Abstract

One of the issues for T'Challa is how to respond to the refugees from broken African states while maintaining the isolationist interests of Wakanda. By the end of the film, T'Challa embraces a more complex form of responsibility that is closer to what Hannah Arendt envisions. In the throne room Eric Killmonger says, "It's about two billion people all over the world that looks like us, but their lives are a lot harder." With Killmonger's death, T'Challa begins to direct Wakandan resources and technologies towards international social outreach to rectify the failures of generations of his ancestors. The argument between T'Challa and Killmonger is unusual within the superhero genre; the villain wins and compels the hero to take a dramatic turn. Killmonger seems to advocate killing millions of people, presumably white people, so that the world can start over with the Black people "on top."