The superhero was a little earlier than the political movement: Black Panther celebrated its comic debut in July 1966, the American Black Panther Party was founded in October of the same year. The militant group fought for black self-determination; the cartoon Black Panther, also known as King T’Challa, for the fictional Wakanda, whose enemies seek to destroy the autonomous African country.
>>> the contents of the current issue
Black Panther inventor and Marvel Comics boss Stan Lee claimed that his hero’s strikingly similar big cat logo was not influenced by that of the Panther’s predecessor, the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO). The activists might not have cared about this trademark similarity anyway. You fought for the same thing. Black Panther was the first African superhero. Like the founders of the party shortly after him, he gave the underprivileged a voice: I am here, we are here, we are fighting for ourselves and we are fighting for you, we have powers that our oppressors could not imagine. The Wakanda king with the supernatural strength and running speed represents the ideal image of a human being who makes equality possible. And his country for one where black people can live without being criminalized, as is commonplace in American society.
The 2018 film “Black Panther” occupies a special position in the Marvel Studios forge with its 29 screen works to date. More than a billion box offices was nothing new for Marvel. But more than a billion box office from a director, Ryan Coogler, who is African American and with nine of the eleven leads who are African American – that was new. The first superhero film, which attracted millions of black audiences to cinemas worldwide.
At best, superheroes like Black Panther serve two purposes. The first is the representation of the oppressed and making them visible. Superheroes show that supposedly weak people can surpass themselves. Everyone who faces a disgrace wants a comeback stronger than ever, right? Three examples: Peter Parker is the student the others stuff in the garbage can, the boy whose uncle is shot by robbers. After the bite of the radioactive spider, he can crawl up walls like the insect and shoot cobwebs from his wrists that bind opponents. He becomes Spider-Man, who locks up criminals. The scientist Bruce Banner was emotionally abused by his father as a child; the resulting splitting of a second self and reluctance to trauma therapy created the Hulk: an angry green giant who can rip anything apart. Finally, depending on the comic or film narrative, Selina Kyle was an exploited stewardess or a secretary who was murdered by her superior. She becomes the Catwoman fighting patriarchy. These three people conquer their past, even if Bruce Banner initially fears his Hulk because he cannot control him.
All these superheroes, Spider-Man, Hulk, Catwoman, but also colleagues like Captain Marvel or Batman, fight for redemption after humiliation, they fight for themselves and other weak ones. But not only for the weak. They also fight for the good. For the maintenance of civil order. This is your second task.
who are the good guys Wonder Woman and Captain America were conceived during World War II. Patriotic super soldiers should strengthen the belief that evil, here National Socialism, can be defeated. That a better world is possible by rushing to the aid of other threatened peoples. The comics were devoured not only by US fighters on the European front line, but also by their families back home in America. The pictures with their speech bubbles gave hope that their loved ones would return unharmed and boosted morale. Even in today’s wars, the use of superheroes is encouraged. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung printed an image showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in a montage as Captain America. Russia threatened the “NZZ” with a lawsuit – but not because Selenskyi can be seen as a superhero, but next to a photo of Putin with a clown’s nose. The superhero has to trim the clown.
Winners like Captain America face off against a cynical anti-hero whose adventures could probably only be successfully filmed in this millennium: the swearing, macho Deadpool who sometimes takes responsibility for the wrong things. He serves our desire for intoxication and excess, his superpower is the rapid self-healing of even the most severe wound – his body forgets, and Deadpool doesn’t have to regret anything. Deadpool was born, of course, in 1991, the dawn of the era of political correctness. But if you work him long enough, Deadpool will fight for justice too.
Some superheroes are not climbers, but privileged by birth. Superman is an alien against whom no human being who does not know his only weakness (the crystal kryptonite) can stand. Superman even has to make himself small to live incognito as a clumsy humanoid named Clark Kent. Thor, on the other hand, is a prehistoric Norse god who doesn’t bother to understand our modern civilization. No wonder some Superman and Thor movies are weak. The characters are overpowered, not broken, the stories are not about their rise, but about trying to tame their superpowers. They are where we will never get. It is a challenge to make exciting fabrics out of it.
Maybe that’s why Batman is the superhero that is voted the most popular in many rankings. He lacks supernatural abilities. He needs to train his body and trust his inventions – hope the Batmobile starts. Even the comic book character Batman represents the ups and downs of real life. The winged avenger is Bruce Wayne, and he was born at the top, then, as a child, suddenly at the bottom. As a young adult he has tried to pull himself together, but even as he grows older he is so in the grip of his depression that no matter how many villains he pursues, he will never be happy. He grows up sheltered, as a billionaire’s son with loving parents. They get shot in a robbery, he’s ten. From then on he fights demons, internal (self-reproaches) as well as external (criminals). This is why we are touched by Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008), in which the Batman fears a kinship with his antagonist, the Joker: another outsider with a desire for peace of mind. Batman is a role model because he never gives up finding that peace no matter how bad things are going.
Black Panther becomes a symbol. Impersonated by another human who does not wear their costume but defends their spirit
Our ranking showcases the best superhero movies, but the beauty is, it could look very different in just a few years. Why? Because there are always new actors playing the same superhero at short intervals. Christopher Reeves Superman was an optimist, Henry Cavill’s Superman a brooder who is threatened with responsibility for our planet. The characters are taller than their performers; therefore they never get bored, there are no redundancies once someone new takes on the role.
With “Wakanda Forever” the sequel to “Black Panther” will be released in November. Lead actor Chadwick Boseman passed away in 2020 at the age of 43. Did the Black Panther die with him? The film’s producers have ruled out the possibility of Boseman celebrating a resurrection using visual effects. We could see a first in the superhero genre: with the role death of King T’Challa, Black Panther does not die. Black Panther becomes a symbol. Played by another human being who does not wear their costume but defends their spirit: autonomy and freedom for those who love peace.