Since first appearing on screen in 2018's Black Panther,
the African nation of Wakanda has become one of the most iconic settings in the MCU. But what's
the real story behind T'Challa's homeland? This is the history of Wakanda explained.
Everyone knows Wakanda as the civilization that discovered vibranium.
The true origins of the country, however,
are far more complicated than that — and are rooted in a deep and mysterious mysticism.
Wakanda was originally home to a collection of beasts known as the Originators.
Among these ancient creatures were beings such as the serpentine Simbi [SIM-bee], the
ape-like Vanyan, the arachnoid Anansi and the insectoid swarm known as the Creeping Doom.
Eventually, ancient human beings were drawn to the area, where they soon encountered these strange
beasts. They all lived in harmony for a while, but the Originators balked when humans started
to abuse the land's natural resources. A deadly conflict ensued, and among the human combatants
arose heroes that ascended to become the Gods of Wakanda — otherwise known as the Orisha. With
the help of the Orisha, the Originators were defeated and banished to the Nether-Realms,
forever losing the land they had called home. Wakanda was founded shortly after.
For years, the country developed pretty much just like any other ancient civilization.
But soon enough, thanks to a little cosmic mischief, a rock from outer
space would land in Wakanda — one that would forever change the Marvel Universe.
In the early days of Wakanda, the country's ancient denizens learned to manipulate storm
clouds, in order to funnel cosmic energy for their own ends. But this practice had an unintended side
effect — it caused the Wakandans to pull down a meteor from space. This meteor contained a
metal that absorbed both sound and energy, which the world would later come to call vibranium.
The first tribe to be brave enough to investigate the meteor crash site was led by Bashenga,
Wakanda's biggest and baddest warrior. Bashenga immediately saw the value of this new substance
and decided to put it to use in his tribe's weapons, giving them an edge over their foes.
Nowadays, vibranium is one of the most important aspects of the Marvel universe.
For one thing, it's what Captain America's shield is constructed from.
"The most versatile substance on the planet… and they used it to make a frisbee."
But the use of the metal helped modern Wakanda become the beacon of technological
advancement that it is today — not to mention the most well-defended country on the planet.
While the benefits of vibranium are clear, its discovery set off
a chain of events that would forever change the landscape of the world.
It also ushered in a series of unintended and deadly consequences...
Although Bashenga's brutal methods may have seemed suited toward a simpler,
more primitive time, he ended up being one of the most important figures in Wakandan history.
Bashenga first believed the vibranium meteor to be a gift from the gods.
Unfortunately, his tribe quickly found that exposure to untreated vibranium can mutate
living things on Earth into grotesque monsters — which they named Demon Spirits. In order to combat
these new foes, Bashenga prayed to the Panther God to give him the strength to defeat them,
thus making him the first of the proper Black Panthers. Basically, if you were born in ancient
Wakanda and ended up being exposed to a little too much vibranium, there was a good chance you'd
turn into a monster and a super-powered panther would show up and beat the living hell out of you.
Now, it was later revealed that there had actually been a prehistoric Black Panther, but the lineage
that ends with King T'Challa got its start with Bashenga's battles against the Demon Spirits.
Eventually, Bashenga united the region's various tribes and formed the singular nation of Wakanda.
The radiation from the vibranium meteor didn't just affect people, though.
It also had an impact on the flora and fauna of the surrounding area — hence
the special herbs that Black Panthers consume to give them their powers.
After becoming the first Black Panther, Bashenga recognized the destructive power
of the vibranium meteor and closed it off to the rest of the kingdom. In the process,
he also established the Black Panther Cult, who swore to use the power of
the meteor to protect the people of Wakanda and stop the Demon Spirits from spreading.
But while Wakanda's Black Panther cult is obviously the most prominent, it's not the only
one, and the Wakandans worship a number of other animal gods. These groups include the Lion Cult,
the Crocodile Cult, the Hyena Clan, and the most dangerous of all: the White Gorilla Cult.
T'Challa's rival M'Baku, who is otherwise known as Man-Ape, would lead the people
of his village in consuming the flesh of the mutated white gorillas of the region,
gaining their super strength for themselves. M'Baku would eventually use this power to
overthrow the Black Panther and briefly take the throne of Wakanda for himself.
"If the world found out what we truly are, and what we possess — we could lose our way of life."
Throughout history, many have tried to invade Wakanda — and many have failed, too. All kinds
of armies, ranging from the Romans to the Knights Templar to hordes of demons from Hell have made
their way to the region, and were each thoroughly beaten back. However, in the 1800s, the country
faced its greatest threat yet. Led by a Belgian colonel named Klaue, a group of white soldiers
targeted the area after an otherwise successful conquest of South Africa. Luckily, they were no
match for Wakandan technology, which caused their guns to misfire. Colonel Klaue himself
was killed during the invasion — but that wasn't the last Wakanda had seen of the Klaue family.
Unfortunately for the Wakandans, Klaue had an equally deplorable son — and when World
War II came around, Colonel Fritz Klaue couldn't join the Nazis fast enough.
He made his way to Wakanda in an attempt to impress Hitler, only to be welcomed by
the then-current Black Panther, King Azzuri, and shown the secrets of its vibranium. Then,
when his real intentions became clear, Klaue Jr. was beaten back to Germany.
But this event put Wakanda firmly in the crosshairs of both the Axis and Allies.
That's when Azzuri and his son, T'Chaka, enlisted the help of Captain America to keep the Nazis,
led by Baron Strucker and the Red Skull, from taking over the country. The battle against the
Nazis was the first modern invasion that Wakanda had fought — and against a technologically
advanced and highly knowledgeable enemy, no less. It was this war that taught a young
T'Chaka of the dangers of the outside world… and how desperately they coveted Wakanda's secrets.
Many stories that involve the Black Panther tend to pick up during the reign of T'Chaka — largely
because he was perhaps the most important ruler the county had seen up to that point.
Certainly, King T'Chaka was a significant influence on
the country's decision to keep itself cut off from the world.
Raised in the turbulent times of World War II, T'Chaka saw what happens when the outside world
discovers Wakanda for what it truly is, and how it almost always ends with the spilling
of Wakandan blood. His solution was to conceal Wakanda from the outside world,
tricking everyone into thinking it had no more to offer than any other African country.
T'Chaka would sell a little vibranium technology here and there in order to keep the lights on,
while at the same time secretly developing the country's sharpest minds.
To this end, T'Chaka developed a system in which Wakanda would send its best
and brightest to study abroad, so that they could bring their knowledge back to Wakanda
and help it thrive in secrecy. Unfortunately, things fell apart when Ulysses S. Klaue,
a descendent of the Belgian colonel, lead an assassination mission into Wakanda.
During Klaue's attack, T'Chaka was killed protecting his young son, T'Challa.
In return, T'Challa avenged his father — by shattering Klaue's right arm.
In the comics, when T'Chaka died, T'Challa was just 13 years old — far too young to
take the throne. As per Wakandan custom, his uncle S'Yan [suh-YAHN] performed the ritual
and became the next Black Panther, acting as king regent in his nephew's stead.
While S'Yan kept things in check, T'Challa went to study in Europe and the United States.
He would eventually gain a Ph.D. in physics from Oxford University,
before finally coming of age and returning to Wakanda to take his rightful place on the throne.
"Wakanda forever!"
T'Challa's homecoming was briefly waylaid by the organization known as A.I.M.,
who captured him while he was looking for the heart-shaped herb that would
give him the power of the Black Panther. Luckily, he managed to escape with the help
of a childhood friend and went on to beat his uncle in the infamous Wakandan combat ritual.
Once all was said and done, T'Challa had gained the superhuman powers of
the Black Panther — as well as the heavy responsibility of ruling his secret kingdom.
Many of the early Black Panther stories involve T'Challa grappling with his loyalty
to his father's legacy as Wakanda grows and prospers. Having developed new kinds
of technology and welcomed a number of new superheroes, the country eventually became
impossible to hide. Under King T'Challa, Wakanda finally revealed itself to the world.
"We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."
One of the most infamous events in Marvel history is the Secret Invasion, which saw an alien race
known as the Skrulls attempt to invade Earth by posing as the planet's key leaders and heroes.
Inevitably, the Skrulls quickly identified Wakanda's importance,
and wasted no time in infiltrating the country.
Fortunately, Black Panther got wise to their ruse and took steps to ensure that he could
pull a fast one on the invaders. Eventually, things came to a head,
and the Skrull invasion of Wakanda was reduced to a good old-fashioned battle.
In the end, the Wakandan army won out, and sent a ship full of Skrull corpses
back to their home planet, with words of warning written in blood on the walls.
This war against the Skrulls taught T'Challa that Wakanda's advanced tech
wouldn't be enough to save it as the universe grew bigger. And he was right.
Now knowing that he desperately needed new allies, T'Challa found his chance to open
Wakanda's borders when the Avengers engaged in an all-out war with the X-Men. This war soon
made its way to Wakanda when Namor, the king of Atlantis, managed to unleash a devastating
tsunami on the country, while possessed by the galactic power of the Dark Phoenix.
The destruction was widespread, and T'Challa was filled with rage.
He vowed revenge on Namor and became absolutely consumed with his quest for vengeance.
Despite being outmatched by the Dark Phoenix, T'Challa and his friends managed
to stop Namor while there was still some semblance of Wakanda to salvage.
T'Challa's sister Shuri led the reconstruction of Wakanda, but the Wakandans never forgot or forgave
Namor and his Atlanteans. A war broke out between the two nations, but, partly because Wakanda was
still weak, a somewhat contrite Namor offered the country generous peace terms. Shuri rejected
the terms, however, and led a successful campaign to invade and destroy Atlantis.
Later, when Thanos came to Earth, Namor tricked him into attacking Wakanda,
allowing the Mad Titan and his Black Order to take part of the country. For the first time
ever under a Black Panther king, Wakanda had lost a portion of its precious land.
Following these numerous tragedies, social and political upheaval began to take shape
as people lost faith in King T'Challa and his court. Two revolutionary factions emerged: the
Midnight Angels and the People. An offshoot of the Dora Milaje, the Midnight Angels began practicing
vigilante justice in the face of a government and king that seemingly couldn't get the job done.
The People were more like religious zealots, who carried out terrorist attacks designed to
further destabilize the Wakandan government. Meanwhile, the Black Panther fought to ensure
the survival of the legacy of his ancestors — and keep his subjects safe at any cost.
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