In BlackPanther: Wakanda Forever, Tenoch Huerta plays the first Latino antagonist in a comic book film. But is this the representation we need?
The highly anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally arrived this past weekend, becoming an instant critical and commercial hit right off the bat. Wakanda Forever received positive reviews, with critics praising its emotional impact and significance after Chadwick Boseman’s tragic passing. Some criticism was aimed at the story and third act, but even the film’s few detractors agree that Wakanda Forever has a shining star in Tenoch Huerta’s antagonistic Namor.
For better or worse, we live in the age of comic book movies. These projects dictate the direction of the pop culture conversation, shaping it and, therefore, us as witnesses and consumers. Yet, the Latino community has been sidelined for years in the comic book genre — and things are even bleaker for indigenous people.
Wakanda Forever tones down the social commentary to focus on the grief over T’Challa’s death, but it’s impossible not to see some real-life similarities between Namor’s ambitions for retribution, supremacy, and autonomy and the mindsets of millions of indigenous people in Latin America. Say what you will about his motives — Wakanda Forever goes for the uninspired them-against-us trope — but Namor’s dedication to his people is inspiring.
However, Wakanda Forever‘s choice to present Namor as Kukulkan is somewhat misguided. It’s always strange when comic book movies try to pass their characters as the basis for mythological deities — I dare say no film that tries to do this ever succeeds. Wakanda Forever wisely never claims Namor is Kukulkan embodied, thus avoiding bastardizing the myth in favor of entertainment, but the mere mention of it opens a can of worms that would be best left untouched.
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