Black Panther vs Kill Monger

I am a bit of a comic book buff and a full on fan. Black Panther has always been one of my favorites, long before the movie was ever even announced. It’s cool that they made the movie and even cooler they have given the black community a way to come together. And not to mention, a better selection of cosplay designs!

As you can see, I’m a bit of a closet nerd. But what man wouldn’t mind seeing some Wakandan Warrioress in real life, I know I would. And what girl wouldn’t want to be one for a day. As one can imagine, I was happy when the movie was announced and even happier to see the Black Panther appear in Captain America: Civil War. As one may have guessed, I have seen the movie more than once and there’s one thing I’ve noticed.

The villain they picked to be Black Panther’s first big adversary wasn’t such a villain after all. Now I know they want you to think Killmonger is a bad guy, but he really just seems to be misunderstood. Why was he not brought home as a child to the home land of Wakanda. Seems to me he paid for his father’s sins in the comic books. In the movie it is different but essentially the same, but in the movie Kill Monger is not the villain he is in the comic books. I mean he is clearly unstable and he’s not the nicest of guys, but we all do what we need to do when we need to do it.

Now I know I’m playing devil’s advocate, but Killmonger did not choose to be born into his life. And he had to be a killer to survive, even if he did take it to extreme levels. Every bump on his body is supposed to represent a confirmed kill, so he is a soldier, a ruthless killer and of Wakandan blood. Black Panther’s father left him in America and thus in a sense created Killmonger. This is not Black Panther’s fault, but it also isn’t Killmonger’s fault either. Killmonger is evil, but his claim to the throne of Wakanda is completely legitimate.

Killmonger was betrayed by his people as a toddler and he maybe deserved his revenge. He could possibly have lived on had he listened to his own advice and stuck to tradition. He used Wakandan traditions to take over, but he threw them out the window once he had the power he desired. This was his biggest mistake and it is typical of someone who has become consumed with rage.

But through the entire movie he is simply doing what he feels is necessary. Again, in the comics it is a bit easier to see him as pure evil. But going strictly by the movie, he was within his right and had legitimate motive to take control of Wakanda. But since he was not raised in Wakanda he had American ignorance.

This is the only reason he has to be killed, because he refused to yield to tradition. His pride made it so he could not yield to the Black Panther and so he had to die. Black Panther gives him one moment to see Wakanda in all it’s beauty as he lets Killmonger bleed out on the peak of a mountain. Black Panther fulfills a promise that was made to Killmonger that he might see Wakanda one day. Killmonger dies with his wish fulfilled and instead of feeling relief that the bad guy is dead, I felt sad. And also a bit guilty and a little disappointed on Black Panther’s father.

It wasn’t really Killmonger’s fault, it was society, and worse, it was American society. He was abandoned, betrayed and left to go crazy in America. He got a dealt a bad hand and he did what he could to get the one thing he always wanted from his father and his family. So is he the villain? Is he pure evil like The Joker or Ultron or Thanos?

Killmonger was an asshole and a psycho, but he made a lot of good points all throughout the movie. In fact, Black Panther and Killmonger both think that Wakanda has to have more of a connection to the outside world. So Killmonger had the right intentions, but the wrong methods. He’s not the traditional villain. At least, not in my opinion.