When Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther hit theaters in 2018, it’s safe to say audiences were getting a little weary with the Marvel Cinematic Universal. The source wasn’t a drop in quality – one could definitely argue that Black Panther was booked by some of the MCU’s best films – but simply the saturation with superhero films after 17 titles in just nine years.
Even before the premiere was over, you knew this film was going to be different than the 17 that had preceded it. Throughout the film, viewers jumped out of their seats with glee, but it was more than that. With an almost all black cast, “Black Panther” offered millions of Marvel fans something they had seen very little before – superheroes, who looked like themselves.
Led by great performances by Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o, “Black Panther” stood out as a potential tentpole for years of storytelling in the hidden nation of Wakanda.
Those plans were messed up in August 2020 when Boseman died of colon cancer. Boseman had never spoken publicly about his illness, so the whole world was shocked when the news broke.
At this point, no one would have blamed Marvel for leaving the franchise entirely. Replacing Boseman would be a monumental task. And while Boseman’s T’Challah is at the heart of the film, the supporting cast were incredibly talented and their characters multidimensional. If the franchise continued, it wouldn’t be synonymous with Jon Favreau’s Happy taking Tony Stark from Robert Downey Jr., it would be another sequel to Wakanda’s story, not T’Challah.
“Wakanda Forever” revolves around Shuri (Letitia Wright) trying to recreate the heart-shaped herb essential to the creation of the Black Panther, believing it could have saved T’Challah’s life. After discovering the power of Vibranium, the outside world scrambles to get their hands on the wondrous metal, discovering all-new villains and throwing Wakanda into chaos.
We don’t want to spoil anything, so let’s cut things off there and get to the tattoos.
Remember that back then Did Nikko Hurtado tattoo Diddy with gold tattoo needles? How cool would it be to get a tattoo with Vibranium needles?! Assuming they wouldn’t tear through your body like a hot knife through butter. If “Wakanda Forever” is half as good as we hope, we’ll likely update this post with more tattoos from Shuri, M’Baku, Nakia, and Okoye. Anyway, before you go to the theater, scroll down and enjoy this collection of Black Panther tattoos.