Wakanda’s location has shifted over time and writers have attributed various African inspirations for the story. But the Black Panther’s back story makes clear that the Congo was Lee and Kirby’s imaginative jumping off point for Wakanda.
Some have looked to the Monomutapa civilization of Great Zimbabwe as the inspiration for the Black Panther story. The writer Te-Nehisi Coates, who has penned the storylines for the Black Panther comic since 2016, has also pointed to Ethiopia, a country that defeated Italian forces in 1896 and remained independent during the colonization of Africa, as the inspiration. The movie’s director Ryan Coogler has said that he was influenced in part by his trip to Lesotho. The small kingdom, surrounded on all sides by South Africa, avoided the worst of colonialism.
There’s been perhaps no larger imprint on pop culture to come from the Marvel Cinematic Universe than the fictional, futuristic African nation of Wakanda.
After the massive success of Black Panther in 2018, the movie’s cultural impact was hard to ignore. It allowed generations of viewers who grew up without a superhero of color to finally feel represented, and it also showed a thriving African nation that was completely untouched by the colonizing forces of the world around it.
Wakanda was originally home to a collection of mystical beasts known as the Originators. Among these ancient creatures were beings such as the serpentine Simbi, the ape-like Vanyan, the arachnoid Anansi and the insectoid Creeping Doom, all with rich backstories of their own.
Eventually, ancient human beings were drawn to the area where they encountered these beasts. They lived in harmony for a while, but the Originators balked when humans started to abuse the resources of the land. A grim conflict ensued and among the human combatants arose heroes that ascended to become the Gods of Wakanda or the Orisha, made up of Thoth, Kokou, Mujaji, Ptah, Nyami and Bast.
With the help of the Orisha, the Originators were defeated and banished to the Nether-Realms, forever losing the land they called home. Upon that land, Wakanda was built. That’s surprising for a civilization known for its unabashed freedom and love for its homeland, but the hard truth is that Wakanda is and always will be a land stolen by mankind through blood and conquest.
Eventually, ancient human beings were drawn to the area where they encountered these beasts. They lived in harmony for a while, but the Originators balked when humans started to abuse the resources of the land. A grim conflict ensued and among the human combatants arose heroes that ascended to become the Gods of Wakanda or the Orisha, made up of Thoth, Kokou, Mujaji, Ptah, Nyami and Bast.
With the help of the Orisha, the Originators were defeated and banished to the Nether-Realms, forever losing the land they called home. Upon that land, Wakanda was built. That’s surprising for a civilization known for its unabashed freedom and love for its homeland, but the hard truth is that Wakanda is and always will be a land stolen by mankind through blood and conquest.
