One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Civil War is why the heck Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther is in it. After all, this is a story about Captain America battling government oversight. What the heck does that have to do with Wakanda?
Well according to Umberto Gonzalez of Heroic Hollywood (formerly of LatinoReview), it may have to do with a mutual “friend.”
Potential spoilers obviously.
How will Black Panther fit into the Civil War storyline?
According to his source, Black Panther get involved because he is on the hunt for the Winter Soldier, aka Bucky Barnes.
Bucky seemingly died in the original Captain America, only to be brought back in The Winter Soldier as a brainwashed HYDRA assassin. He’s since broken ranks with that group, and was last seen exploring a museum exhibit dedicated to his former ally Steve Rogers. Bucky was briefly mentioned again Avengers: Age of Ultron, with the Falcon mentioning that he’s still chasing down cold leads on him.
It seems he won’t be the only one though, with Captain America/Falcon and Black Panther each separately trying to find the guy.
Why would Black Panther want to find the Winter Soldier?
The wording on the report specifically says “on the hunt,” which seems to imply that Black Panther isn’t looking to have a friendly chat.
In the comics, Black Panther’s father, King T’Chaka, was murdered by Ulsses Klaw, a character introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Could the Winter Soldier have something to do with this? Perhaps he was the hired gun that Klaw used to take out the king, allowing him to smuggle out that cache of Vibranium.
Either way, it sounds like Black Panther and the Winter Soldier’s relationship is fairly antagonistic, we just don’t know why yet.
It’s worth noting that Anthony Mackie’s Falcon was spotted filming scenes on those Atlanta sets. One has to wonder if perhaps that location has something to do with it.
Captain America: Civil War is out on May 6, 2016.
