disney’s problem is they’ve tired to make every villain since 2016 into killmonger. they will never be killmonger tho
to clarify: killmonger is renowned for being a villain who had the right motives but the wrong way of going about it. the reason this wasn’t offensive like the villains in, say, the new spiderman movies, is because he was not the only person who held his views. as several people have pointed out, killmonger wasn’t the “right” one- nakia was, killmonger’s pain just helped t’challa realize that
every villain now is trying to be “look they were right all along!” except without other important characters sharing their beliefs and the main character deciding to fix the problem that created the antagonist so that this never happens to anyone else again. which just makes it look like they’re trying to demonize the pain real people are suffering
I think it’s also worth noting that Killmonger wasn’t “had the right ideas but decided to be a super-evil baby murderer about it.” The reason Killmonger was a threat was specifically that he learned his tactics working for the CIA. He was applying American philosophies of overthrowing governments and arming nations to go about creating the global conditions he wanted. Mysterio was like. I don’t even fucking remember his motivations. Like, let’s trash tony stark’s name by using his weapons for mass murder??? Or something????? And the flag smashers were like lets help the disenfranchised by mass murdering other people???????
Killmonger’s plan was literally to unseat a nation’s leader, stoke anger in its people, and then arm that nation to the teeth. He was literally an American staging a coup in a foreign nation—because that’s what he learned from the CIA.
#*bangs pots and pans* black panther is an incredible movie precisely because its entire thesis statement #is ‘hey america fucking check yourselves’ #that movie celebrates africa in all its design and worldbuilding and everything else #but it is ABOUT america #(it might also be about africa; I don’t know enough to see it if so. but I kinda suspect not #it’s an american movie in an american franchise.) #but yeah everything from the villain (evil CIA operative whose driving motivation is the violent racism he grew up facing in the US #– and in liberal california at that) #to the central question t'challa grapples with (do we use the immense power we have on the global stage #to aid and uplift those who are suffering? or do we attack the whole world and violently subdue anyone #who doesn’t agree to follow our rules? or do we close ourselves off and focus on our own problems; let the whole world burn if it must? #all three stances being embodied by a character t'challa has reason to care about (nakia; erik; w'kabi) bc that’s just good storytelling) #to the OTHER central question t'challa grapples with (what do we do with the evils of our ancestors? how do we treat their victims?) #to the inclusion of a token white american (who was also CIA I think?) #who was very funny but also a living example of how to be an actual ally #(I mean that in the political sense mostly but also a little in the social justice sense) #ie how to do the thing that nakia does but on a broad international scale #how to SUPPORT a country going through a rough old time without stepping in and trying to control everything #how to respect and uplift your allies instead of trying to be the center of attention all the time (eg that last scene in front of the UN) #– all of these things and more were all in support of the central message #which was a strong and consistent political stance#erik wasn’t ‘redeemed’ or ‘secretly good all along’ – he was a terrible person who did unforgiveable things #and he was ALSO sympathetic #(that scene with his dad in the ancestral plane murders me every single time) #and all the reasons he was sympathetic underscore the story’s theme #it’s masterful writing #and it comes of knowing what you’re trying to say (@aethersea)
