My Reaction to Black Panther

Black Panther is out for the public, and I loved it! No spoilers, but if you haven't seen it, please go see it: the acting's great, the villain is the best in years, and it all ties together beautifully. My article will be here for you when you come back.

Are you back? Alright, great. If you've seen it you know that it's a huge swing in a wild direction, as far as superhero movies go. I say that meaning there's a plethora of unknown, yet interesting characters that can break into the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Let's just name a few.

For starters: The Patriot. I'm not gonna lay out the backstory out here, but The Patriot is, for all intents and purposes, a newer, younger version of Captain America... Who happens to be black. Chris Evans has expressed a desire to move on from the Captain America character, and who can blame him?! Nearly nine years prior to the writing of this article, Marvel made Captain America: the First Avenger, starring Chris Evans. A decade is plenty of time to alternate superheroes, and give new life to a new phase and a new face of superheroes.

Next on the list we have: Blue Marvel. Blue Marvel is one of, if not THE, most powerful character in the Marvel comics universe. I'm not gonna go into his back story in this article, but he's a human turned cosmic figure, with strength not too unlike Thanos (as seen in the MCU).

Black Panther the film makes heavy references to racism, and the effects of it around the globe. There's an argument that the subtext in the Black Panther made it all that much better, but he's not the only hero to be effected by racism. Blue Marvel was rejected from his duties as a superhero by John F. Kennedy because he was black, and JFK didn't think America was ready for an openly, unapologetically black superhero. With Black Panther being a huge box office success, it might be fair to say that that the tide is changing, and I think it'd be wise for Marvel to seriously consider green lighting a Black Panther Production.

Now, what's great about Blue Marvel is that you wouldn't have to shoehorn him into the MCU. Canonically, Blue Marvel is in a superhero team with Black Panther, they're called The Ultimates: essentially the Avengers, but with more people of color and bigger adventures. Now Marvel plans these movies at least a decade in advance, and have released the lineup leading into 2019. The obvious question is: well, what comes after that? The Ultimates would make an incredible ensemble as the Avengers make their way out of the limelight, and who's to say members of the old team are gone forever? Just like the comics, members of the teams can and would overlap. It would bring the reality of the comics and comic book movies full circle.

The Ultimates consist of Black Panther, Blue Marvel, Captain Marvel, Ms. America, and Spectum. The former three would all tie into the Ultimates film brilliantly. Ms. America and Spectrum are the two female members of the group: Ms. America being of a different dimension, it might be best for her to appear in the Ultimates movie. Maybe get her own movie as well? She's a teenager that dabbles in multiverse espionage! That'd be fun to see! A universe hopping easter egg hunt would be fun, in and of itself, but I think a solo film involving Spectrum would be EXACTLY what the MCU would need in the next few years.

Spectrum, in the comics, is a strong black woman who has very similar powers as Captain Marvel, and has led the Avengers on more than a few occasions. She's worth a google. Her as a strong, black, female leader in the Ultimates (and on the big screen) may shatter the internet and make a box office hit while it's here.

This is all speculation and imagination from a long time fan's perspective. I, personally, would love to see it play out, and who knows? Maybe it will! If it does happen, all I can ask for is that it's done correctly and done well, and I hope that the Ultimates isn't where the MCU starts to take a huge dip in quality.