ever looked up to someone and they end up passing away? Although you don’t personally know them, the loss of them still weighs heavy on your heart. When Chadwick Boseman, the actor that played the role of T’Challa, the Black Panther, passed away in August of 2020, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) mourned his loss,  The newest movie “Black Panther, Wakanda Forever,” released on November 11th, serves as a tribute to Boseman and allows fans of the series to move forward.

When Wakanda Forever was introduced, the big discussion was if they would replace or recast the Black Panther after the death of Chadwick, but many in the Marvel community wished they wouldn’t because he was looked at as THE Black Panther.

As the trailers for the new film dropped, fans got a look at the next Black Panther. We saw that Shuri, the younger sister of T’challa, played by Letitia Wright, would be cast as the new Black Panther. It was a new look for the whole movie and reaction to the new character was up in the air for most filmgoers.

Throughout the movie, viewers see a variety of character development within major characters. The protagonist, Shuri, princess of Wakanda, is mostly focused on throughout the film. Several challenges are put in front of her that she has to learn to overcome and grow from. Shuri lost not only a brother, but she now faced the loss of her mother, Queen Ramonda. As she tries to find a way to bring everyone back together she runs into the biggest challenge that Wakanda would face. Namor, The Sub-Mariner, the king of an underwater civilization called Talokan has been faced with a challenge of his own. As the outside world searched for Vibranium (A metal that contains the ability to absorb,store,and release large amounts of kinetic energy) they came across vibranium deposits in the ocean, which led to Namors people.

As Shuri faces these challenges she overcomes many obstacles that force her to develop into a revenge-like mindset. As Shuri is standing before her evil cousin in the Ancestral plane,who sits on the throne of Wakanda she wonders why she’s meeting with him instead of Her brother who was the last Black Panther. The anger building in Shuri is powerful, all the hate and sadness from the passing of her family to everyone trying to attack Wakanda builds. Erik takes that to his advantage and preaches about acting on revenge. As he speaks he shows her a side Shuri was fighting against in her own mind the whole time, he proved to her that there were better ways to avenge her family instead of trying to find peace. 

As Shuri finally gets Namor to herself she acts on her “revenge” and lets out all her feelings at once. As she’s defeating her main enemy, she’s clearing all mental enemies as well. She not only focuses on what killed her own mother, but the monster that destroyed her city. This goes to prove that she acts in behavior on behalf of feeling the need of protecting her people for her family she has lost. 

 Fans also had a surprise in the final scene that ran after the closing credits. Fans also had a surprise in the final scene that ran after the closing credit . see Shuri traveling to Haiti to visit Nakia who was once a member of the War Dog army, but most importantly the lover of King T’challa. Like many others in the community, she was still grieving the loss of King T’challa.  Nakia. As Shuri goes to burn ceremonial clothing from T’challa’s funeral as a way to move forward. As she does, Nakia comes down with a little boy and they both greet Shuri. It is then revealed the little boy’s name is Toussaint, but holds the Wakandan name T’challa, just like his father, King T’challa.  

The reveal that the late King T’challa has a kid was emotional for many fans, not only because of the loss of T’challa in the movie, but because they made a character that Chadwick Boseman will forever live through. 

This movie has brought many feelings upon us Marvel fans, as we all say a farewell to a character and actor we all loved. He will always live through Black Panther and this movie. Although this movie was rated 84% on rotten tomatoes, I would say it’s 8.5/10. It was beautiful.