Marvel fans have been anxiously waiting for the new Black Panther film to hit theaters. Most were wondering how the legacy of Black Panther would continue after the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman. How were they going to continue the franchise but honor the legacy of Boseman? Well, we finally get to see that they do both beautifully. They also managed to pack the film full of Black Panther easter eggs and references. Did you spot them all?
WARNING!!!!! There will be spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever!
Early on in the film, we see a research facility in the middle of the ocean trying to find vibranium outside of Wakanda. They send down divers to see if some have been found by their drill that stopped working. One of the specialists that are bought on board to oversee the dive is played by actress Lake Bell. This is not her first trip into the MCU, but it was only in animated form. She provided the voice for Black Widow on the Disney+ series What If . . . ? Sadly, she doesn’t stick around too long as Namor had other plans.
In this film, Namor is revealed to be the leader of the underwater civilization of Talocan. He ruled over an underwater continent with a much more familiar name in the comics. Atlantis. The filmmakers decided to change it to avoid as many similarities as possible with the film Aquaman from DC. Namor actually predates the character of Aquaman in the comics, but when it comes to the films, he debuted second. The film and characters already have a lot of similarities, and both ruling over the realm of Atlantis seemed too much. They named it Talocan after the Aztec underwater realm of Tlalocan.
When M’Baku first arrives in the movie, we see him eating a carrot. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal, it actually reinforces something we learned about his people in the first film. When Ross was before him in his throne room, he threatened to feed him to the village’s children. Ross looked shocked, and M’Baku told him he was only joking. His people are vegetarians. This is a fun nod to the joke, as he is still filling up on vegetables.
Shuri and Okoye head to Cambridge to find Riri Wiliams but are soon running from the FBI. Riri jumps into her homemade Ironman suit and takes to the skies. The whole scene plays as a callback to the original Ironman movie. Her movements are unsteady and jerky. She has a moment where she almost goes into the river before she finally gets the hang of flying. The scene even ends with her pushing the suit to the limit and flying too high before plummeting back to the ground. This mimics Stark’s journey almost perfectly.
Not everyone is filthy rich like Tony Stark was. As seen in Ms. Marvel, Scott Lang had his own podcast detailing his time as a superhero. I’m assuming he got a lot of Me Undies and Casper Mattress sponsorships, but sometimes, when you have a mortgage to pay, you have to do more. During a news broadcast with Anderson Cooper, at the bottom of the screen, a newsticker says that Scott Lang’s new memoir was coming out. A subtle bit of advertising for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
Namor has been ruling Talocan for quite a while. He would need some top leaders he could trust. Luckily the comics have provided him with two such characters for the film. Namora is his cousin in the pages of Marvel. She has similar winged feet but does still have the blue complexion they use in the film. Attuma was Namor’s good friend in the comics until he turned on him and tried to steal the throne for himself. In the film, he seems dedicated to Namor and is one of his best fighters. Wonder if that will change in the future.
One central character missing from the first film is that of W’Kabi, played by Daniel Kaluuya. He was originally going to join the film but had scheduling conflicts while filming Jordan Peele’s Nope. His character is still mentioned. When Okoye is stripped of her rank by Queen Ramonda, she mentions that she took up a spear against her own husband during Killmonger’s attempt to overthrow the Wakandan throne. Ramonda mentions that he turned traitor but is still housed in a local prison. She can visit him anytime she wants, while Ramonda has lost her entire family. Hopefully, he’ll make it back for the third film. It was a fun Black Panther easter egg to at least give him a shout-out.
When Namor recounts his origin, he mentions that he was born a mutant. The use of this word lately in the MCU is pretty significant. When Fox Studios held the rights to the X-Men, Marvel was unable to even use the word ‘mutant’ in any of their movies or TV shows. Now that Disney bought Fox Studios, they are beginning to weave mutants into the MCU. This is also true to the comics. Namor was one of the very first mutants in Marvel comics. He has fought alongside the X-Men on numerous occasions in mutant solidarity.
Waaaay back in Iron Man 2, there was an easter egg concerning Talocan. Or at least now it’s Talocan. Most assumed it was a reference to Atlantis at the time. On a map of superhero locations located in one of the labs that Nick Fury and Tony Stark were working in, we see there is a spot marked in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, fans have wondered when Namor would be making an appearance. It turns out that the location on the map was in the wrong spot.
When Namor gives his rallying speech to his people, he may have cleared up why. He says that they will go to war with the surface and that they will not move again. This could explain that they have moved their entire civilization before after surface dwellers came close to discovering their existence.
T’Challa has a son! A great way to carry on the Black Panther legacy while also showing Shuri that she hasn’t lost all of her family. It’s revealed that his name is Toussaint. At least that’s his Haitian name. He tells his aunt that his Wakandan name is T’Challa. While we know where his Wakandan name came from, his Haitian name also has an interesting history. More than likely, he was named after Haitian general Toussaint Louverture. He fought for his people’s independence from the French during the Haitian Revolution. This means he is named after two great men who fought for their people.
What Black Panther Easter Eggs did you find? Let us know in the comments.