The Marvel Cameo in Black Panther 2 Matters More Than Any Other in the MCU

Thankfully, it was something else altogether. As Shuri arrives in a purple encrusted version of the Wakandan throne room, a space where she saw her brother ascend to the role of leader of Wakanda (and where her mother died), most of us thought we’d get that tearful farewell to Ramonda. As Shuri approaches the throne, she even sees long hair from over the back of the chair, suggesting her mother has returned to her.

… And yet, it turned out to be Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), the wayward cousin who briefly visited the Ancestral Plane before joining it permanently.

On a certain level, it’s the typical Marvel Studios cameo in which an old familiar face returns to take a brief bow and likely receive a round of applause from audiences. On the other hand, it works at something much more poignant and provocative that writer-director Ryan Coogler is going for in Wakanda Forever.

Shuri is of course horrified and outraged to see the man who attempted to murder her brother as the spirit that greets her on the other side. Worse still, she has good reason to blame Killmonger for the death of T’Challa. If Erik had not burned all the organic Heart-Shaped Herbs after his own afterlife rendezvous, Shuri would’ve had the resources to save T’Challa’s life (in the MCU, anyway).

Killmonger stole T’Challa’s throne and murdered her brother, and even after they were able to bring T’Challa back, Killmonger’s actions indirectly allowed the previous Black Panther to die again. Why should he be allowed to greet her now?

Killmonger doesn’t defend his actions; he merely points to the reasons he’s here: Erik represents everything T’Challa chose not to be, and everything that Shuri could yet become. T’Challa had a naturally diplomatic disposition; he sought to build bridges between the outside world and Wakanda, and when he had the opportunity to execute the man who murdered his father, he chose justice instead of vengeance by allowing Zemo (Daniel Brühl) to stand trial. Given how Marvel Studios has rather glibly returned to Brühl’s admittedly entertaining performance in Disney+ shows and upcoming movies since then, preventing the character from facing true consequences for his evil deeds, perhaps Killmonger has a point.