Entertainment

This One 'Black Panther' Moment Could Put The Avengers In Serious Danger

by Rachel Simon
Walt Disney Studios

Spoilers ahead for Black Panther. If you didn't get the hint from the previous sentence, listen up: there are going to be major spoilers ahead for Black Panther (cinematography: Rachel Morrison), so turn back now if you don't want to know some huge details about Marvel's newest movie. Otherwise, read on, because there is so much to talk about when it comes to the Ryan Coogler-directed film — such as what that first Black Panther post-credits scene is actually all about.

Like many Marvel movies, Black Panther features two post-credits scenes. One of these, the one being discussed in this post, is basically a continuation of the movie's actual ending, while the other is an exciting, mysterious peek at the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). While that second scene is definitely interesting — I mean, hello, Bucky! — we'll save the analysis of that one for another post. It's the first Black Panther post-credits scene that's to be talked about here, and while it may not be as huge a deal as the scene that follows, it's still absolutely worth discussing.

At the end of Black Panther, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) has defeated Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and has finally decided, alongside sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) to let the world know a bit about Wakanda's technological advances. T'Chall and Shuri travel to California, and the Wakandan king tells his sister that she'll get to run a science and technology facility. In the post-credits scene, viewers see T'Challa making good on his promise to inform the world about Wakanda's abilities and advancements during a press conference to the United Nations. With Shuri and Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) by his side, T'Challa tells the audience that Wakanda is now willing to share their abundant resources with other nations. To which someone basically asks, wait, what resources? LOL.

Remember that the rest of the world thinks that Wakanda is just a poor, third-world African country with nothing to offer the world, as it barely has enough to keep its people fed and cared for. But in reality (well, Black Panther reality), Wakanda is actually the most technologically advanced country on the Earth, filled with wealth, advancements, and plenty of other goods that every other country in the world would definitely want for themselves.

The post-credits scene ends there, and viewers don't actually hear T'Challa tell the audience about vibranium, Wakanda's most precious resource, or witness the likely stunned and confused reactions of the crowd. But we do get to see Agent Ross (Martin Freeman) smile from his seat in the audience, since he's one of the only non-Wakandan people to know the truth about the African country. One can only imagine that once T'Challa filled everyone else in, Ross would have a good time watching his peers freak out upon hearing the news.

So what does this mean for the future of the MCU? Well, to put it simply — it's a huge freakin' deal. Any future movie featuring T'Challa and his Black Panther world will exist in a universe where Wakanda is no longer a secretive nation misunderstood by billions of people, but rather, an incredibly advanced and respected country containing tools that the rest of the population not only covets, but hopefully can benefit from. Once Wakanda truly opens up to the world, people everywhere can utilize its technology in the fields of science, education, transportation, and so much more. The consequences of T'Challa's announcement at the press conference will undoubtedly be enormous.

But as GameSpot points out, that's not necessarily an entirely good thing. If vibranium gets into the wrong hands, it could make help create a horrific weapon and cause mass destruction. Let's say major MCU villain Thanos gets ahold of vibranium — what's to say he won't use the metal to defeat the Avengers and destroy the universe?

MCU fans will get some answers to these questions in the next Avengers movie, Infinity War, set to debut on May 4, 2018. That's good news, everyone — only a few more months until the effects of that game-changing scene in Black Panther will be unveiled.