Civil War's Ending Doesn't Make Sense After Black Panther

Black Panther, for the most part, exists as a very standalone entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; while it picks up directly from the end of Captain America: Civil War and ends with a seismic impact on the wider MCU, it's focused almost entirely on the land of Wakanda. However, one key piece of world-building introduces a confusing contradiction.

The MCU has become notorious for each movie introducing some contradiction with facts presented in a previous film - perhaps most high-profile Spider-Man: Homecoming saying it was set eight years after The Avengers, despite most common fan timelines putting it at only four - to the point that head producer Kevin Feige has even spoken out and said Marvel Studios plans to release an official timeline. In the meantime, the hope has been these flubs would be averted.

Now, Black Panther doesn't break the continuity by any stretch, but there is still a focal scene from Captain America: Civil War that the film calls out yet doesn't actually allow to fit - and in the process reveals what Marvel's really up to.

This Page: Bucky Doesn't Fit Into Black Panther

When Is Black Panther In The Marvel Timeline?

The MCU Phase 3 timeline doesn't match up at all with the release order, something that is most clearly seen with the movies surrounding Captain America: Civil War; the 2016 team-up has already been followed directly by both 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming, with Ant-Man & The Wasp also reportedly taking place in its aftermath, and Black Panther slots right in there; it's explicitly stated in the film T'Challa is returning home directly following his father's death to take the throne, presumably less than a week after Zemo's capture. The in-universe length of the film itself is unclear, but we know there's no major time jump between his coronation and Killmonger's assault, leading us to theorize it's about a week or two.

This means that Black Panther is actually set two years prior to its release - around the same time as the early stages of Homecoming and a year or two before his return in Avengers: Infinity War. It's a clearly stated, yet unobvious detail that speaks to the film's standalone nature and Marvel's layered integration of films. However, the macro thinking has led to many problems before and introduces another here.

Bucky Doesn't Fit Into Black Panther

Bucky Barnes the Winter Soldier in Wakanda at the End of Captain America Civil War

Wakanda was introduced in Captain America: Civil War's mid-credits scene, with T'Challa putting Bucky Barnes on ice while he found a cure for his Hydra brainwashing. This thread is resolved in Black Panther's post-credits scenes where Bucky is shown on the road to recovery with Shuri. Because the Winter Soldier not in the movie, we don't know when either sequence takes place, but the inference is that Civil War's is shortly after the film's events and Black Panther's between the finale and Infinity War.

The problem is, even with this wide time period, that doesn't quite line up. In Black Panther, we see T'Challa's first return to Wakanda following Civil War, after which he becomes King the next day before swiftly heading to South Korea. When returning from the mission against Klaue, he brings with him an injured Everett Ross, to which Shuri remarks "Oh great, another broken white boy for me to fix." This implies that Bucky is already in Wakanda and she's working on getting him better, yet there's been no time within the plot for the putting under scene to take place.

For cracking MCU timeline problems, we usually ignore TV shows and in-universe comics because they come from a different branch of Marvel Entertainment and can easily present conflicting information, although it's worth adding that this doesn't fit with the Avengers: Infinity War Prelude comic either. That has Cap and Bucky heading to Wakanda for help "weeks later". It's purposefully vague, but the intonation would be this takes place after Black Panther, directly contradicting Shuri's in-movie line.

Bucky Barnes in Avengers Infinity War prelude 1

Is There An Explanation For Black Panther's Continuity Issue?

Unlike Doctor Strange, which was completely disconnected to the point it's multi-year story didn't quite gel, or Civil War and Homecoming both saying they were set eight years after Iron Man and The Avengers respectively, there is at least the possibility of an in-universe explanation.

One key detail to notice is that it's never actually stated that Bucky is in Wakanda during Black Panther. This means that Steve Rogers could have reached out to T'Challa but is yet to arrive in the country; Shuri is simply referencing the impending arrival of Bucky, rather than acknowledging working on him now.

The other explanation, albeit it a bit more strained, would be that the scene takes place during the early portion of Black Panther, just offscreen (presumably because it doesn't fit into the main plot and would thus be empty universe clearing). It would require ignoring the dating of the Prelude comic, but mostly fits; the warning Captain America gives to T'Challa - "if they find out he's here, they'll come for you" - plays equally well before or after his U.N. speech. Neither of these is ideal, but they at least wrap things up.

What Black Panther's Continuity Flub Really Means

Of course, whatever official solution that Marvel goes with (if they acknowledge this at all), Black Panther's continuity flub is really a product of the evolving franchise. Bucky's recovery is a background storyline for fans - he first realizes' his true identity in The Winter Soldier's post-credits scene, seeks help in Civil War's and it's resolved in Black Panther's stinger - not a primary throughline that must be understood for Avengers: Infinity War, where he'll no doubt turn up right as rain.

And that's what every single timeline problem really means. Whereas in Phase 1 connectivity was the central idea - to the point that Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk and Thor all happened in the same week with minimal issue - now micro-continuity isn't high on Marvel's priorities: making good movies is. That's why all of these exist: Jon Watts wanted to have Vulture's child directly inspired by the Battle of New York; Taika Waititi (and Feige) wanted Thor: Ragnarok to ditch the hunt for Infinity Stones; and Ryan Coogler wanted free reign to tell the Marvel story he wanted to, and simply needed to pay lip service to the fact Bucky is in Wakanda. Each of those choices was made to strengthen the individual movie with the knowledge that a better film would lead to an overall stronger franchise than completely smooth narrative cohesion would.

What we're really seeing is Marvel letting the granular aspects of shared universe filmmaking fall by the wayside, in part out of necessity - when you're dealing with a machine this big it's impossible to have everything line up - but also an understanding that "connectivity" simply doesn't entice as much as pure quality. And so, while Black Panther disregarding the specifics of Captain America: Civil War's mid-credits scene is an eyebrow raiser, it's all for a greater franchise. Just one that doesn't quite line up.

Next: Black Panther Teases Marvel's Next Captain America?