Yet again I ask myself "How can I say this without sounding racist?"

[seriousfic]

So the big rumor these days is that Marvel is making a Black Panther movie. As in, now, not later. 2014, at the latest. Which makes sense. If you're going to introduce new Avengers before the big damn sequel, when that sequel rolls around, you'd better have a black guy other than Samuel L. Jackson not allowed to say the F word, who all the Avengers hate. (Seriously, on rewatch, Captain America saying that Nick Fury is just as bad as Loki comes off as tres harsh. I saw the First Avenger, bud, your guys were picking up Hydra weapons and using them all over the place!)

The thing is... I get Black Panther. In terms of cinematic quality, he's definitely got more going for him than Ryan Reynolds. What's the pitch--Batman, but black, and he has his own country (so occasionally he has to fight a guy to keep being king because advanced cultures always settle electoral disputes with a fistfight)? Yeah, I'd watch that. He's not a character I'm really familiar with--I know he was created by Lee and Kirby back in their heyday on the Fantastic Four, so that should buy him a ticket to the club right there, and I've been meaning to read Christopher Priest's run on the character. It's just that the modern depiction of the character is colored so heavily by Reginald Hudlin's hackwork that there's not much there, there. Like the whole Storm/Black Panther marriage. Imagine if Superman and Wonder Woman got together because they were the two most popular white superheroes. At least that would make people stop with the 'Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex' jokes, so it's got one up on Storm/T'Challa.

But anyway, enough about Reginald Hudlin... after I remind everyone that he wrote Black Panther as withholding a cure for cancer from the world because they smoke cigarettes. Okay. The thing is, I've been reading around the blogosphere, looking at reactions, and I ran into the same reaction about a dozen times. It's sort of a short spectrum between "oh, a black superhero movie, cool" and "yes, smart Marvel, make a superhero movie for black audiences."

So what I'm wondering is--anyone looking forward to this movie because they like the character of Black Panther? Not just the idea of a black superhero, but the character himself?

Comments

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

Funnily enough, Bruce Timm has complained on many occasions about being absolutely hounded by fans who feel it's only natural and right for Superman and Wonder Woman to be together. Apparently they tend to couch it in fairly stark "He strongest man, she strongest woman, they make uber couple!" terms. Lois Lane and Steve Trevor or whoever Wonder Woman is with can apparently DIAF.

[colonel-green.livejournal.com]

If a movie does happen, I'd be interested to see it, but I confess that I've never had much of a handle on Black Panther either. Even on the cartoon, he's just kind of there; he's strong, silent, competent...dull, really (though he has some good lines).

[lejo.livejournal.com]

My problem with Black Panther is the same as Aquaman or Namor. Why are they busting punks instead of, ya know, ruling their nations? I'm sorry, being a chief executive/head of state is time consuming if done properly, even for ueber-competent superhero types.

I sort of have the same problem with Bruce Wayne, although at least his alter-ego is supposed to be a lazy cad. It just... doesn't gel.

Spiderman basically has nothing else going for him, so he has time to fight crime and fend of legions of outrageously gorgeous women. Wonder Woman's mission entails elevating Man's World. Green Lantern is literally a cop. I just find it hard to understand WHY BP is doing what he does. Now, set it in Wakanda, make that country less of a utopia and have a Hamlet or Macbeth style power struggle- that'd peak my interest. But why does he have to come to New York to make the world a better place? Aren't there places in Africa that could use a little superheroism?

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

Avengers: EMH came up with a great explanation for this. Black Panther dissolves the monarchy and its "whoever beats up the other guy gets to be king" tradition in favor of a democracy, then becomes an Avenger to build goodwill between countries. He's basically Princess Diana. There's also a bit of Afghanistan in his decision-making. He's fighting supervillains in America so they're dealt with before they can threaten Wakanda, since everyone knows that New York City is the glowing red spot (attack for massive damage) of the Marvel universe.