Black Panther 2 Theory Reveals The Real Villain (It's Not Namor!)

The trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced viewers to Namor, King of Talocan - but he may not be the film's real villain. Viewers have long been eager to see Namor the Sub-Mariner make his official MCU debut, and that's finally becoming a reality in Black Panther 2. Tenoch Huerta's Namor is very different to the character in the comics, though; tie-in merchandise has revealed Namor is King of Talocan, not Atlantis, with the underwater kingdom seemingly moved to offshore South America.

The relationship between Namor and Black Panther has always been a tense one in the comics, with Atlantis and Wakanda plunged into a war after 2012's Avengers Vs. X-Men event. This conflict that served as a backdrop to the build-up to Secret Wars, a multiversal event that brought all Marvel's various dimensions into head-on collision. It's surely no coincidence Marvel is introducing Namor in Phase 4, given Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently confirmed the MCU is building up towards an adaptation of that epic story, Avengers: Secret Wars. The trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever teased some of the inciting incidents of the war in the comics, with the flooding of Wakanda.

Namor the Sub-Mariner will clearly be an antagonist in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. But that doesn't necessarily mean he will be the villain; rather, he could be a scapegoat for others, manipulated into declaring war on Wakanda. The real villains could be two equally well-established Marvel characters.

The Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Trailer Introduces Attuma & Namora

The trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was light on story details, focusing more on emotions and spectacle. For all that's the case, though, it introduced a number of key characters from Talocan - namely Alex Livinalli's Attuma and Mabel Cadena's Namora. Both of the traditionally Atlantean characters appear to have been redesigned around the Aztec gods, with Attuma's design evocative of Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of war, and Namora's of the water-goddess Chalchiuhtlicue.

In the comics, Attuma is an Atlantean warlord who covets Namor's throne; he has occasionally attempted to claim it by declaring war, but on other occasions he has resorted to subterfuge. He burns with a near-religious hatred of surface-dwellers, frequently launching invasions whenever he gains any power, and indeed this racism may be one major reason he dislikes Namor - simply because the Sub-Mariner is half-human, half-Atlantean. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Attuma serve as the real villain of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, whether as the engineer of the conflict between Wakanda and Atlantis or as a manipulative figure who takes advantage of a confused first encounter. This possibility has been teased by Black Panther 2's LEGO sets, which consistently describe the character as "the villain Attuma."

It is, however, a surprise to see Attuma stood side-by-side with Namora. In the comics, Namora is another human-Atlantean hybrid noted for her fierce temper. The MCU's redesign hints she may be a much more important figure in Talocan than she is in the comics, however, because Chalchiuhtlicue traditionally rules Tlālōcān alongside Tlālōc in Aztec legend. She could therefore be a valuable ally for Attuma - or perhaps a pawn who he manipulates.

Namora Appears To Be Responsible For The Flooding Of Wakanda In Black Panther 2

Marvel's trailers are designed to conceal as much as they reveal, but one sequence in the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer seems designed to give the impression Namora is responsible for the flooding of Wakanda. In one shot, Namora is shown visibly seething with anger, and she thrusts a spear into what seems to be Wakanda's river wall (Wakanda is landlocked, so it can't be a sea wall). This shot is immediately followed by ones showing water surging down the streets of the Golden City, and then into the throne room of Wakanda itself. This presumably sets up one of the most memorable shots in the trailer, as Shuri stands in the flooded throne room, watching as the walls burn in a manner reminiscent of Killmonger's destruction of the Heart-Shaped Herb. In symbolic terms, this is an absolute body-blow against Wakanda, a proud nation that has never been conquered or colonized.

In the comics, the flooding of Wakanda was essentially the beginning of the war between Black Panther's people and the Atlanteans. There, the flooding was caused by Namor himself under the influence of the Phoenix Force; ironically, it's difficult to say whether even Namor would have perpetrated such an act had he not been affected by the Phoenix Force, because the power of this entity has often had a corrupting effect. It became the opening shot of the Wakanda-Atlantis War, simply because the proud nation of Wakanda was not used to dealing with the sense of grief and vulnerability that came from the flooding. It's reasonable to assume Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will feature this sequence as part of the second act, with the new Black Panther then striving to end the war.

How Namora Could Manipulate Namor In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Assuming this theory is correct, and Attuma and Namora are the film's real villains, then Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Namor is probably being manipulated into waging war on the surface world. The trailer may have hinted at how; one of the most curious shots shows Namor reverentially running his hand across a mural, and it seems to be based on Kukulcan, the feathered serpent god of many Mesoamerican cultures. Marvel appear to be trying to establish strong parallels between Wakanda and Talocan, and it is possible the people of Talocan worship Kukulcan in the same way the Wakandans venerate Bast. Namor may well believe he is fighting on the front lines of a religious war.

It's interesting to note that Namora #1 (published back in 1948, before Timely Comics had become Marvel) featured an arc in which Namora discovered a lost temple of Kukulcan. There, she learned native tribesmen were being manipulated by Westerners who pretended to be the god - by speaking from inside a hidden chamber. Marvel could have adapted this idea for Black Panther 2, with Namora and Attuma somehow faking a message from the gods that persuades Namor to go to war. That would certainly explain how Namor becomes an aggressor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - and it would presumably mean the third acts with the Sub-Mariner learning he has been fooled. Even if the war ends, though, it may only be a temporary pause - simply because the MCU's Wakanda is just as proud as its comic book equivalent, and the Wakandans would be unable to forget their experience of vulnerability.

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