Expectations are high for the next addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the big screen when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be released on November 11, 2022. The promotional pitch is ramping up, especially with the release of the film’s second and likely final trailer. In it, we got our first glimpse of Namor the Submariner flying, and we got our first glimpse of Shuri in full Black Panther mode. But it is Namor we need to talk about and why it is monumental that we have direct confirmation of the mutated origin of his character.
Some background may be necessary for those not so entrenched in the nerdom of mutants within the MCU. The term “mutant” and all the characters cinematically associated with that word were bought by 20th Century Fox in 1993. The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man went to Sony. Namor . film rights were sold to Universal. And while Marvel confirmed in 2016 that Namor was back with Marvel, there was no clear knowledge of the distribution part of the mess.
This type of entanglement is not new to the MCU. Hulk hasn’t had a solo movie since The Incredible Hulk because his distribution rights are owned by Universal, which is why he has only appeared in multiple films as a supporting character rather than as a standalone film.
Namor’s story gets interesting in part with the $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox by The Walt Disney Company in 2019. That meant the rights to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool returned to Marvel (which in 2009 was acquired by Disney). ) — along with the rights to the word ‘mutant’. Namor’s comic origins are that of an Atlantean/human mutant hybrid, and he first debuted in 1939. He is one of Marvel’s original characters, older than Marvel’s publisher name. So cinematically speaking, while it could have appeared after 2016, Marvel was probably sitting with its rights, waiting for the opportunity to introduce a mutant to the MCU.
This brings us to how Marvel has considered extremely carefully how to integrate the highly valuable “mutants” into the MCU.
The MCU mutants we know so far
Fans of the comics and movies waited with bated breath after the 2019 acquisition. They raved about the agreements between Sony and Marvel to integrate Spider-Man into the MCU, which has been insanely successful for both partners.
As Marvel pondered introducing mutants to the MCU, fans grabbed a hint of an explanation or teased where mutants might be. When the multiverse entered the MCU, many thought this was the way to introduce mutants, especially when Doctor Strange encountered the Illuminati in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. In the comics, Wanda Maximoff is a mutant, and her storyline is historically complex and powerful (search for “House of M” for more). As her roots in the MCU were reworked and eliminated her mutated origins (along with Pietro), it wasn’t until Disney+ shows that we first heard that fateful word.
At the end of Mrs. Marvel episode six, “No Normal,” Bruno reveals to Kamala that while testing her blood, he discovered a “genetic mutation” that sets her apart from her family. Shortly after the series finale aired, star Iman Vellani confirmed in a Reddit AMA that Kamala Khan is in fact the first mutant of the MCU. This reveal was a huge deal for fans online, and it was an even bigger deal for the future of the MCU, changing the landscape of how mutants would fold into the big-screen adaptations.
A recent appearance in She-HulkThe only real Mr Immortal is a mutant. Well, at least he’s in the comics, and while it’s not confirmed in the show, there’s no reason to suspect otherwise. The power not to die (at least not in the long run) puts this particular character on a different echelon of the mutant hierarchy. In comic book canon, Mr. Immortal the one and only member of gay Supreme, a step above gay superior, the race of mutants. Fans have enjoyed the introduction of Mr. Immortal conceived as a plague of the second on-screen mutant in the MCU.
In She-Hulk Episode 7, “The Retreat”, we are introduced to El Águila, our supposed third on-screen mutant. Just like mr. Immortal, while not confirmed as an on-screen mutant, his comic canon confirms it. His powers include the ability to transfer electrostatic charges throughout this body, sometimes using them with the sword he carries. We get a glimpse of this power during the retreat, though Emil Blonsky advises him against this brief display of power.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Is the Mutant Hint Payoff
So how does it work? Black Panther: Wakanda Forever work on this? This is speculation, of course, but it was confirmed by the star behind Namor and director Ryan Coogler that the MCU evolution of mutants has arrived on the big screen. And with the new Age of Mutants, we can speculate how this movie will play out as the reward for the recent hints of drops of mutant presence.
Assuming Kamala Khan is the first we know as well as Mr. Immortal and El Águila, we can assume that mutants have been around for a while within the MCU. While the events that take place in the shows on Disney+ affect the films, they are not always directly referenced. One thought behind this is that writers and directors understand that not everyone watches the shows, but pretty much everyone watches the movies.
It seems likely that the origins of the mutants will be explained in detail for Namor during the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. There haven’t been any hints of mutants yet, but it shouldn’t be surprising that this is the movie where the payoff comes. It could be in the movie itself, or more likely, through the post-credits stinger that will end the phase 4 films and start phase 5, which will begin in 2023 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever appears in theaters on November 11, 2022.