Heartwarming / Black Panther (2018)

All spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution.

"Wakanda Forever."

• Despite knowing full well what he’s there for and why, T’Chaka takes one final chance to greet N’Jobu as a brother.
• Nakia prevents T'Challa from attacking a young conscript of the slaver gang, pointing out he's as much a victim as the women they kidnapped and tells them afterwards to bring him home to his village.
  • In turn, T'Challa becomes shy and gentle in Nakia's presence. Not even the suit's scary exterior can hide it.
  • Nakia is initially irritated that T'Challa ruined her mission to take down the slaver gang, but the moment he informs her of his father's death and his desire to have her be present when he's crowned king the next day, she immediately agrees to return home for his sake.
• Okoye fondly remarking "we are home" as she and the rest of the Royal Entourage arrive back at Wakanda; especially since she's so serious, we see her happy returning home.
• When T'Challa is left alone with Ramonda after Shuri and the others head off to prepare for the ceremony, T'Challa takes the time to warmly ask her how she’s feeling. It’s a sweet moment showing how much he respects and loves his mother, and she returns in kind, assuring him that T'Chaka is with them and that she’s proud of her son, and ready for him to finally take the throne.
• T'Challa's coronation and baptism into becoming Black Panther. Everyone's chanting his name and dancing happily.
• When M'Baku finally surrenders the challenge, his warriors don't hesitate to help their beaten leader up. Losing the challenge did nothing to dent the Jabari's respect for M'Baku, especially because he was convinced to yield for his tribe's sake. He and the Jabari then quietly accept witnessing T'Challa getting crowned victor and king. This compared to his comic book counterpart Man-Ape where he was a villainous character who wouldn't hesitate to fight dirty and use cheap tactics to get his way.
• T'Challa and Shuri sharing a Secret Handshake. Between the film's Darker and Edgier tone and the tragic figure T'Challa was portrayed as in Captain America: Civil War, it's quite welcomed to see the future king of Wakanda behave casually with a personal confidant. They have such a sweet sibling relationship.
  • In the same scene, Shuri creates a pair of self-tying shoes that cancel out the noise of his footsteps. She specifically mentions that she based the idea on similar shoes from Back to the Future Part II, a movie she noted as being one their father loved. They're Shuri's personal tribute to T'Chaka's memory. Not as the king of Wakanda, but as the father who bonded with his children over things like films.
  • T'Challa's protectiveness over Shuri throughout the entire film is this. If there's one thing you don't do, it's harm T'Challa's little sister.
• Everett Ross has just met Nakia and knows she's a badass warrior, but the minute Klaue's Krew ambushes his interrogation, Ross immediately pushes Nakia to the ground and shields her with his body. Then we find out he's been shot in the spine and he's clearly dying in agony. He has no idea the technology exists that can save his mobility or just his life. Nakia's distraught reaction and refusal to abandon him, even if it means letting the CIA know too much about Wakanda, is an act of faith in Ross's inherent worth despite his earlier...American-ness. Adding to this, T'Challa deciding to halt the chase for Klaue in order to heal his wounds.
• T'Challa sharing with Nakia how his father not only killed his own brother (even to defend Zuri) but abandoned Erik. Even though she's still his "ex" at this point, he trusts her enough with this secret.
  • Fridge-heartwarming: Why isn't he telling Shuri? Because it hits too close to home. So as her brother, he doesn't want his little sister burdened with the secret.
• Zuri offering that Erik kill him instead of T'Challa, especially when it occurs that it's his way of repaying T'Chaka for saving his life in 1992. Sure it backfires on him when Erik wounds T'Challa anyway, but he still tried to protect T'Challa as though he were his own son.
  • More than that, he did succeed! T'Challa was about to be cut down instead of thrown off a waterfall before the distraction. Being thrown allows him to be found in the river by the Jabari tribe and still be clinging to life.
• While Erik becoming the king temporarily is a bad thing, he gets a Pet the Dog moment in the spirit realm, where he sees his father one last time. N'Jobu is happy to see him again but saddened about his son's destructive path, encouraging him to find another way. Erik starts crying as he all but says he misses his dad, and you know he would hug him if he felt comfortable enough.
• M'Baku saving T'Challa's life as payment for T'Challa sparing him during their fight earlier.
  • He also decides to reunite T'Challa with his friends and family when they come seeking aid, even though he easily could have taken the heart-shaped herb for himself.
• In regards to the above, T'Challa returning to life, much to the joy and relief of Shuri, Ramonda, Nakia, and Ross. Even M'Baku is somewhat happy.
• Shuri presenting T'Challa with the necklace containing the Black Panther uniform, as she and the others pledge their support;
  Shuri: The Black Panther lives. And when he fights for the fate of Wakanda I will be right there beside him.
  Nakia: As will I.
  Ross: I'm in too. [the others glance at Ross] What? You're going to need all the help you can get.
  M'Baku: [yawning dramatically] Are you done?
  • Ross offering to help feels particularly heartwarming since he doesn't have a personal investment in Wakanda the way the others do. A cynic could argue that he wants to stop the monster the CIA created with Killmonger, but he genuinely seems ready to help T'Challa in his time of need.
• Another for M'Baku. Before leaving to confront Killmonger and win back his throne, T'Challa asks M'Baku to protect his mother. Though he's already fulfilled his debt to T'Challa, M'Baku doesn't hesitate to promise him that his mother will be kept safe.
  M'Baku: No harm will come to her; you have my word.
  • It is reflected in the earlier challenge, no matter how hostile M'Baku and the Jabari are to him, T'Challa has an incredible amount of respect for him and how important he is to his tribe.
    T'Challa: Yield! Don't make me kill you. You have fought with honor, now yield! Your people need you. Yield, man!
  • M'Baku has proven himself brave and valiant in battle with T'Challa, and has no fear of death. He is also a noble and righteous chieftain. When T'Challa compelled him to surrender in the ritual combat, M'Baku does so for the good of his tribe, despite his pride. This is a tragic contrast to Killmonger, who upon being defeated by T'Challa, chooses death, as he has no tribe or family (one that cares for him, anyway); basically nothing to live for.
• The look of unrestrained joy on Okoye's face when T'Challa reveals his survival and returns to battle Killmonger for the throne. It shows how much she cares for her king both as a subject and a friend that she is so delighted to see him back.
  Okoye: He lives!
• The Final Battle gives Everett Ross another moment. His reaction to the ship damaging the forcefield window directly in front of him to only 50% effectiveness while he's trying to shoot down the cargo planes transporting vibranium weapons around the world? A gulp, and then the question "How much time do I have?" Once again, he's willing to sacrifice his life, this time for the millions of strangers who will be killed if Killmonger gets what he wants. Thankfully, he survives, but the implication that he was willing to lay down his life to get the job done is clear.
• Despite his earlier statement, M'Baku leads his tribe to aid T'Challa and finally joining the rest of Wakanda.
  • His and the Jabari's arrival prevents the Border Tribe from closing in on a surrounded Okoye, Shuri, and Nakia (and presumably the rest of the outnumbered Doras off-screen). Later when M'Baku is about to be run down by W'Kabi on his rhino, Okoye returns the favor by putting herself in between M'Baku and the rhino, knowing it would stop to not harm her.
    • The way she smiles when the rhino stops and licks her face like a dog just makes the moment even sweeter.
• T'Challa taking a dying Killmonger to see the sunset, as his father told him Wakandan sunsets are the most beautiful in the world.
  • No matter how many cruel acts he's committed, Erik still has a heart in there to appreciate the sunset as "beautiful".
  • T'Challa offers to heal Killmonger. Killmonger refuses, knowing he'd spend the rest of his life in prison, and removes the blade in his chest, letting himself bleed out. T'Challa doesn't try to stop him. Think about this in the context of the Civil War. There, he stopped Zemo's suicide so that the man could face life imprisonment for his crimes against humanity. Here, he lets Erik do it. It's either indicative of the respect he holds for Erik over Zemo, or indicative of Character Development on T'Challa's part, but either way, it's a hell of a powerful moment.
  • When Killmonger finally dies, T'Challa arranges his arms to be placed in the Wakanda "W" salute position, giving him a piece of Wakandan culture which he was denied his whole life.
• After possibly over a thousand years of being pariahs, the Jabari are accepted as part of Wakanda, and M'Baku himself now sits at the council.
• The mid-credits sequence has T'Challa deciding to step up, reach out to the world, and shoulder the responsibility of protecting it and making it a better place.
  T'Challa: [adressing The United Nations] Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We cannot. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we as brothers and sisters on this earth should treat each other. Now more than ever the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.
  • Even more heartwarming when you consider Wakanda's new mission of "building bridges in times of crisis" will play a huge factor in what's to come. In a roundabout way, Killmonger's actions did end up saving Wakanda and the rest of the world.
  • Also, T'Challa saying he is the son of T'Chaka shows that, despite his father's Dark Secret and the What the Hell, Hero? speech he rightfully gave him in the spirit plane, he still loves his father.
  • Ross sitting in the back of the audience during T'Challa's speech, smiling in support.
• The post-credits scene shows Shuri overseeing Bucky Barnes' recovery since the end of Captain America: Civil War. Not one for formalities, Bucky even insists the princess call him by his nickname.
  • Furthermore, it's a show of the kindness and trust T'Challa has given to him, that Bucky (who could previously be turned into a ruthless killing machine with the right words) is trusted with being around Shuri and several small children. The kids even affectionately nickname him White Wolf.
  • Note that Shuri also refers to him respectfully as "Sergeant Barnes", in contrast to her flippant manner in the rest of the film. She can be a bratty little sister to T'Challa, but she has tact when she needs it.
  • The fact that Bucky is the most contented that he's looked since World War II. He's arguably been through an even worse Trauma Conga Line than Steve. He was experimented on, forced for seventy years to be HYDRA's puppet assassin and subsequently going through excruciatingly painful memory wipes, only to remember every victim when he finally gets his memories back. Even worse was confronting the vengeful fury of one of his victims' children (Tony). He's finally found some peace after the hell that he's been through.
  • And, of course, there is what this entire scene means. During Civil War's mid-credits scene, he said he was going to stay on ice until they found a way to get rid of HYDRA's brainwashing. Wakanda figured that out (in a matter of weeks, mind), they didn't even hesitate to let him have it, and now he's off the ice. He's Bucky Barnes again.
• A deleted scene of the mid-credits scene shows T'Challa having a conversation with Ross prior to his speech. Having seen Wakanda's technology firsthand, Ross expresses worries to T'Challa that revealing the truth of Wakanda to the world might attract a lot of enemies. When the king states he's going through with it anyway, Ross respects his decision and will try to help him anyway he can. Before he leaves, Ross wishes him good luck in Xhosa though he mixes up some of the words. While finding it funny, T'Challa appreciates the gesture, assures him that his effort was very close and thanks him. This shows how much respect the two of them have for each other. In fact, the two of them also address each other by their first names showing how close the two have become.

Behind the Scenes

• When Chadwick Boseman suddenly passed away of colon cancer on August 28th, 2020, the outpouring from actors, celebrities, politicians and millions of fans showed how his performance had touched countless lives.
  • The tweet announcing his passing, as of August 31, 2020, has more than 7.4 million likes, far and away the most liked Tweet of all time. For comparison, the previous holder had "only" 4.3 million likes-and it was by President Obama. And speaking of whom...
  • In the weekend following his passing, ABC changed their Sunday evening programming for an airing of "Black Panther" followed by a tribute to Chadwick. The 40-minute long tribute featured video messages from almost every MCU actor, including Simu Liu, who would soon be known as Shang Chi, and Angelina Jolie, who's going to play Thena in the future Eternals.
  • On November 29th 2020, Chadwick's birthday, the Disney+ version of Black Panther received a brand new Marvel Studios logo paying tribute to Chadwick, similar to the one made for Stan Lee in Captain Marvel (2019). This version of the logo would later be used for Wakanda Forever as part of the film's tributes to Boseman.