The director discovered the hero as a kid.
Now he’s introducing him to a new generation.
Ryan Coogler knows whats at stake.
Credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images
Im a fan myself.
Black Pantheris much more than a comic book movie.
TChalla is the historic first black comic book superhero, and he matters more than most good-guys.
Matt Kennedy/©Marvel Studios 2018
He helped make the world a better place for real.
Wakanda is wealthy, innovative, and prosperous and it has never been conquered.
The storyline defies colonialist history and the exploitation of Africas resources and enslavement of its people.
Kwaku Alston/©Marvel Studios 2018
Also, Wakanda is beautiful.
And theres nothing else like it, in this life or the fictional one.
Coogler was one of them.
I was like, Holy smokes, theres a black X-Man?
says Coogler, whos now 31.
So I was like, Jeez, my culture is influencing this!
And this is being referenced.
But I always did long for that one [black] superhero who the whole book was around.
The same way I could pick up aCaptain Americabook or aSpider-Manbook.
I remember going in there saying You got any black superheroes?
Got anybody who looks like me?
The first thing they did was walk me over toBlack Panther.
Hes making this movie for his 8-year-old self.
Yeah, it was really my wife, Coogler says, rubbing his neck and smiling sheepishly.
The day I took the job was an out-of-body experience.
She was like, lets go to that same shop that you told me about.
Its on Piedmont Avenue.
So they got in the car and drove back to the neighborhood where Coogler went to grade school.
Dr Comics & Mr Gamesis still going strong.
We went in and I bought the twoBlack Panthercomic books I could find, Coogler says.
I was like, you got to take a picture of me.
And I sent it to Kevin.
