Captain America: Civil War is one of the most anticipated superhero films of 2016, but this film will not just be bring back most of the Marvel Cinematic Superheroes, it will be establishing a big player, The Black Panther. He is not just a second-rate hero, he is one that is set to tip the balance.
The trailer for Captain America: Civil War rocked fans expectations, and finally began to solidify some of the rumors that have been circling about how the film will handle the popular comic book run. Before we dig into this article any more, the trailer is below if you have yet to see it.
We finally got to see which side of the debate some of our beloved heroes would be taking. The main event of the film that will place these heroes against each other, is the implementation of the Superhero Registration Act The Slovakia Accords. This will set the stage for the big debate as to whether or not Heroes should reveal themselves to the government, and allow the government to regulate their activities. According to Collider, "Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies."
The events of this film will have ramifications that will send ripples throughout the entire Mavel Cinematic Universe. Because of this, we will finally be getting an introduction to one of my favorite superheroes, The Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman). The trailer gave us a few brief glimpses of him, and finally Entertainment Weekly has given us a high resolution image of him.
The suit looks great (contrary to some people's opinions), and falls in line with the look and feel of all of the other Marvel Cinematic Universe costumes. There are some who are stressing their concerns over the silver highlights in the mask, but this is supplemental and just allows for more contour to be seen. I really love his appearance.
The patchwork material patterns on the body of the suit accentuate the stealthy aspects of the character, and those claws look formidable. It looks like a direct translation of the comic book outfit. This is a great thing.
Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly a little bit about the role that Black Panther would play in the film saying, "We don't just give him a cameo, to wave. He has his own conflict and his own people that he's looking out for." Adding to this, Nate Moore, one of the producers of Civil War, says that Black Panther will be the 'undecided voter' amongst all of the heroes.
This will allow audiences to relate to this undecided party. "He's someone who hasn't necessarily made up his mind about either side and whose agenda isn't exactly what Cap's agenda or what Tony's agenda is, and I think that brings him into conflict weirdly with both characters at different times in the film. He is the prince of an African nation that has so far stayed very much sort of in the shadows. And eventually the film will draw him and his father out of the shadows," according to Moore.
Chadwick Boseman has also stated that the Black Panther's past experience with the Winter Soldier is what brings him out of the background. "He's definitely not the life of the party in this instance," Boseman, tells the magazine. "I think this is something true of the comic book character and the movie. You never quite know where he stands. There's always a bit of concealing and mystery. So I think mysterious is more his boat. Not to say there's not charm and he can't be a ladies' man and all that. It's more like if there is humor, it's more like James Bond."
I get a bit leary when studios try to push a character this hard, hoping that the audience listens like obedient sheep. Marvel is usually good a nailing their characters, so I have no doubt that I will accept the big screen performance of Black Panther. Why the need for all of the reveal of Black Panther and 'mums the word' about Spider-Man? Who knows. I honestly want Spidey to be a complete surprise, but I doubt that will happen.
On another stranger note about the Entertainment Weekly Civil War spread, the editors chose a peculiar path on the cover with the Black Panther. Other than the fact that this looks like a horrible photoshop job, the cover says that Black Panther is "tall, powerful - and has claws that a Real Housewife would envy". They finish it off with a little talk bubble that has him saying "meow." This is just bad. If their attempt was sex appeal for the character, then great job, you just struck out.
