History Film / BlackPanther2018

** Ultimately subverted; [[spoiler:the Busan car chase ends with a weakened Klaue being cornered by a furious T'Challa, who approaches him with claws extended and fully murderous intents with them. Klaue tries (at least somewhat sarcastically) [[AintTooProudToBeg begging for mercy]], to which T'Challa venomously responds, ''"Every breath you take is mercy from me."'' He almost offs Klaue right then and there, but the sight of the amassed crowd of civilians (some of them with phones up and recording) gets him to back down]].
** Double subverted; [[spoiler:as Erik has downed T'Challa in their challenge, he prepares his finishing blow with the line [[AndThisIsFor "This is for my father."]] Zuri intercepts at the last moment and begs Erik to [[TakeMeInstead kill him instead]], as he's more directly responsible for the death of Erik's father. His response?]]

** Klaue tells Ross that El Dorado was in Africa all the time, saying that everyone looking for the fabled city was actually looking for Wakanda, implying it was the source of the El Dorado myths. Anyone that knows their south american history knows this is straight out the back end of a bull because The myth of El Dorado began with the Musica people, who were native to Colombia, and referred to a ritual in which a tribal leader would cover himself in gold dust and then wash himself off in a lake while his attendants threw gold and jewelry into the water as a gift to their god.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Unlike other Wakandans, Creator/MichaelBJordan does not adopt an African accent to play Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, instead using his natural American accent. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in the film with the plot point that Erik was [[spoiler:actually born and reared in America, meaning the only Wakandan accent he really heard was his father's, who was killed when he was still a boy.]]

** The word "Ancestors" appears at significant moments in the film, tying into the theme of family history and how the past defines the present. When T'Challa [[spoiler:and Erik]] take the Heart-Shaped Herb and enter the Ancestral Plane, the phrase "Praise the Ancestors" is spoken each time. Finally, [[spoiler:when Erik is mortally wounded by T'Challa, he asks to be buried with his ancestors]].

* AfricanTerrorists: The first enemies fought in the movie when T'Challa is returning to Wakanda are a group of terrorists that kidnapped a number of women including seemingly Nakia (though she is actually undercover). Several sources have cited the real life African terrorist group Boko Haram as the inspiration for this group of mooks, owing to their tactics of kidnapping young women for use in harems and as slaves to be sold, and for kidnapping and indoctrinating young boys into ChildSoldiers, as is mentioned by Nakia after the threats are neutralized.

* GroinAttack: Okoye delivers one with her spear handle to one of Klaue's mooks during the casino fight.

A sequel, ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'', was confirmed to be in development at 2019's San Diego Comic Con, and released on November 11, 2022, with Ryan Coogler returning to write and direct. Notably, it was originally intended to be a straightforward sequel to the first film; however, with Chadwick Boseman tragically dying from colon cancer on August 28, 2020, it was announced that the role of T'Challa [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim would not be recast to respect his memory]], and the film would be reworked to serve as a tribute to Boseman, with it and any other future sequels instead focusing on the world of Wakanda around T'Challa as well as other characters introduced in the first movie.

[[header:[[center:[-'''''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' -- Phase 3'''\\
''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' | ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' | ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' | ''Film/SpiderManHomecoming'' | ''Film/ThorRagnarok'' | '''Black Panther (2018)''' | ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' | ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' | ''Film/CaptainMarvel2019'' | ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' | ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome''\\
'''[[Film/AntMan <<< Phase 2]] | [[Series/WandaVision Phase 4 >>>]]'''-]]]]]

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: During the car chase in Korea, T'Challa rips open the roof of one of the bad guy [=SUV=] and looks inside. The driver opens the door and bails... right under the tires of the car Shuri is driving.
-->'''Shuri:''' [[OhCrap Hey, what was that?]]
-->'''T'Challa:''' [[FalseReassurance Don't worry about it]]. [[BlatantLies You're doing great.]]

* ButNotTooBlack: Averted; most of the actors are dark-skinned, man and woman alike and regardless of prominence in the film. Some are a bit lighter, but only when compared with the others, and even then are impossible to mistake for anything other than black.

-->'''Shuri:''' [[BlatantLies What was that?]]

** In the movie, M'Baku is being a {{Troll}} by threatening to eat Everett Ross. Wait, when was the last time a troll threatened to eat Creator/MartinFreeman? Oh, right, in ''Film/TheHobbit''.
** Klaue (Serkis) being interrogated by Ross (Freeman), and asking him questions in turn, is not unlike the [[RiddleMeThis riddle game]] in ''The Hobbit'' between Gollum (Serkis) and Bilbo (Freeman).

* BladeOnAStick: The Dora Milaje use vibranium spears capable of punching through bulletproof vibranium armor, and can fire sonic blasts stated to be capable of taking out tanks.

* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: Zig-zagged. T'Challa goes into battle using his martial arts skills and CombatParkour while his sister Shuri fights using [[GunsAkimbo dual]] {{Arm Cannon}}s. However, the Dora Milaje, the all-female PraetorianGuard, fight primarily with [[BladeOnAStick high-tech polearms]], Klaue relies on his ArmCannon, and Erik is adept at both smashing and shooting.

* AdvancedAncientAcropolis: [[http://ew.com/movies/2017/07/12/black-panther-godfather-007-wakanda-royal-portrait/ Apparently]] a character study of one; though Wakanda is ''the'' most technologically advanced nation on Earth, it is also a tribal nation with all that implies -- FeudingFamilies, [[OurSpiritsAreDifferent spiritual lifestyles]], AsskickingEqualsAuthority, etc. Just because they have [[WeWillHavePerfectHealthInTheFuture universal healthcare]] doesn't mean they ''don't'' have [[WeAreStrugglingTogether internal dispute]].

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: DoubleSubverted. Traditionally, the way Wakandan line of succession works is that any blood relative or a representative of the tribe can challenge the royal king-to-be in ritualistic combat in which one opponent must yield or die, and if they win, they assume the throne instead. Both times that this is invoked, however, Wakanda's council tries to reject the challenge as [[RulesLawyer archaic rules-lawyering]][[note]]nobody is ''actually'' supposed to challenge the king[[/note]] and as an invalid challenge by a non-Wakandan against a seated king, respectively. The challenges only go through because T'Challa accepts them, thus validating the principle.

* JuggleFu: During his final fight against Erik, T'Challa tosses a blade upwards, lands some hits while it's in the air, catches it, [[spoiler:and fatally stabs Erik just before his suit stabilizes]].

** When Killmonger challenges the throne, T'Challa could easily deny him, but goes through with it due to [[spoiler:his father killing Eric's father in a dishonorable way]].

** In the movie, M'Baku is being a {{Troll}} by threatening to eat Everett Ross. Wait, when was the last time a troll threatened to eat Creator/MartinFreeman? Oh right, in ''Film/TheHobbit''.

** During the coronation challenge, Nakia is presented as the River Tribe's challenger, yelling "Yibambe". T'Challa uses this chant in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' and [[spoiler:Shuri uses it in ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'']].

A sequel, ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'', was confirmed to be in development at 2019's San Diego Comic Con, and is currently slated to release on November 11, 2022, with Ryan Coogler returning to write and direct. Notably, it was originally intended to be a straightforward sequel to the first film; however, with Chadwick Boseman tragically passing away due to colon cancer on August 28, 2020, it was announced that the role of T'Challa [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim would not be recast to respect his memory]], and the film would be reworked to serve as a tribute to Boseman, with it and any other future sequels instead focusing on the world of Wakanda around T'Challa as well as other characters introduced in the first movie.

** Zigzagged: in the spirit realm, N'Jobu asks if his son has no tears for him. Erik, wearing the form of the child he was last time he saw his father stoically comments "Everyone dies," indicating the forming of his tough exterior which allowed his hatred to grow. However when we see him as an adult just afterward he ''is'' crying, wiping his tears away.
* MenacingHandShot: While T'Challa is charging toward Klaue at the conclusion of the car chase, he bares his claws, making his anger and intent to kill clear. Teaser trailers showed him from his waist up doing this with both hands, but in the movie the shot is focused on his right hand.

* MyGreatestFailure: It's made clear that Wakanda holds a lot of shame in itself and T'Chaka in particular for letting Klaue escape with even a small amount of vibranium. When T'Challa chooses to save Ross at the expense of letting Klaue escape, W'Kabi calls him out on it, saying T'Challa is merely continuing the failures of his predecessor. [[spoiler:Killmonger even exploits this, presenting the corpse of Klaue to gain passage into Wakanda]].
* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: In a DeletedScene, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsOun4fQ0PM just before T'Challa's speech to the UN,]] Everett Ross wishes him "Good luck and many shoelaces." in Xhosa.

** When Zuri asks if anyone of royal blood would like to challenge T'Challa, Shuri raises her hand. But it's just to make a complaint about the ceremony taking too long. In other versions, Shuri has indeed attempted the challenge for the throne.

-->'''Shuri:''' This corset is [[OfCorsetHurts really uncomfortable]], so can we please just ''wrap it up''?

* OfCorsetHurts: Shuri is forced to wear a corset as part of her traditional outfit for the coronation ceremony. At one point she asks if they can wrap things up because the corset is so uncomfortable.

* BaldHeadOfToughness: The Dora Milaje collectively are an amazingly strong elite all-female armed force. Okoye, in particular, is the BaldOfAuthorty of this ass-kicking AmazonBrigade. In fact, she hates having to wear a wig for the infiltration mission in the Korean illegal casino.

'''M'Baku:''' I would rather die!\\

* SympathyForTheDevil: T'Challa does not approve of Killmonger's deeds or goals one bit. However, he does sympathize with his worldview and the pain he went through growing up, [[spoiler:especially since Erik is his cousin and T'Challa's father (Killmonger's uncle) was responsible for it]]. At the end, [[spoiler:he brings Erik up to the mountains to see his first Wakandan sunset and offers him medical aid to save his life. Killmonger however refuses, saying he'd rather just be buried at sea rather than spend a life in bondage, just like all his ancestors who jumped from ships crossing the sea, choosing death over slavery]].

** Likewise, the trailers quite clearly show the Jibari fighting the Border Tribe, making it clear that M'Baku will not be satisfied after his initial failure. [[spoiler:The twist of course being that the Border Tribe has turned on T'Challa, and the Jibari arrived to aid him]].

** The trailers do reveal he obtains his own version of the Black Panther suit at some point.