Major spoilers for Black Panther.

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It's really not exaggerating to say that Black Panther is Marvel's richest film to date, nor that it has one of the best endings in the franchise. Moreso than even the clearly-purposed Iron Man or Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ryan Coogler's take on the King of Wakanda isn't afraid to let its brain do the talking, with the action powered by imense emotion.

As a result, Black Panther's ending is more than just a victory for the good guys and brief tease for the future. The film is a smartly woven discussion on what Black Panther represents, both in terms of its record-breaking release and the wider cultural discussion, and its ending provides a shaking conclusion to that. Of course, the overall story is, as with most Marvel films, broadly about coming into one's own with the help of those around you (amplified by the impeccable Dora Milaje), but there's a lot more going on than just that.

Related: Why It Took So Long to Get a Black Panther Movie

The film picks up with T'Challa in the wake of Captain America: Civil War, following him in the early days of his reign as King of Wakanda when he comes under attack from Erik Killmonger, his estranged cousin and the violent product of his father's biggest mistake. Killmonger wants the throne for violence, seemingly killing the T'Challa and putting Wakanda under his control - before the true ruler returns. Their confrontation is hard fought physically and ideologically, but represents so much more.

This Page: How Black Panther Tackles Colonialism Head-On

Black Panther Is All About How We Address Colonialism

Black Panther - Killmonger and Klaue

Much has been made of how Black Panther is culturally groundbreaking - it's the first major superhero film led by a person of color in well over a decade, and none before have been so infused with such an understanding African culture - but this revolutionary moment that's made the film so anticipated isn't reserved to the context of release. Very early on it's established that Black Panther is tackling colonialism, the effect it had on Africa, and how modern culture can address (if not correct) and move beyond that dark past.

Traditionally, the western world struggles in even acknowledging colonialism due to its moral bankruptcy and still-present grounding to the modern day, but Black Panther doesn't mess around; it confronts it - specifically the British pillaging and overall desecration of Africa - head-on in Killmonger's introduction, with Erik denouncing and reclaiming stolen artifacts from the British Museum. Not just for shock value or token lip service, though, this is essential scene-setting - it clears the deck, getting audiences of all backgrounds on the same, critical page and ready for a deeper-probing exploration.

Colonialism, or rather its absence, is ingrained into Wakanda. The vision of the country explicitly present in Black Panther is the idea of uncolonized Africa, of what could have been had the British (among others) not tried to claim the land for themselves, as well as the ignored powers of Africa. This is a fundamental aspect of Afro-futurism, a design ethos that dominates the film, but in Black Panther is also used as a form of thought experiment; if Africa existed uncolonized, how would it fit into the modern world? Would it hide away, attack or integrate?

Related: Marvel Didn't Always Have Black Panther's Character Rights

This debate is personified by the characters in the film: the deceased rulers of Wakanda have, since before the first Black Panther united the tribes, holed themselves away from the rest of the world out of a mixture of self-preservation and fear of what would happen with revealing the truth; diametrically opposed is Killmonger, who - due to having grown up in the west - wants to take the war to them; he sees the inherent strength of Wakanda and wants to bring down the colonists. In a cutting piece of commentary, both sides exemplify colonist mindsets, suggesting an inherent corruption in society; the rulers want to keep what's theirs from who they deem lesser and Killmonger steals Wakanda's wealth for his own means.

T'Challa finds himself somewhere in the middle, unable to truly accept what his ancestors believe but never pausing in seeing the flaws in Killmonger's vicious attack. As Erik ascends the throne after seemingly killing the Black Panther and sends Wakandan ships to lead war against the western world, this is the thematic conflict at play, one that boils over in the finale.

Chadwick Boseman as King T'Challa in Black Panther

T'Challa Revolutionizes Wakanda To Save Wakanda

Despite being a hero-led film, T'Challa isn't the complete focus of Black Panther. Unlike other MCU debuts, he enters the film more-or-less fully formed when it comes to skill as a superhero - in Civil War he already made the bold move of saving the man who killed his father - with his internal conflict centering on the different role of being King of Wakanda. Indeed, the movie is more accurately about the entirety of Wakanda; T'Challa is the driving force but with the strong Dora Milaje around him (who even take the lead when he's presumed dead at the end of the second act), this is a much more sprawling film than any Marvel standalone prior.

T'Challa's journey is thus highly personal but consistently relevant to the state of the country, and by extension the colonialism themes. He is unsure of how to honor his ancestors and comes into physical conflict with Killmonger, two sides that consolidate in their wider world approach. The film sees the King come to terms with his desire for revenge on Klaue (one of many sins of the fathers), and forced to fight for (or, rather, earn) everything he's been gifted by blood, but closure comes in how he addresses those two schools of thought. In the end, he opts to follow neither the dogmatic old or violent new - both sides are thinking self-servingly like the outsiders they rally against - instead choosing compassion and to reveal Wakanda to the world for the good of all; he finds balance in the colonialism thought experiment (a not dissimilar conclusion to Rey's arc in Star Wars: The Last Jedi).

Related: Black Panther Has Stan Lee's Most Self-Aware Cameo

At the end of the film, he ascends to the throne (again) as a new kind of leader, one in touch with his roots but not fearful of moving forward. Indeed, in the context of the mythology, he could be something more. As Killmonger destroyed all the Heart-Shaped Herb (and T'Challa drank the final one Nakia saved), it's possible he's either the last Panther or - more likely - will start a new line.

However, things aren't entirely cut-and-dry. The final battle shows the power of fighting together, but with Killmonger it goes deeper with its ideas of extremes.

Killmonger's Death Changes T'Challa

Kilmonger looking sideways in a still from Black Panther

Killmonger is a tragic figure. He grows up in an Oakland high-rise and, after his father is killed by T'Chaka, is left behind to maintain the secret exclusivity of Wakanda. He experiences what it is to live alone in the real world with all the prejudice and anger we know while also having the promise of what Wakanda represents; he's had a taste of the world, but it provides all the comfort of believing in fairytales. From this background, his desire for revenge via war is clear; he belongs neither to Wakanda nor America through no fault of his own and wants to rebalance the scales. Marvel's often struggled to make a villain truly relatable, but here they've built an antagonist who bridges our reality (we're introduced to him in 1992, the year of the Rodney King riots) and the film's so is immediately understood. Killmonger is, in many ways, right.

It's his methods that are flawed, making him into an extreme our hero must fight. Indeed, it's Erik's anger and lack of compromise that ultimately allows T'Challa to best him - the above ground fight between W'Kabi and the Dora Milaje resolves with a mutual love, while the end to Panther and Killmonger's equally matched conflict in the Vibranium mines comes from T'Challa using his brains and adaptability.

Related: Every Piece Of Black Panther's Armor And Tech Explained

Crucially, T'Challa lets Killmonger die. This twists the moral code; the villain dying is an outcome he created yet directly contradicts his ethics. It's a choice made not out of any prior-held logic but an emotive understanding of another person and the problems that created him. With Killmonger's willing death, we get the key push T'Challa needs to have Wakanda go out into the world.

Now, there is the question of whether Erik is gone for good. His proclamation indicates a desire to die, yet some fans have doubted this permanence; there's enough ambiguity when we cut away from the shot of his dying body given the advanced medical technology of Wakanda that Killmonger could be saved and return in Black Panther 2. However, while that's narratively possible, on a thematic and character level that risks being a betrayal - to both our hero and misunderstood villain.

The Final Scene (And Mid-Credits Stinger) Sees Wakanda Move Out Of The Shadows

T'Challa in the UN in Black Panther

We get a taste of how Wakanda will be moving out of the shadows in the film's final scene, as well as its mid-credits stinger. T'Challa visits the same basketball court in Oakland where Erik grew up and his father killed his uncle. After paying respect, he reveals this is to be the location for a Wakandan outreach program aiming to help the community and expand the country's stance; Shuri is going to head up the science division here, and he drops a Wakandan craft on the court to the amazement of some nearby children. This is a move that is intended to directly honor Killmonger's unwitting sacrifice, atoning not only for his death but attempting to correct the flawed beginnings that created him.

Related: Black Panther's Mid-Credits Scene Throws Shade at President Trump

The mid-credits scene, meanwhile, takes this to a global stage, with T'Challa electing to reveal the truth of Wakanda to the U.N. This is, predictably, met with skepticism by some, but the King brushes it off. These two scenes together wrap up the cultural side of the story in a very fitting way, showing how outreach in black communities and a tolerant global landscape (T'Challa's speech to the U.N. contains a jab at President Trump) is the positive way forward, not ignorance or aggression.

Obviously, this is a symbolic move for Wakanda, but it also gives T'Challa some very fitting resolution to his personal arc; the final shot of him smirking when asked his name feels like a similar touchstone to Tony Stark proclaiming "I am Iron Man" back in 2008.

Avengers Infinity War Black Panther Leads Wakandans to Battle

What Black Panther's Ending Means For The MCU's Future

Black Panther is the most purely standalone film in the MCU since Ant-Man in 2015. While it features Ulysse Klaue and Everett Ross (and the death of T'Chaka from Black Panther's own introduction in Captain America: Civil War casts a shadow over the narrative), it is entirely self-sustaining, which applies double to its future set up.

In terms of Avengers: Infinity War, the next film in the MCU, the primary effect is simply establishing Wakanda, which will be one of the key battlegrounds between Thanos and Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Black Panther doesn't reveal the long-suspected Soul Stone, nor does it trade in essential plot points (bar one post-credits cameo). Neither does it too heavily try and foreshadow a Black Panther 2; there's definitely room for certain comic-inspired events to happen but nothing is too heavily alluded to.

Instead, it serves as more a broader story pivot, introducing many things that could have impact down the line. Black Panther is, of course, going to be a big figure in the Avengers, especially with many long-standing names bowing out; Chadwick Boseman's original Marvel contract reportedly only saw him through to the currently undated Black Panther 2, but based on this film's reaction is sure to be extended (if it hasn't already). Elsewhere, Shuri is a fan-favorite and actress Letitia Wright has been inundated with questions about getting her own adventures. We have our own ideas of how she and related characters will become essential in the fabric of the MCU going forward, which we'll be exploring over the Black Panther release weekend.

Related: Iron Man 2 Had An Awesome Black Panther Easter Egg

But the biggest impact of Black Panther's ending will on the world of the MCU. Wakanda is now out there and known, ready to play a part on the global stage. This will change any global structure, even if it has as free-flowing logic as one based on comic books. We already have the suggestion that many of the Avengers tech - from Iron Man's new suit to Captain America's two new shields - will come out of Shuri's workshop, and that's just the beginning.

The Post-Credits Scene Explained

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

And with that, we come to what is really the most disconnected part of Black Panther: the post-credits scene. Bucky Barnes was last seen in Civil War's mid-credits scene being put on ice while T'Challa found a cure for his in-built Hydra brainwashing, and while a Winter Soldier cameo was for a time expected, it's saved until the very last (bar a cheeky reference by Shuri while healing Ross). By the time of the movie's end, Bucky's well on the way to recovery and, while Shuri suggests he's still got work to do, it's likely that by the time he reunites with Cap he'll be fully cured.

It's a classic bit of Marvel; teasing and filling gaps in the spirit of the movie at hand but looking forward for sure. Indeed, it's very possible there's more to the scene than meets the eye - but that will have to wait until Infinity War.

Read More: Where Is Captain America During Black Panther?

Keep it with Screen Rant across Black Panther's release weekend for more Wakandan-based content, including mythological deep dives, breakdowns of what made Killmonger so great, and some serious theorizing about the future of the MCU.

Next: Black Panther Review: Hail to the Wakandan King

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