"Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" centers trauma and celebrates life – but at the same time,
it's still a comic book movie.
These are all the easter eggs, references, and deeper connections we found in the latest
Marvel mega-hit.
In an attempt to protect Wakanda's top warriors in battle, Shuri has been designing high-tech
armor for the Dora Milaje.
Early on in the movie, the princess shows her mother the designs and reveals that General
Okoye thinks they look stupid.
However, Okoye changes her tune when they go to war with Namor and the kingdom of Tālocān.
Along with another mighty warrior named Aneka, she dons the Midnight Angel armor and joins
the fray at sea.
Adorned in shades of blue, the duo known as the Midnight Angels are pulled straight from
the pages of Marvel Comics.
They were created for 2010's "Doomwar" as an elite subsection of the Dora Milaje that
also serves as King T'Challa's personal bodyguards.
But rather than Okoye and Aneka wearing the winged stealth suits like in the movie, Aneka
and Ayo make up the team in the comics.
And though they are loyal to Wakanda, they leave the royal family and the ranks of the
Dora at one point in favor of hunting down rogues who targeted Wakandan women.
Now that a version of the Midnight Angels has been introduced in the MCU, there's no
doubt that we'll be seeing them again, especially if the rumored Okoye series comes to fruition on Disney+.
Who doesn't love a good battle cry?
Both the comic book and MCU versions of Namor have a catchphrase they use when they charge
into a fight: "Imperius Rex!"
During the climax of "Wakanda Forever," Namor faces off with the new Black Panther and basically
gives everything he has in this skirmish.
And just like how Captain America "can do this all day," the Tālocān royal is also
ready for another round after he utters his signature line, despite facing certain defeat.
Interestingly enough, "Imperius Rex" doesn't actually mean anything.
It loosely translates to "Emperor King" in Latin, but Namor has never really clarified
its true meaning after all these years.
Honestly, he probably just thinks that it sounds cool.
In "Thor" Vol. 5 #1, however, the God of Thunder asks in the middle of a scuffle with the Sub-Mariner
what his battle cry really means.
Namor replies, "It means I'm going to feed your sorry Asgardian hide to the biggest sharks
I can find!"
So there you have it.
Mystery solved.
Just like how Agent Phil Coulson popped up in various Marvel Studios projects during
Phase One, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has been all over Phase Four.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus' mysterious character first appeared in "Falcon and the Winter Soldier"
on Disney+ as she recruited disgraced soldier John Walker to her cause and dubbed him U.S. Agent.
"We're not going to need a Captain America.
We're going to need a U.S. Agent."
Then, she meets Yelena Belova at her sister's grave in order to give the new Black Widow
her next mission, which unfolds in "Hawkeye."
In each of those appearances, we don't learn anything about this Nick Fury-esque figure
other than the fact that she is a part of an organization with interests in superhumans.
However, thanks to "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," we now know that this organization
is the CIA.
Furthermore, True Believers find out in this movie that Val is actually a high-ranking
official in the intelligence agency.
This detail should make things interesting as we progress towards the upcoming Phase
Five film "Thunderbolts," which features a team that is traditionally made up of former
Marvel Comics villains.
The other thing that we learn about de Fontaine in her latest MCU appearance is that she was
once married to Martin Freeman's Everett Ross, but they have since divorced and continue
to work together at the CIA.
This arrangement appears to be going smoothly for the former husband and wife ... Until
the events of this movie play out, that is.
Back in the summer of 2022, we learned that Daniel Kaluuya would not be joining the cast
of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" due to scheduling conflicts with Jordan Peele's "Nope."
Although, the award-winning actor is still playing around in at least one corner of the
Marvel world, as he has recently signed on to voice Hobart "Hobie" Brown, A.K.A.
Spider-Punk, in the highly anticipated animated sequel "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."
But that doesn't mean that his "Black Panther" character has been completely forgotten.
In the MCU, Kaluuya plays W'Kabi, the former head of security for Wakanda's Border Tribe
who sided with Killmonger when he ascended to the throne.
He is also Okoye's husband and one of T'Challa's closest friends, so that betrayal hit even harder.
While he doesn't physically appear in the new movie, Queen Ramonda mentions him in a
scene with Okoye and reveals that W'Kabi is currently being held prisoner in a Wakandan
jail to atone for his actions.
While it's possible that we could see him again in the future, it seems unlikely since
treason carries a hefty sentence, and Kaluuya's schedule is quickly filling up with exciting projects.
The size-shifting Avenger Ant-Man is mentioned in the news ticker shown onscreen during one
of Anderson Cooper's broadcasts in the film.
This tidbit on the ticker shared that the hero is currently touring to promote his memoir
titled "Look Out For The Little Guy."
Without a doubt, his appearance on "This Powered Life" was a part of this promotional tour.
As we learned in "Ms. Marvel," the episode of that podcast titled "Big Me Little Me:
A Scott Lang Interview" was how Kamala Khan and much of the MCU discovered all the details
from the epic battle between Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Thanos' nefarious forces from "Avengers: Endgame."
Hopefully the tour continues in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" so we can find out
how exactly Ant-Man ended up in the Broadway smash hit "Rogers: The Musical" despite not
actually being present for the Battle of New York.