Who is the Black Panther 2 villain? Every superhero movie needs a compelling villain. What are the Batman movies without the Joker or Spider-Man without the Green Goblin?
Marvel villains especially, aren’t just crucial in driving the plot forward and raising the stakes; they also oftentimes have complex backstories of their own and can tell us a lot about society as a whole and uncover a new, unexpected dark side to our favourite protagonist.
Played by Black Panther cast member Michael B. Jordan, Killmonger, the villain of the first Black Panther movie, managed to tick all of these boxes: making things all the more complicated by the fact he was the cousin of T’Challa. Wakanda Forever once again raises the stakes with a complicated bad guy, so here’s what you need to know about the Black Panther 2 villain.
Who is the Black Panther 2 villain?
The main villain of Black Panther 2 should come as no surprise — it’s revealed in the trailer for the Marvel movie that the main villain of the film is Namor the Sub-Mariner, a mutant with the ability to survive both on land and sea and the ruler of the underwater kingdom, Talocan.
In the Marvel comics, Namor is the ruler of Atlantis, but the DC movies got there first with Aquaman — but for all intents and purposes, Talocan isn’t all that different from Atlantis, and similar to how Atlantis and Wakanda clash in the comics, we see that happen with Talocan and Wakanda in Black Panther 2.
For a long time, Wakanda thought that they were the only nation to have access to Vibranium — but little did they know that the Talocan had it, too. Unfortunately, this makes them a target for the US Government, who find out via Riri Williams’ Vibranium detector that there is Vibranium underwater.
This leads to the Government into conflict with the Talocan as they try to gain access to their Vibranium, although, at the time, they believe that it is Wakanda they are fighting with. With the Talocan’s peaceful way of life being under threat, Namor decides that the only way to protect them is by killing “the scientist” Riri, who is otherwise known as Ironheart.
Namor and his army’s pursuit of Ironheart ends up putting him in direct conflict with Shuri and Wakanda, who protects Riri given that she is, you know, literally a teenager. He’s so determined that killing Riri is the only way to protect Talocan he severely damages Wakanda with a powerful flood that kills and endangers countless citizens.
This, unsurprisingly, causes Shuri to want revenge, so both sides gear up for an epic war of Vibranium nations across land and sea.
Are there any other villains in Black Panther 2?
Of course, Namor is the main villain of Black Panther 2, but even before he is introduced, other nations are still trying to harm and intimidate Wakanda in order to get their Vibranium, with Ramonda exposing the French Ambassador for coordinating an attack on Wakanda during a global summit.
There’s also the fact that throughout the movie, the US Government have proven that they’re more than happy to get their hands dirty and engage in combat with who they think is Wakanda if it grants them access to that sweet, sweet, underwater Vibranium.
Against his boss’ wishes, CIA Agent Everett Ross communicates with Wakanda throughout the movie, warning them of any unsavoury plans and schemes from the higher-ups, but his ex-wife and colleague end up turning him in and arresting him for this, although Okoye ends up breaking him out the police van.
In a lot of ways, these different countries’ desire for Vibranium and their willingness to turn to violence to obtain it suggests that they are the true villains of the film because Namor’s primary motivation wasn’t to take over Wakanda but to protect the Talocan from the US Government.
So, with the Government as an underlying villain, Black Panther 2 continues to provide an intelligent commentary on colonisation and proves that Wakanda’s fears of attack if their possession of Vibranium was discovered wasn’t exactly unfounded.
But does Black Panther 2 have a post-credit scene? There’s only one way to find out. You can watch Black Panther 2 in theatres from November 11. It’s important to remember that Black Panther doesn’t just have villains. It has heroes, too, so check out our guide to the best Black Panther characters. Or, if you’re looking to learn more about the future of the MCU, we have an article all about Black Panther 3.