‘Captain America Civil War’: Black Panther is the deciding vote, ‘mysterious’
In the wake of the new Captain America: Civil War and Marvel’s debut of Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, fans get a bit more information on the character and his role in the new film.
The Black Panther, a.k.a. T’Challa, is a neutral party with his own interests and picking between Team Iron Man and Team Captain America, depending on who will best help him achieve his goals, is a large part of the story says Civil War executive producer Nate Moore.
“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.”
In the talk with Entertainment Weekly Moore fans shouldn’t expect a wisecracker like Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man) or a straight-shooter like Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers.
“He’s definitely not the life of the party in this instance. 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.”
This version of T’Challa will be young and a little inexperienced, the latest in a long line of Black Panthers to have defended Wakanda’s interests. As Boseman says: “There definitely is a sort of tradition that he’s torn between, in terms of how things were done in the past and how things need to happen now in this new world. I think there’s perhaps a bit of a maverick there, and then there’s also a need to live up to traditions and his father’s legacy. And not even his father’s legacy, but the entire nation of Wakanda. I think those are the things you will see.”
Hulk and Iron Man practically destroyed an entire city of Wakanda in a brutal brawl during Avengers: Age of Ultron, so it’s no wonder this guy finds it necessary to intervene in Avengers business.
The EW article also explains that Black Panther’s uniform isn’t cloth, it’s very thin chainmail constructed entirely out of Vibranium, the indestructible (and fictional) metal that was used to craft Captain America’s shield.
This makes sense, since Wakanda is the world’s only source of this precious metal, which, in the pages of the Marvel comic book universe, has transformed the country into a wealthy, technologically advanced paradise.
The claws are also made of Vibranium, which means we’re certainly going to get a shield versus claws battle.
Captain America: Civil War opens on May 6, 2016. Black Panther’s solo movie will arrive nearly two years later on February 16, 2018.
