Black Panther: The Young Prince

One of the defining features of the world of the Black Panther is the conflict that exists between technological advancements and tradition throughout Wakanda. In these comics, the technological advancements are recent, achieved under the rule of the young king T’Challa. However, these advancements are often at odds with the traditions of the country, as T’Challa’s people struggle to adapt. The contrast between these two aspects of society is often noticed first by visitors to Wakanda, like the Fantastic Four: “Though the Wakanda Tribe lives in the tradition of their forefathers, they possess modern, super-scientific wonders we can only marvel at! There’s an incredible mystery here—and only the Black Panther himself knows all the answers!” (25). When Reed Richards wonders at the coexistence of tradition and technology, he replicates Western doubts about African culture. The Fantastic Four are shocked that such technology can exist in Africa, within a nation that upholds its tribal traditions. The coexistence of the futuristic and the traditional is the primary way in which Afrofuturism challenges racist notions in Black Panther. Wakanda’s technology grants the nation more independence and agency, all to the disbelief of the outside world, which does not think it a possibility.