Summary
The film opens with an animated sequence explaining the origins of Wakanda, the fictional African nation at the center of Black Panther. It is narrated in the form of a bedtime story told by Wakandan prince N’Jobu to his young son N’Jadaka. Though all the visuals are digitally created, they are shown in one continuous shot, as particles shift and reform into new images that tell the story. In ancient times, a meteor made of vibranium, the strongest substance in the universe, lands in Africa. Five tribes fight over control of the metal until one man eats a “heart-shaped herb” affected by the vibranium. It gives him superhuman powers, and he becomes the first Black Panther and king of four of the five tribes (the fifth tribe, the Jabari, refuse to be ruled by a king and seclude themselves in the mountains), known thereafter as Wakanda. N’Jobu explains that Wakanda has maintained its utopian prosperity by cutting itself off from the outside world and keeping its technology secret.
The score transitions from African-inflected music to contemporary hip-hop as the film cuts to Oakland in 1992. We see several children playing basketball in an outdoor court, shot in a handheld style. The camera pans up to reveal an apartment building, into which we cut. We meet N’Jobu and Zuri, two Wakandan spies or “War Dogs” posing as ordinary African Americans (including to each other). They are preparing to move a shipment of weapons when there is a knock on the door. Believing at first that they are police, N’Jobu and Zuri (calling himself “James” at this point) hide their weapons, but N’Jobu suspects that the visitors are actually Wakandans after looking out the window and seeing no police cars on the street. Zuri answers the door. He sees two bald black women holding spears (who he describes as “Grace Jones-looking chicks” after the popular singer). We will later learn they are members of the Dora Milaje, the Wakandan royal guard. They demand in Xhosa (the language that Wakandans speak in the film) that N’Jobu identify himself, which he does by way of revealing a glowing blue brand on the inside of his lower lip. The two guards bang their spears into the floor and the lights go out. When the lights return a few seconds later, T’Chaka, king of Wakanda, stands before them in a full Black Panther suit.
N’Jobu is surprised to see him, suddenly bowing and acting very flustered and deferential. N’Jobu makes Zuri, still feigning ignorance at this point, bow as well. N’Jobu calms down when T’Chaka takes off his helmet and begins acting more cordially, and they exchange pleasantries and ask how the other has been. However, the conversation soon takes a dark turn when T’Chaka details a recent attack on Wakanda by South African arms dealer Ulysses Klaue, showing Klaue’s face in a hologram. Klaue has stolen a portion of the country’s vibranium and killed a number of Wakandans. T’Chaka believes that because of Wakanda’s secrecy and advanced security, Klaue would have needed inside help to pull off the heist. Sensing that T’Chaka is accusing him of being the traitor, N’Jobu defensively asks why T’Chaka has come to him. T’Chaka orders Zuri to reveal himself, shocking N’Jobu. Zuri then reveals a canister of stolen vibranium hidden in the apartment, effectively confirming T’Chaka’s suspicions. T’Chaka demands that N’Jobu return with him to Wakanda to stand trial for treason, but the scene ends before we see how the confrontation is resolved. Instead, the film cuts back to the children playing basketball outside, one of whom sees the outline of a Wakandan ship flying away.
Analysis
Though it isn't made explicit at the time, these dual prologues serve as origin stories of a kind for both T’Challa and Killmonger. In doing so, the film gives the audience a framework to help understand the differences between the two men. The Wakandan origin story is animated and abstract, told to N’Jadaka (a young Killmonger) as a bedtime story. It both glorifies the heritage of Wakanda and smooths over the destructive conflict which preceded the unification of the country. However, though N’Jobu tells the story to connect N’Jadaka to his home country, that heritage remains out of reach. In contrast to the animated introduction, the scene in Oakland is presented as real life, situated in a modern setting. On a TV in the background we can see footage of the LA Riots (protests over the police beating of an African American man named Rodney King), underlining the urgent nature of racism and violence in American society. The extravagant and futuristic suits of T’Chaka and the Dora Milaje juxtapose bizarrely with the plain clothes worn by N’Jobu and Zuri. These also serve to highlight the vast difference between the lived experience of Wakandans and other black people around the world.
In several ways, the Oakland prologue tells a different story than the Wakanda prologue. The Wakanda prologue emphasizes the importance of Wakanda’s isolationism, implying that it is the primary reason for the country’s prosperity. With the news of Klaue’s raid on Wakanda and N’Jobu’s betrayal, we are already beginning to see cracks in Wakanda’s facade that will explode into the film’s main conflict between T’Challa and Killmonger. Though not seen in this prologue, when the scene is continued later in the film, we see N’Jobu arguing more directly against Wakanda’s isolationism as well as explaining the deplorable conditions of African American life.
The final series of shots of the boy who we will later learn is a young Killmonger is particularly poignant. As he is playing basketball he looks up to see the Wakandan ship flying away and turning invisible. This should by rights be his heritage; he is a member of the Wakandan royal family. But that heritage will remain elusive to him, as far away as that ship is from him. He is stuck on the ground, his youth informed by the African American experience, not by the mythological heritage that for him is only a bedtime story. This scene is Coogler’s attempt to craft a visual metaphor to introduce the audience to the tragedy of Killmonger’s life.
