Marvel Studios' Black Panther won't be the first black superhero comic book adaptation that has ever been made (what with Blade, Spawn, and even Steel for that matter having been produced back in the 1990s), but it shall be the first one released in the modern age of the superhero movie genre - not to mention, the first one headlined by an African superhero, at that. Chadwick Boseman of 42 and Get on Up fame will first portray T'Challa/Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Captain America: Civil War this May, before getting his own solo movie in 2018, as directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) and scripted by Joe Robert Cole, a graduate of Marvel Studios' own in-house writing program.
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Naturally, at a time when the issue of diversification and proper representation within the film industry - be it in terms of the race/gender of characters depicted onscreen, the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the people who are working behind the camera on movies today - is a hot discussion topic, Black Panther comes loaded with big expectations from people that go well beyond the usual comic book movie-loving crowd. Rest assured, Cole says he's all too aware of that, too.
Cole, during an interview with Mother Jones, discussed his experience developing Black Panther thus far. When asked if he was surprised when he landed the job of writing Black Panther, Cole answered:
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No. Having gone through the [Marvel] writer program, I knew Black Panther was in the pipeline and I knew they were big fans of my writing. But I had to compete with the other writers who were put up for it—no one hands out jobs.
Marvel's in-house program has also given rise to such screenwriters as Nicole Perlman, who wrote the original script draft for Guardians of the Galaxy and did script doctoring for the first Thor solo film; she has since moved on to co-writing the script for Captain Marvel, which will be Marvel Studios' first movie headlined solely by a female superhero character - following not long after Ant-Man and the Wasp, at that. Much like Captain Marvel is a rare case of a female superhero film being written by a woman (two women, actually), Black Panther is the rare case of a black superhero movie both written and directed by black storytellers - a matter of significance that Cole noted, during his interview with Mother Jones:
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Black Panther is a historic opportunity to be a part of something important and special, particularly at a time when African Americans are affirming their identities while dealing with vilification and dehumanization. The image of a black hero on this scale is just really exciting. When I was a kid, I would change superheroes' names: Instead of James Bond, I was James Black. Instead of Batman, I was Blackman. And I have a three-year-old son. My son will be five when Black Panther comes out. That puts it all into perspective for me.
Beyond its pop cultural impact, Cole added that he, Coogler, and Black Panther producer Nate Moore 'are cognizant of what's going on in the world, in black communities, and in our country' - and said that the film shall address that in some fashion, much as the upcoming Marvel/Netflix series Luke Cage looks to do during its first season (going by leaked set photos and comments from cast/crew members, at the least). Of course, whereas Luke Cage is an African-American character and his TV show is poised to examine hot-topic issues concerning the African-American population right now, Black Panther is an African character and his solo film has been described by no less an authority than Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige as something closer to a geopolitical thriller than anything else. There should be significant differences between these upcoming MCU installments (and the subject matter they examine), for the same reasons.
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Cole likewise noted in the Mother Jones interview that while his and Coogler's perspectives as black storytellers should help the pair as they continue to develop Black Panther (something that Coogler has spoken about too), they still have to do their fair share of research for the project. Case in point, when asked how he may and may not relate to the African superhero T'Challa, Cole answered:
That's a really good question. I write characters focusing on them as human beings, and then you wrap them within a culture. So I think I can connect with him as a person with brown skin who's viewed differently by the world. In terms of his culture, we're thinking about where we are locating Wakanda within the continent, and what the people and history of that region are like. It's a process of investigation to help inform the story at this point. But we are going to be engaged with consultants who are experts on the continent and on African history and politics.
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In addition, Cole touched briefly on the challenge that he, Coogler, and their collaborators face, when it comes to creating the scientifically-advanced nation of Wakanda in Black Panther, but at the same time keeping it rooted in actual historical African culture (read: not 'westernizing' the fictional setting):
That's one of the many questions that excite me. I think you try to extrapolate from the early civilizations and cultures of the continent, kind of looking for unique ways they set themselves apart from Western civilizations, and then pursue those avenues technologically and see where that takes you.
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All things considered, Black Panther has the potential to be a highly notable addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe - not only thanks to the rich comic book mythology behind the film, but the caliber of talent involved (on both sides of the camera, here) and the care that Cole indicates is being taken to do right by the movie's namesake. Filmgoers won't have to wait too much longer to get their first look at T'Challa on the big screen either, as Civil War (at the time of writing this) shall kickoff Phase 3 of the MCU - and pave the way for the introduction of several new MCU characters over the next few years - in a matter of a few months.
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NEXT: Details on Black Panther's Costume & Role in Civil War
Captain America: Civil War will release on May 6, 2016, followed by Doctor Strange – November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man – July 28, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel – March 8, 2019; The Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 – May 3, 2019; Inhumans – July 12, 2019; and as-yet untitled Marvel movies on May 1, July 10 and November 6, 2020.
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Source: Mother Jones [via CBM]
Zazie Beetz Wants To Explore Domino's Origins & Relationship With Cable
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BOY:
Baba..
Baba..
MAN:
Yes, my son.
Yes, my son.
BOY:
Tell me a story.
Tell me a story.
MAN:
(CHUCKLES) Which one?
(CHUCKLES) Which one?
The story of home.
Millions of years ago..
a meteorite
made of vibranium..
the strongest substance
in the universe..
struck the continent
of Africa..
affecting the plant life
around it.
And when
the time of man came..
five tribessettled on it
and called it Wakanda.
The tribeslived in constant
war with each other..
until a warrior shaman..
received a vision from
the PantherGoddess Bast..
who led him
to the Heart-Shaped Herb..
a plant that granted him
superhuman strength,
speed and instincts.
The warriorbecame king..
and the firstBlack Panther..
the protector of Wakanda.
Four tribesagreed to live
under the king's rule..
but the JabariTribe isolated
themselves in the mountains.
The Wakandans used vibranium
to develop technology..
more advanced
than any other nation.
But as Wakanda thrived..
the worldaround it descended
further into chaos.
To keep vibranium safe..
the Wakandans vowed
to hide in plain sight..
keeping the truth
of their power
from the outside world.
And we still hide, Baba?
Yes.
BOY:
Why?
Why?
(IN THE TRUNK
BY TOO $HORT PLAYING)
- Lucky shot!
- That ain't lucky!
Whatever!
Get outta here!
Check up.
Pick your man up! He open.
Where you at?
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Pass! Pass!
- Got you, E.
- E, hurry up!
Watch me get this.
Tim Hardaway style.
That's what I call it, baby.
KID:
Come on.
Come on.
BOY:
What you got?
What you got?
You ain't got nothing.
MAN:
Hey, look,
Hey, look,
if we get in and out quick,
won't be no worries.
You in the van,
come in through from the west.
Come around the corner.
- Land right here.
- Mmm-hmm.
Me and the twins
are pulling up right here.
We're leaving this car behind,
okay? We come this..
(FAINT RUSTLING)
Hide the straps.
Yo, is it the Feds?
No.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
It's these two
Grace Jones-looking chicks.
They're holding spears.
Open it.
JAMES:
You serious?
You serious?
They won't knock again.
(SPEAKING XHOSA)
Who are you?
Prince N'Jobu, son of Azzuri.
(SPEAKING XHOSA)
Prove to me you are one of us.
(SPEAKS XHOSA)
My King.
This is James. I trust him
with my life. He stays..
with your permission,
King T'Chaka.
As you wish.
At ease.
(SPEAKS XHOSA)
Come, baby brother.
how you are holding up.
You look strong.
Glory to Bast,
I am in good health.
How is home?
Not so good.
(IN XHOSA) Baby brother.
There has been an attack.
This man..
Ulysses Klaue..
stole a quarter ton of
vibranium from us..
and triggered a bomb
at the border to escape.
Many lives were lost.
He knew where we hid
the vibranium..
and how to strike.
He had someone on the inside.
Why are you here?
Because I want you
to look me in the eyes..
and tell me
why you betrayed Wakanda.
I did no such thing.
(SPEAKS XHOSA)
Tell him who you are.
Zuri, son of Badu..
What?
James. James, you lied to me?
Leave him.
You were Wakandan
this whole time?
You betrayed Wakanda!
How could you lie
to me like..
Stand down.
Did you think that you were
the only spy we sent here?
Prince N'Jobu..
you will return home
at once..
where you will face
the Council..
and inform them
of your crimes.
Check up!
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Guard your man,
guard your man!
Yo.
REPORTER:
The tiny nation of Wakanda
is mourning the death
of its monarch, King T'Chaka.
The belovedruler was one of
many confirmed dead..
after a terrorist attack
at the United Nations
a week ago.
The suspect
has since been apprehended.
Though it remains one of
the poorest countries
BOY:
Baba..
Baba..
MAN:
Yes, my son.
Yes, my son.
BOY:
Tell me a story.
Tell me a story.
MAN:
(CHUCKLES) Which one?
(CHUCKLES) Which one?
The story of home.
Millions of years ago..
a meteorite
made of vibranium..
Body heat 2010 full movie download. the strongest substance
in the universe..
struck the continent
of Africa..
affecting the plant life
around it.
And when
the time of man came..
five tribessettled on it
and called it Wakanda.
The tribeslived in constant
war with each other..
until a warrior shaman..
received a vision from
the PantherGoddess Bast..
who led him
to the Heart-Shaped Herb..
a plant that granted him
superhuman strength,
speed and instincts.
The warriorbecame king..
and the firstBlack Panther..
the protector of Wakanda.
Four tribesagreed to live
under the king's rule..
but the JabariTribe isolated
themselves in the mountains.
The Wakandans used vibranium
to develop technology..
more advanced
than any other nation.
But as Wakanda thrived..
the worldaround it descended
further into chaos.
To keep vibranium safe..
the Wakandans vowed
to hide in plain sight..
keeping the truth
of their power
from the outside world.
And we still hide, Baba?
Yes.
BOY:
Why?
Why?
(IN THE TRUNK
BY TOO $HORT PLAYING)
- Lucky shot!
- That ain't lucky!
Whatever!
Get outta here!
Check up.
Pick your man up! He open.
Where you at?
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
Pass! Pass!
- Got you, E.
- E, hurry up!
Watch me get this.
Tim Hardaway style.
That's what I call it, baby.
KID:
Come on.
Come on.
BOY:
What you got?
What you got?
You ain't got nothing.
MAN:
Hey, look,
Hey, look,
if we get in and out quick,
won't be no worries.
You in the van,
come in through from the west.
Come around the corner.
- Land right here.
- Mmm-hmm.
Me and the twins
are pulling up right here.
We're leaving this car behind,
okay? We come this..
(FAINT RUSTLING)
Hide the straps.
Yo, is it the Feds?
No.
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
It's these two
Grace Jones-looking chicks.
They're holding spears.
Open it.
JAMES:
You serious?
You serious?
They won't knock again.
(SPEAKING XHOSA)
Who are you?
Prince N'Jobu, son of Azzuri.
(SPEAKING XHOSA)
Prove to me you are one of us.
(SPEAKS XHOSA)
My King.
This is James. I trust him
with my life. He stays..
with your permission,
King T'Chaka.
As you wish.
At ease.
(SPEAKS XHOSA)
Come, baby brother.
how you are holding up.
You look strong.
Glory to Bast,
I am in good health.
How is home?
Not so good.
(IN XHOSA) Baby brother.
There has been an attack.
This man..
Ulysses Klaue..
stole a quarter ton of
vibranium from us..
![Black Black](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123741664/244474725.jpg)
and triggered a bomb
at the border to escape.
Many lives were lost.
He knew where we hid
the vibranium..
and how to strike.
He had someone on the inside.
Why are you here?
Because I want you
to look me in the eyes..
and tell me
why you betrayed Wakanda.
I did no such thing.
(SPEAKS XHOSA)
Tell him who you are.
Zuri, son of Badu..
What?
James. James, you lied to me?
Leave him.
You were Wakandan
this whole time?
You betrayed Wakanda!
How could you lie
to me like..
Stand down.
Did you think that you were
the only spy we sent here?
Prince N'Jobu..
you will return home
at once..
where you will face
the Council..
and inform them
of your crimes.
Check up!
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Guard your man,
guard your man!
Yo.
REPORTER:
The tiny nation of Wakanda
is mourning the death
of its monarch, King T'Chaka.
The belovedruler was one of
many confirmed dead..
after a terrorist attack
at the United Nations
a week ago.
The suspect
has since been apprehended.
Though it remains one of
the poorest countries
Last year I was offered the opportunity to script an 11-issue series of Black Panther, for Marvel. The Black Panther—who, when he debuted in an issue of Fantastic Four, in 1966, was the first black superhero in mainstream American comics—is the alter ego of T’Challa, the king of Wakanda, a mythical and technologically advanced African country. By day, T’Challa mediates conflicts within his nation. By night, he battles Dr. Doom. The attempt to make these two identities—monarch and superhero—cohere has proved a rich vein for storytelling by such creators as Jack Kirby, Christopher Priest, and Reginald Hudlin. But when I got the call to write Black Panther, I was less concerned with character conflict than with the realization of my dreams as a 9-year-old.
Some of the best days of my life were spent poring over the back issues of TheUncanny X-Men and The Amazing Spider-Man. As a child of the crack-riddled West Baltimore of the 1980s, I found the tales of comic books to be an escape, another reality where, very often, the weak and mocked could transform their fallibility into fantastic power. That is the premise behind the wimpy Steve Rogers mutating into Captain America, behind the nerdy Bruce Banner needing only to grow angry to make his enemies take flight, behind the bespectacled Peter Parker being transfigured by a banal spider bite into something more.
From Our April 2016 Issue
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But comic books provided something beyond escapism. Indeed, aside from hip-hop and Dungeons & Dragons, comics were my earliest influences. In the way that past writers had been shaped by the canon of Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wharton, I was formed by the canon of Claremont, DeFalco, and Simonson. Some of this was personal. All of the comics I loved made use of two seemingly dueling forces—fantastic grandiosity and ruthless efficiency. Comic books are absurd. At any moment, the Avengers might include a hero drawn from Norse mythology (Thor), a monstrous realization of our nuclear-age nightmares (the Hulk), a creation of science fiction (Wasp), and an allegory for the experience of minorities in human society (Beast). But the absurdities of comics are, in part, made possible by a cold-eyed approach to sentence-craft. Even when the language tips toward bombast, space is at a premium; every word has to count. This big/small approach to literature, the absurd and surreal married to the concrete and tangible, has undergirded much of my approach to writing. In my journalism here at The Atlantic, I try to ground my arguments not just in reporting but also in astute attention to every sentence. It may not always work, but I am really trying to make every one of those 18,000 words count.
These were the principles I observed and extracted as a reader of comic books. But when all the fantasy and reverie faded, and the time to actually write Black Panther came, those principles turned out to be not as primary as I’d thought. An old saw in art and in journalism holds that one should show and not tell. In comic books, the notion is doubly true. Unlike in prose or even poetry, the writer has to constantly think visually. Exposition and backstory exist, but the exigencies of comic-book storytelling demand that they be folded into the action.
Writing here at The Atlantic, I can, say, tell you that:
Daniel Patrick Moynihan, ambassador, senator, sociologist, and itinerant American intellectual, was the product of a broken home and a pathological family. He was born in 1927 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but raised mostly in New York City. When Moynihan was 10 years old, his father, John, left the family, plunging it into poverty. Moynihan’s mother … worked as a nurse.
But for a comic book, I must get down to the brass tacks of deciding how each beat should look. Is this a narrated series of scenes, illustrated by panels of a baby being born, a father walking out of the house, a nurse leaving her children to go off to work? No, I think it would be better to dramatize everything—perhaps with a young Moynihan waving goodbye to his mother as she leaves for work and then going to his room to look longingly at a picture of his father.
Ideally, the writer offers notes in his script on how the comic book should look. This requires thinking with intention about what a character is actually doing, not merely what he is saying. This is harder than it sounds, and often I found myself vaguely gesturing at what should happen in a panel—“T’Challa looks concerned.” Or “Ramonda stands to object.” I was lucky in that I was paired with a wonderful and experienced artist, Brian Stelfreeze. Storytelling in a comic book is a partnership between the writer and the artist, as surely as a film is a partnership between the screenwriter and the director. Brian, whose art is displayed here, doesn’t just execute the art direction—he edits and remixes it. I decide the overall arc of the story, and the words used to convey that arc—but Brian ultimately decides how the story should look. The script for the second page of Black Panther #1 called for a big, splashy panel depicting a massacre. Brian drew that panel, but he also drew two other, overlapping panels that depicted T’Challa’s realization of the tragedy unfolding around him. Our partnership doesn’t end with the art, either. Brian’s concept drawings for Black Panther ultimately influenced the plot.
Despite the difference in style and practice of storytelling, my approach to comic books ultimately differs little from my approach to journalism. In both forms, I am trying to answer a question. In my work for The Atlantic I have, for some time, been asking a particular question: Can a society part with, and triumph over, the very plunder that made it possible? In Black Panther there is a simpler question: Can a good man be a king, and would an advanced society tolerate a monarch? Research is crucial in both cases. The Black Panther I offer pulls from the archives of Marvel and the character’s own long history. But it also pulls from the very real history of society—from the pre-colonial era of Africa, the peasant rebellions that wracked Europe toward the end of the Middle Ages, the American Civil War, the Arab Spring, and the rise of isis.
The absurdities of comics are, in part, made possible by a cold-eyed approach to sentence-craft.And this, too, is the fulfillment of the 9-year-old in me. Reading The Amazing Spider-Man comic books as a kid, I didn’t just take in the hero’s latest amazing feat; I wrestled seriously with his celebrated tagline—“With great power comes great responsibility.” Chris Claremont’s The Uncanny X‑Men wasn’t just about an ultracool band of rebels. That series sought to grapple with the role of minorities in society—both the inner power and the outward persecution that come with that status. And so it is (I hope) with Black Panther. The questions are what motivate the action. The questions, ultimately, are more necessary than the answers.
Video: Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses the challenges of writing Marvel’s Black Panther.
in the world..
fortified by
mountain ranges..
and an impenetrable
rainforest..
Wakanda does not engage
in international trade
or accept aid.
The succession
of the throne..
is expected to fall
to the oldest
Black Panther Movie Wiki
of the king's two children..
Prince T'Challa.
OKOYE:
My Prince..
My Prince..
coming up on them now.
No need, Okoye.
I can handle this alone.
Hmm.
I will get Nakia out
as quickly as possible.
Just don't freeze
when you see her.
What are you talking about?
I never freeze.
(MEN GRUNTING)
MILITANT 1:
What's going on?
What's going on?
MILITANT 2:
It's the car.
It's the car.
It lost power. It won't start.
The car no start.
MILITANT 3:
What happened?
What happened?
MILITANT 4:
The engine failed.
The engine failed.
MILITANT 1:
Ours, too.
Ours, too.
What is it, Captain?
- Defense positions.
- (GUNS COCKING)
Defense positions.
MILITANT 2:
Are we under attack?
Defense positions.
Get around to the side.
Defense positions.
Hey. Defense positions!
No games.
(BARKING)
What do you see?
(WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY)
- Come in. Come in.
- (SCREAMS)
Over there! Look back!
Watch out!
(ALL SCREAMINGAND GRUNTING)
NAKIA:
T'Challa, no!
T'Challa, no!
This one's just a boy.
He got kidnapped as well.
BLACK PANTHER:
Nakia..
Nakia..
I..
- I wanted..
- MILITANT 1:
Hey!
Hey!
I have her!
Don't move! I will shoot!
I will shoot her right now.
(GROANS)
You froze.
BLACK PANTHER:
Ah..
Ah..
Why are you here?
You've ruined my mission.
My father is dead, Nakia.
I will be crowned king
tomorrow.
And I wish for you
to be there.
NAKIA:
Carry yourselves home now.
WOMAN:
Thank you.
Thank you.
And take the boy.
Get him to his people.
Thank you oh.
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
You will speak
nothing of this day.
Yes.
Thank you.
Thank you.
(WAKANDA BYBAABA MAAL
PLAYING)
OKOYE:
Sister Nakia..
Sister Nakia..
My Prince..
we are home.
This never gets old.
(WAKANDA BYBAABA MAAL