Heartwarming / Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Moments subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned!

Even in the wake of the loss of T'Challa, the bonds of friendship and family in Wakanda prove that all is not lost.

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Trailers:

• The teaser shows that T'Challa will still have a significant presence within the film, with the Wakandans seemingly dancing in his memory and murals painted on the walls of the city, not unlike Iron-Man before him.
• Shuri is shown having a cute moment of camaraderie with Riri in the teaser, performing the secret handshake she did with T'Challa in the last film.
• The birth of Namor in the trailer is treated with reverence and affection by the witnesses to the event.

Film:

• Through his Character Development, M'Baku has become more of a Gentle Giant who is much more willing to work with the rest of Wakanda, a far cry from his initial view of them and theirs of him in Black Panther (2018).
  • He attends both T'Challa and Ramonda's funerals as a trusted close friend, not just as a member of the council required to be there for political reasons.
  • He supported an evacuation of Wakanda City to Jabari Land in the wake of Namor's attack.
  • In an accord with T'Challa, he looked after Shuri and offered counsel to her in the worst of times as opposed to objecting to Wakanda putting their technology in the "hands of a child who scoffs at tradition". Shuri called him out on it and he replied that she was not a child anymore. M'Baku was also trusted enough by T'Challa that he implicitly confided in him that he knew he was probably going to die.
  • He continued to sit on the tribal council, and though he still acts childish there, drawing the ire of the elders (and Okoye), his word is understood and often heeded. Even after ordering M'Baku to his seat, Ramonda respectfully asks him what he would do regarding Namor's threat, and agrees with him that appeasement is not an ideal course of action. The Elders trusted him the most after the death of Ramonda. So did Shuri.
  • While it's subtle to start with, we see that Ramonda treats M'Baku with much less bluntness and hostility than how she responds to the other elders. We later see her reasoning behind this during her sacking of Okoye, where Ramonda calls out her and the rest of the council for siding with Killmonger during his usurpation in the first film. M'Baku is the only one not to receive her fury, as he and the Jabari not only chose not to do so, but also gave shelter and protection to Ramonda and her children when their lives were threatened. Ramonda has not forgiven the other elders for their mistake, but she has not forgotten the Jabari's kindness either.
  • It's brief, but M'Baku makes a noise of agreement when the Border Tribe Elder begins sticking up for Okoye during her sacking and looks deeply remorseful, despite knowing he cannot change Ramonda's mind.
  • When he hears that Shuri has been rescued by Nakia, he and his troops praise Hanuman. M'Baku then sarcastically claims that Ramonda will probably reward Nakia with banishment, alluding to his disapproval of Ramonda's firing of Okoye.
  • Because he promised T'Challa he would look after Shuri, M'Baku has come to love her as if she is his own little sister. He hence strives to be a moral example to her, outright refusing to comply to a direct order from her as his new queen to help her kill Namor to avenge her mother, as no true big brother would lead his baby sister down a path of hatred and pain.
    Shuri: Was my mother's life not worth eternal war?
    M'Baku: Of course it was! Of course she was! But it is not what she would have wanted for you. And that is not what I want for my people.
  • During the siege on Wakanda City, M'Baku immediately leaps into action to help a man who was in a boat when the flood hit. He rescues the man and is given a grateful handshake by him.
  • He actually studied the Talokan history and saw how they viewed Namor - which led him to advise that Namor not be killed as that would result in a Forever War.
  • Shuri trusted him to lead Wakanda because of the trust the elders had in him - of course, he had to make an entrance and inject some humor into this agreement (the challenge). The rest of Wakanda responds to M'Baku's arrival with well-natured groans and eye-rolls, as M'Baku begins hamming it up about how he's throwing his hat in the ring. Compared to when he was treated like an unwelcome guest when he arrived at T'Challa's coronation, M'Baku is now being accepted as a worthy candidate for king, having proven his worth and loyalty to his country and his friends.
• When Okoye is being stripped of her rank as punishment for losing Shuri, the Border Tribe Elder is the only one who speaks up on her behalf, reminding them how she took up arms against her own husband for Wakanda's sake. The Border Tribe Elder was surely close to W'Kabi and his wife by extension, making it sweet that he still stands up for her years after W'Kabi's betrayal.
  • Likewise, it's shown that Ayo and the Dora Milaje still respect and care for her despite her failure: Ayo doesn't try to attack Okoye until she insists on boarding the aircraft, her tone clearly understanding and gentle, and when she does command the Dora Milaje to stand in her way, they are clearly reluctant to fight her. Ayo even acknowledges how she has trained them all and none of them would want to hurt her, a claim that not a single one of the Dora Milaje deny.
• Ramonda previously expressed unease about Griot due to not trusting artificial intelligence, but she is forced to go to him for help after Shuri is kidnapped. Griot is nothing but helpful and kind to Ramonda, and very gentle, aware of her poor mental state in the situation, and has already been hard at work trying to track her down.
• When Queen Ramonda takes Shuri down to the beach to help her with her grief, she tells her daughter that she did the same thing when her son died, but after meditating on the beach, she could feel T'Challa guiding and standing by her, as though he were still with her. It really does reflect that in Wakandan culture, death is not the end. One can almost feel the presence of Chadwick Boseman himself throughout much of this story, which shows how much love and care went into the writing of this film.
• Namor is nothing but a good king to the denizens of Talokan, embracing a lethally injured attendant and closing her eyes when she dies. He's also been their ruler for centuries, commiserating with Shuri about having lost loved ones throughout his time as king.
  • This is bit of an ambiguous situation, but if his name really is K'uk'ulkan, then it means he's on a First-Name Basis with his people. Can't get any more heartwarming than that.
  • When Shuri despairs over failing to save T'Challa, after he had been secretly dying and didn't ask for help until it was too late, Namor gently tells her he has no answer for her distress. He then gives the wisdom from his ancestors, that only the most broken people can be great leaders; implicitly praising T'Challa to console his sister.
  • Namor treats Shuri with nothing but respect when she arrives in Talokan, gifting her with a dress decked-out in jade worthy of her station. He treats her as a guest the entire time and tells her the history of Talokan, as well as his own grief, before finally showing her Talokan - making her the first person from the surface to ever see it. Shuri is genuinely awestruck at the beauty of the city and its people, and the Talokanil she interacts with greet her with nothing but kindness and curiosity. Namor even gifts her a four-hundred year old bracelet that belonged to his own mother to thank her for this. Even when they disagree and argue over Namor's plans for the surface world, he doesn't lose his temper and gives her a chance to reconsider and join them, seeing Wakanda as kindred spirits who he genuinely doesn't want to destroy.
    • Namor's reaction to Shuri asking to see Talokan is quite cute. He clearly wasn't expecting it, but is happy to show her even though she's still a potential enemy. And despite his later suspicions, Shuri never tells anyone where Talokan is even after they become enemies.
• The arrival of Shuri as the new Black Panther is hailed with awe by those present. Here, at last, is the return of the country's legendary protector, after they figured they were lost upon T'Challa's death and the presumed end of the heart-shaped herbs. M'Baku answers by challenging Shuri with a show of strength, and as Shuri proves his equal, even his superior, the smile on M'Baku's face grows until he finally concedes. M'Baku praises Shuri for her success, and mightily cries, "THE BLACK PANTHER LIVES!!!" As he leads the Jabari in their signature chant in celebration, the Elders place their hands on Shuri and sing praises in their language, rejoicing at the return of their hero.
• A few details about T'Challa come to light after his passing, which showed that he accepted he was going to die and made sure to get some of his affairs in order for his loved ones.
  • He made sure to spend as much time with Nakia and his son so he could prepare them for his passing, taking T'Chaka's words to heart.
  • He made sure to introduce Ramonda to her grandson.
  • He asked M'Baku to serve as council and a protector to Shuri, knowing she would be devastated by his death.
  • While also tragic, the fact that he chose not to disclose his illness also counts, as he wished to remain a dedicated protector of his people despite his own suffering. The fact that this directly parallels the real-life circumstances behind Chadwick Boseman's own death only strengthens this bittersweet feeling.
• The Reveal that T'Challa and Nakia have a son, especially since it confirms that Shuri still has at least one surviving family member left after she lost both her parents and brother.
  • Nakia spends most of her scenes with Shuri acting like a supportive older sister. She celebrates when Shuri finally completes the synthetic Heart Shaped Herb, tells her she's welcome in Haiti if she needs to get away, and offers to be with her when she burns her mourning clothes. Shuri chooses to burn the clothes alone, but clearly appreciates the gesture.
• Queen Ramonda never blames Riri for the chaos caused by her actions, and fully protects the girl, at the cost of her own life. Though she and Ayo tell Riri she can't go home yet, Ramonda relents when Riri asks if she can call her mom to check in with her. And it's telling that even Killmonger acknowledges Ramonda's act of sacrifice in the Ancestral Plane.
• Everett Ross continually aids the Wakandans by constantly feeding them information and stalling his own country's investigations at great personal risk. It would be easy for him to claim he paid off his debt in the last film by helping them against Killmonger, but no, it's evident he truly sympathizes with them and remains steadfast. It's clear that the feeling is appreciated as Okoye later rescues him from his prison convoy and presumably brings him back to Wakanda.
• Erik Killmonger, of all people, gets one when he demands that Shuri not minimize the sacrifice Ramonda made for an outsider. After he spent the entirety of the previous film disrespecting her and the rest of Wakanda and its leadership, it's actually nice to hear that besides T'Challa, he finally came to respect at least one other person from his country.
  • While he's in the middle of condescending Shuri, he says T'Challa was noble, but with little implication that he's condescending T'Challa himself. He at least doesn't lump him in with T'Chaka. It would seem he still has some respect for his now also passed cousin who took his cause to heart and granted him some peace upon his defeat.
• The sight of Riri flying in her Ironheart armor. Tony may be gone but his legacy lives on in the heart of a young girl.
  • The scene where Riri forges her second armor at Wakanda, namely when she is hammering a piece of metal, brings back memories of that time Tony made his first suit of armor in a cave, with a box of scraps.
• While Namor's final scene is meant to be menacing, he says that Shuri had every right to kill him as he had killed her mother and many innocent lives of Wakanda but chose to spare him for the sake of peace, offering to keep Talokan hidden, and even states that Shuri is empathetic to them. While his justifications would imply something darker, there is a small hope that he can build a peaceful future with Wakanda and its young Queen.
• The final scene of Shuri going to the beach to burn her funeral garb. She sits just as her mother did in silent contemplation, before we are greeted to a beautiful collage of T'Challa and his time with his beloved little sister. For the first time in the whole movie, the tears Shuri sheds are those of comfort and joy.
  • Extra heartwarming when you remember Letitia Wright has stated the filming of this movie was therapeutic for her and helped her overcome her grief over Chadwick Boseman's death, as the two had grown exceptionally close. Nowhere is that clearer than this scene.
• Shuri planting a new generation of Heart-Shaped Herbs, gently glowing in the night with the purple light of her brother's kind and noble heart. Since she revived them from extinction by reverse-engineering them from the genetic pattern of T'Challa, not only will his legacy literally live on in the soil of his beloved homeland, but every warrior who henceforth takes the mantle of Black Panther will literally inherit a part of T'Challa's heroic soul within them. And since the flower's revival was made possible through genetic recombination with Talokan's equivalent of the Heart Shaped Herb, the sowing of this new crop symbolizes a hopeful future of unity and understanding between Wakanda and the underwater kingdom, one distant day.
• The dedicatory for Chadwick Boseman:
  Dedicated to our friend, Chadwick Boseman.

• Black Panther Will Return.