We are most open to change when we are at our most vulnerable. In Marvel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, this was the fork in the road that each fictional character and real-life actor had to take. In order to make a sudden tragedy seem plausible on screen while also dealing with it in his own life, director Ryan Coogler was given the impossible task before starting the movie.

As a result, viewers are treated to one of the most realistic superhero movies in recent memory, which serves as a reminder that nothing is truly lost forever. One of the most pressing concerns that spectators had before watching the movie was how it would deal with Chadwick Boseman's passing. The movie begins by addressing this concern. By having T'Challa pass away in a similar manner as the actor—from the onset of a severe illness—Coogler and Marvel handled the difficult circumstance in the most tasteful yet painful way imaginable.

Shuri has an alternate perspective. She is engaged in a moral struggle between her scientific rationalism and the mystical beliefs of Wakanda, the very thing that gives the Black Panther their powers, in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She is also engaged in an external conflict with Namor and the inhabitants of Allen. Shuri begins the movie by asking Bast, the fictitious Black Panther deity if she will believe in her if she saves her brother. When this doesn't happen, Shuri is forced to deal with T'Challa's death while also rejecting Wakanda's religious customs, which sends her into a downward spiral.

The different ways each character deals with their grief is the central theme of Wakanda Forever. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Lookmovie" Everyone handles it differently, just like in real life. Shuri buries herself in her work to cope with T'Challa's passing. Despite having already lost half of her family, Queen Ramonda, played by the incredible Angela Bassett, still manages to rule Wakanda by relying on her faith. Namor, who was exposed to colonialism and the evils of man at a young age, handles grief by taking revenge. The only thing these characters have in common is pain, and how that pain manifests ultimately determines how they will fare.

Namor will go to any lengths to protect his people as well, but by using force to ensure that his people are never colonized once more, he ultimately puts them in danger. And Shuri lets her anger control her choices all the way to the end, almost losing herself in the pain and grief she never acknowledges. During Shuri's pursuit of vengeance against Namor after his siege on Wakanda, Wakanda Forever errs, if there is ever a moment where it does, it is in how swiftly Shuri changes from mournful to wrathful. However, just as in real life, there is no set pattern for how someone should respond when faced with a tremendous loss.

Shuri has experienced too much in a short amount of time to still be regarded as a child, as M'Baku informs her later in the movie. By the end of the movie, she doesn't follow tradition or become what people expect of her because the Black Panther mantle and her people's traditions, which she doesn't fully believe in, are thrust upon her. The only victory she actually needs is the one she achieves by choosing her own path and coping with her grief as best she can.

Boseman is no longer in the movie, but his influence is still felt all the way through. Beyond the thrilling aerial battles with Namor, the reveal of the Midnight Angels, and all the stunning images of Wakanda and Tl'lcn, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the standout of Marvel Phase 4 because it is not dependent on these elements to be effective. We still end with Shuri embracing her mother's mystic traditions and being able to sit with her grief, despite the fact that she initially finds it difficult to grasp the Wakandan belief that death is not an ending but a stepping-off point.

Other than Black Panther, there was no need for a wild post-credit scene to set up upcoming MCU films. The movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be remembered for picking up the broken pieces left behind by loss and putting them back together into a stirring ode to everything Chadwick Boseman created and was able to leave behind. The Black Panther mask may change hands, but Chadwick and T'Challa's legacy endures forever.