I believe enough time has passed since Black Panther has come out in the movie theater and enough people have seen it that I can finally talk about it without the fear of giving away too many spoilers.
I am not familiar with the original Black Panther comic that came out in the 1960s, so all of my opinons will be based on the film.
(Caution: this may contain spoilers)
Unlike many other comic characters, the role of the Black Panther could be passed to different individials. In the film, two different people assumed the role of the Black Panther–one was a prince of Wakanda and the other was an American born, direcr descendant of the Black Panther bloodline named Killmonger.
In the days that passed after watching the film, I became more and more conflicted with the way Killmonger's character was utilized and introduced. His backstory was that he was an kid from Oakland who grew up in the projects and he lost his father at a very young age. He spent his life trying to get stronger, he joined the military and was in the special forces–all with the hope that he would get revenge on the people who killed his dad when he grew older.
Now, take Killmonger's back story and replace his name with “Batman” or “Spiderman” and there would be the foundation of the typical American superhero.
Honestly, after I watched Black Panther, I was a bonafide fan of Killmonger.
Black Panther's Killmonger Followed a Real Hero's Journey (Includes Spoilers)
kawaiidaigakusei at 12:00AM, March 19, 2018
5 likes!
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kawaiidaigakusei at 5:42PM, March 20, 2018
Genejoke-OMG, thank you so much for pointing that out and I just edited that glaring name error.
Abt_Nihil at 7:44AM, March 20, 2018
The difference between heroes and villains is not their journey or experiences, it's about what they do with it/them. I.e. Killmonger is a villain because he's still seeking revenge, whereas Batman pursues justice.
Albino Ginger at 10:16AM, March 19, 2018
I like my heroes to be genocide free… The difference between Batman/ Spiderman and Warmonger is that Batman/ Spiderman try to make there world… actually there city better for everyone, and they try not to kill anyone if at all possible. Warmonger is trying to make the world a better place for his race only and kills whoever he needs to. in fact his whole plan is to kill everyone ells who he sees as not his people. The origin story of heroes is often the same as the origin story of villains.
KimLuster at 8:32AM, March 19, 2018
Hehe well I guess we all see things differently :) I like the movie: great cinematics, fx, action, etc... But that the most technologically advanced nation on earth, probably capable of taking on the rest of the world combined, would hand the reigns of power over to an unhinged mass-murdering racist (yes, that what I thought Warmonger had become, no matter how sympathetic his backstory might be) because he had a drop of special royal blood and because he won a ritual combat with a spear... And then his cool female guards blindly follow him (until they finally opened their eyes...) Holy Crap!! Yeah, yeah, gotta suspend disbelief with these movies sometimes, I know...
Genejoke at 8:30AM, March 19, 2018
You mean Killmonger, right? But yeah he was a very good twist on that typical hero origin story.
kawaiidaigakusei at 7:47AM, March 19, 2018
It was supposed to be "fan of"
Ozoneocean at 6:33AM, March 19, 2018
What does this mean? "Honestly, after I watched Black Panther, I was a bonafide od Warmonger."