It tells the story of T’Challa, Black Panther, who returns home to mythical Wakanda, his home country in East Africa, to assume his rightful place as King. His throne is threatened by factions in his country, and the conflict has global consequences. Events occur after those of “Captain America: Civil War” (2016).

Its themes are rooted in the cultures of Africa. The film has a primarily black cast, and the director of the movie is Ryan Coogler, an African-American. Chadwick Boseman is the superhero, “Black Panther”, and Lupita Nyong’o is Nakia, who heads the female cast as the leader of T’Challa’s special team of bodyguards.

Wakanda is rich in a mineral that gives technological superiority to whoever owns it. Among T’Challa’s enemies is Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael Jordan), who is an American soldier who seeks military and economic power for himself and wants control of it. Also, native traditionalists, like Okoye (Danai Gurira), don’t like the changes that they see coming under T’Challa as their leader. It soon becomes clear to the new King that Wakanda is being dragged into world war, and Black Panther teams up with C.I.A agent, Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), to try to prevent it.

Many films have argued the case for gender diversity, and this movie argues strongly for change in attitude about colour and ethnicity. It deals very obviously, in live-action fantasy format, with black identity. Marvel movies have previously made sure that black persons, like Black Panther, have been removed from Africa. In this movie, African culture lies at its core. It asserts Africa as the spiritual motherland, and this is impressively captured by the film’s cinematography, its vivid colour, vibrant design of clothes and textures, traditional music, and characters like Zuri (Forest Whitaker), keeper of the Heart-Shaped Herb, an African emblem of spiritual significance.

As a visualisation of black identity, the film symbolises a very significant shift in the Marvel series. The nature of the Marvel fantasy-series, of which this is an excellent, but decidedly different example, will find it hard to live up to the expectations of a Black-Superhero that have been left unfilled for so long.

- Reviewed by Peter W. Sheehan (ACOFB)

Black Panther. Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker, Michael Jordan, and Martin Freeman. Directed by Ryan Coogler. Rated M (Action violence). 134 min.