Why Black Panther Is Needed On The Big Screen

Why The Panther is Needed

Editorial Opinion
By bubs - Jun 26, 2012 02:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Fan Fic
Source: Darnell Thames

Growing up as young kid getting into comics I loved Batman, Superman, Spider-Man...the usual suspects. But as a young black kid i couldnt really relate to any of these heroes cause they were all white. I know thier stories and loved these heroes...But besides Blade and Spawn black Superheroes haven't had really any representation on the big screen (Nick Fury doesnt count!!) I can argue if John Stewart was used instead of Hal Jordan Green Lantern wouldve done better because he was the one lantern everyone knew bit i digress...


Blade and Spawn are too dark for young black kids to get into and understand.. Black Panther not only has a great history but is a great representation of black people in general. He's a Genius, Badass, and a Monarch to boot. More importantly this will be first time a black superhero will get the super big budget treatment and get his own movie to shine!!

At first i was skeptical of Black Panther getting a movie becuase of his name. One of My fears was people will associate him with the black panther party. (thats for you fox news watchers out there) and I thought just drop the black from his name and call him The Panther. Another fear of mine are his villains. (Seriously Man Ape.. a black man dressed up as a white monkey ) Unless Marvel makes up villains just for the movie.. T'Challa doesnt a long list of rouges. But then I thought neither does any Marvel hero other than Spider man and The X-Men. The we wont see Storm as his wife. But Then again Halle Berry was a disgrace as storm (Sophie Okonedo or Kerry Washington as Storm!!!) Then my main fear was tokenism.. I didnt want this African Monarch being reduced to the "Token Black Avenger" .

But as I thought about this, even though I prefer DC over Marvel... Marvel has not only more Black Heroes but have treated them with more respect than DC has. (just ask what Geoff Johns is doing with John Stewart in Green lantern) Marvel will do what DC doesn't have the stones to do.. Get a character the fans love and put him on screen regardless of whether the mainstream knows him or not!! The Movie will make him mainstream..just ask Tony Stark. America has come far but we need to more heroes of color kick ass on screen too!! Black Panther will be a great start and maybe well see Luke Cage, Falcon, and John Stewart if DC gets of its ass!! Black Panther is a great hero and he will be an example of what black culture truly is!!

PS

My Choices for Black Panther

I know everyone wants Aldis Hodge but I say

T'Challa: Columbus Short

T'Chaka: Denzel Washington or Dimjon Honsou

Storm: Sophie Okenado or Kerry Washington

Erik Killmonger: Michael Jai White

Klaw: Christoph Waltz

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TheRaven20
TheRaven20 - 6/26/2012, 3:57 PM
Yeah i shared the same concern of the name "black Panther". Personally I think it might turn off people unfamiliar so what I would do is call the film simply "Panther" but keep the superhero name "Black Panther". That's what CW's Arrow should have done but I think they're just calling the superhero Arrow as well(which IMO is dumb).
golden123
golden123 - 6/26/2012, 5:03 PM
John Stewart may have been more well known than Hal Jordan, before the movie, but the actor Ryan Reynolds is more well known than the character of John Stewart. There aren't many black actors who have a star power that is in league with Ryan. If you don't include out of shape or old black actors, then your left with Will Smith. Will Smith is probably the most popular black, but he is seven years older than Reynolds and doesn't take any old role. I doubt he would of take a Green Lantern offer. He tends to concentrate on his kids careers more than his own, and he has already played a superhero. Basically, I don't think more people would have seen the Green Lantern film if they used John Stewart. All of this is based on the assumption that this theoretical John Stewart Green Lantern film would be of the same quality.

I have a question. What do you mean by relatibility? I wouldn't know. I don't lean towards characters that I find relatable. I lean towards characters that I find interesting. I'm not sure that a character who is a wealthy member of African royalty is considered relatable. Maybey, you are talking about his personality. I don't know. To continue the topic, How, in your opinion, is Black Panther a great representation of black people in general? I'm not black, so I guess I wouldn't know. I would think T'Challa, being African, would seem "foreign" to black americans.

I watch Fox News. Are you insulting me? Are you simply referring to me? I'm not sure what you mean. Moving on...

Three more thoughts...
1) Iron Man has a pretty big rouges gallery. It's not on a Spider-Man or X-Men level in quantity or quality, but his amount of villains shouldn't be underestimated.
2) What is Geoff Johns doing with John Stewart? I have no idea.
3) You should check your spelling and grammer before posting an article.
AgentZero
AgentZero - 6/26/2012, 5:50 PM
No Storm in a Black Panther movie because she belongs to Fox.
Ghostt
Ghostt - 6/26/2012, 7:04 PM
@golden

that was a strange ranting comment. I think dude wrote a pretty clear article and doesn't have to break it down for you piece by piece.

And you need not indicate that you are a FOX news watcher, it was clear after you said "Will Smith is probably the most popular black."
soundwave129
soundwave129 - 6/26/2012, 7:55 PM
Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, the Fantastic Four, and Nick Fury all have fairly large rogues galleries.
bubs
bubs - 6/26/2012, 8:48 PM
@ golden123 I wasnt talking to you...I was talking about the people who will try to link him to that and like it or not those people watch fox news.. Second of all im a college graduate i know how to spell i was in a rush cause i had to go to a job interview...
Third on realatablity.... Black children have no superheroes to look up to or relate to..a character can be interesting but you ultimately find a connction with the charcter in someway otherwise why read? All the biggest superheroes are white..thats not by accident.. the reason why is because stereotypically comic readers are white not black.. so the heroes are gonna look like the readers of comics...black panther, luke cage and so on were created to bring people like me in...i love iron man but i cant relate to him, i love the hulk, batman, superman but i cant really relate to them because they werent cretaed with me in mind u know..
fourth Black panther is a good reperestation because most blacks on tv and movies are portayed as criminals, and the ones who are not and are actualluy heroes come from a troubled past or are either sidekicks to the white guy hero..here we have a king of a technologically advanced nation, a badass marial artist, and a genius...when have you seen a black character portrayed as such..

@battlinmurdock
yes i have.. and thats the problem youre not seeing.. 99 percent of movies are targeted towards whites. and will and denzel are always the go to black guys to put in movies. If its Not Will Smith or Denzel, its either Sam Jackson and now Idris Elba. Every part of pop culutre is catered torwards a white audeince whether u want to see it or not. I have no doubt Black Panther will be a success but because of his name and the fact he is a black hero is untreded waters on a scale like this..this can either be marvel's first flop or its greatest triumph behind the avengers
golden123
golden123 - 6/26/2012, 8:50 PM
@Ghostt: I'm just challenging this editorial. This CBM user has some wild opinions in this article, and it doesn't help his case that the article is poorly written. Not to mention, he never explains anything. It's really not a good editorial. The article basically complains that black superheroes haven't had enough representation on screen. He states that the "oh-so" relatable Black Panther is the best choice for a black superhero movie. Apparently, being a genius, badass, and monarch represents the black community really well. That is the only possible explanantion I see on how this African can represent black Americans. He doesn't provide much information on his reasoning. If you enjoyed this editorial, then that is good for you. I think this editorial is poor. This person needs to be challenged. It's the only way he will actually write "a pretty clear article."
P.S. What news network do you watch? Let me guess. Is it MSNBC, CNN, or do you even watch the news on television? Do you follow the news at all? I'm not trying to stereotype. I'm just curious.

@BattlinMurdock: You mean "Black Sabbath"?
golden123
golden123 - 6/26/2012, 9:12 PM
@bubs: I hear ya. I can't relate to Hulk either. He is green, after all. No wonder, Swampthing and the Red Lanterns don't sell because plants and aliens don't read comics....oh wait! LOL! All three of those properties sell well in the comics. I don't think race has alot to do with popularity. Silver Surfer has fans. If you have ever read Watchmen, then I guarantee you that you liked Rorschach before it was revealed that he was white. Would your opinion about Watchmen change if Rorschach was exactly the same, except he was black. I'm deeply confused on what you mean by relatibility. If you don't "relate" to the character, then what does it matter. You said that you loved Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man. How does loving a character and relating to a character differ in your mind. I have become interested in this concept you have presented. Forgive my rudeness in previous comments. I thought you were racist, and I wasn't sure if you were attacking my political views.
bubs
bubs - 6/26/2012, 9:48 PM
@GOLDEN123
First off again I was in a rush give a break dude. second Because u can love a character and not relate to his background or his personality... i see on this site people who complain about hal jordan is a douche but think he the best green lantern. Batman is my favoite hero but and i can relate to his personality but not his background.. It like the Joker said in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker "Batman is no more than a poor rich child calling ou for mommy and daddy"

One thing ill tell you aboout me i love white people, my girl is white and most of my favorie characters are white so dont do that... read my last post you see i went into more depth bout this issue so u could see why i said what i said
No one is calling u or anyone else a racist but chooosing to ignore race doesnt make it go away..
Im not attacking your views Im consevative on some iissues i Used to watch fox til bill o'reilly pissed me off.. but u know as well as i do glen beck or hannity would try to use his name and link him with an unrealted topic..
bubs
bubs - 6/26/2012, 10:04 PM
@battlinmurdock
ok cool
Rohit9876
Rohit9876 - 6/27/2012, 3:48 PM
Great Casting above. Christoph Waltz will be a perfect "Ulysses Klaw". good casting always increase the quality of movies as directors are able to do other minute things properly..
Rohit9876
Rohit9876 - 6/27/2012, 3:49 PM
Great Casting above. Christoph Waltz will be a perfect "Ulysses Klaw". good casting always increase the quality of movies as directors are able to do other minute things properly.
Rohit9876
Rohit9876 - 6/27/2012, 3:51 PM
Great Casting above. Christoph Waltz will be a perfect "Ulysses Klaw". good casting always increase the quality of movies as directors are able to do other minute things properly.
Ghostt
Ghostt - 6/27/2012, 6:39 PM
@golden

there's news outside CBM news feed? I'll check that out some time.
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