Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is one of the darkest MCU movies to date, not just for the sheer tragedy of coping with the untimely loss of Chadwick Boseman, but for the horrors still lurking under the surface and above it in the world around Wakanda - and sometimes, as the Ancestral Plane scene shows, even from within...
- The very concept of Talokan invading is already a major one for those with thalassophobia, and the trailer already shows some of this with how quickly its warriors move but an official released clip capitalizes it as it shows panicking Wakandans trying to escape the flooding city as half of them willingly walk to their deaths from a strange song the Talokanil are producing...and those who are covering their ears being plucked from boats and drowned by warriors.
- The introduction to the warriors of Talokan, which plays out like a scene from a horror movie. The CIA has struck vibranium using Riri's machine and has sent a pair of divers down to check it. As they do, the power suddenly goes out and mysterious singing starts to be heard. Suddenly, a giant red jellyfish emerges from the dark, mesmerizing the female diver too late to notice that her partner has disappeared, and his life signs are gone. Then she sees something that causes her to scream with horror before her life signals cut off too; we're shown the latter from the perspective of the agents as they hear her dying screams through the radio. Then the Talokanil finally reveal themselves and use their siren songs to cause the majority of the ship's crew to commit mass suicide as they jump into the water. Dr. Graham and a few other members manage to escape via helicopter, but then something grabs onto their chopper before hurling it into the watery depths below. That something being Namor, shrouded in darkness and looking every bit like the undersea horror he was portrayed as in Sub-Mariner: The Depths.
- Contessa finally shows more of her true colors. Despite being played up as a supposedly lovable, wisecracking new addition to the MCU, her conversation with Ross is chilling. Ross points out that America would commit untold horrors if they were the only ones with vibranium and Wakanda's military capabilities. And Contessa admits she relishes the idea, saying she fantasizes about America having that much destructive power to wage war on the world with.
- Shuri finds herself in a dead quiet Ancestral Plane version of the throne room, and asks if the figure on the throne is Ramonda. Something just isn't right, and there is a noise that sounds a lot like a panther growl that should immediately tip you off that it isn't Ramonda... it's Killmonger. He's just as menacing and charismatic as he was in life, and savors the opportunity to pay Wakanda back for his death from beyond the grave. The throne room lights on fire as Shuri's anger rises, and while the parallels to hell are clear given Killmonger's attempts to corrupt his cousin, Shuri's poor mental state is just as frightening given she is what's causing this.
- Shuri claws off one of Namor's ankle-wings, one of the few injuries which makes him scream in pain, and then detonates the crashed Royal Talon fighter to burn him alive, with a shot of the charred and cracked skin on his back following the explosion. Namor also shows claws scars across the face. Namor also repays Shuri in kind by running her through with his spear, and the aggression and squelching noises make it one of the most violent moments of the movie.
