'Black Panther' Sets Up 'Infinity War' In A Major Way & You Might've Missed It
By now, everyone knows better than to leave a Marvel movie before the credits have ended. Black Panther is no exception — the new movie includes two post-credits scenes, both of which include exciting set-ups for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War as well as a potential Black Panther sequel. So, how does Black Panther set up Avengers: Infinity War exactly, and is there a possibility for Black Panther 2 to happen? Let's break down those post-credits scenes.
SPOILER ALERT: Don't read on if you haven't seen Black Panther yet. As I have already mentioned, Black Panther includes two scenes during its end credits, which is a very manageable and welcome amount after the 500 that were in Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. Like most Marvel movies, Black Panther uses its post-credits scenes to tease future projects within the sprawling cinematic franchise.
Post-Credits Scene 1: Wakanda Goes Worldwide
The first post-credits scene addresses the central conflict that runs through Black Panther: Should Wakanda offer its Vibranium weaponry and technology to the struggling people of the world, or should the country continue to protect its advanced tech by posing as a Third-World nation and keep its vast resources a secret? This debate is at the core of the entire movie — Killmonger is driven by the racism he has witnessed outside of Wakanda to take over the Wakandan throne in order to arm the oppressed around the world, and T'Challa is forced to confront his father's shameful decision to kill his own brother and abandon his nephew in order to keep Wakanda's technology a secret.
At the end of the movie, T'Challa decides to break Wakandan tradition and reveal the truth about his country to the rest of the world. He brings Shuri to the former home of his uncle N'Jobu and N'Jobu's son, Killmonger, in Oakland, California — the place where his father killed N'Jobu — and reveals that he has purchased the building and intends to turn it into the first Wakandan outreach center. T'Challa enlists Nakia and Shuri to lead the effort, sharing the powerful secrets of Wakanda with the rest of the world for the first time ever.
This moment leads into the first post-credits scene, which features T'Challa addressing the United Nations at a convention in Vienna. In front of representatives for every country around the world, T'Challa promises that Wakanda is finally ready to share its secrets (namely, Vibranium). He underlines the decision by saying that it is wiser to build bridges than boundaries in times of conflict, which definitely feels directed at the current administration's obsession with constructing a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
The U.N. speech scene could also be setting up a possible Black Panther sequel, which could focus on the fallout of the world learning about the powerful ways Vibranium can be used. Marvel has not officially announced a Black Panther sequel yet, but knowing this franchise, we'd be crazy not to suspect that it's being heavily considered.
Post-Credits Scene 2: Winter (Soldier) Is Coming
While the first post-credits scene focuses on the future of Black Panther, the second one concerns itself with the Marvel Cinematic Universe overall. Diehard fans will remember that at the very end of Captain America: Civil War, Bucky Barnes (A.K.A. the Winter Soldier) voluntarily returned to cryogenic sleep in Wakanda, hoping that the country's scientists would be able to figure out a way to purge Hydra's mind control from his brain. Although we know Bucky is in Wakanda during the events of Black Panther, he never appears until after the credits roll... although Shuri does make a cheeky reference to him in the movie by remarking that T'Challa brought her "another broken white boy to fix" when he asks for her help in healing Everett Ross.
Bucky Barnes wakes up in Wakanda during the final scene of the movie, revealing that Shuri must have been able to remove Hydra's mind control. Shuri welcomes him back to consciousness, and then tells him he has "much more to learn" in Wakanda. This is the clearest set-up for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War in all of Black Panther. We already knew that Bucky was going to be a part of Infinity War since he appears in the trailer, but this scene tells us that he will have been up and moving around in Wakanda for a while before Infinity War, suggesting that not only is he brainwash-free but he will also know a lot more about Wakanda and its secrets than the rest of the Avengers (except Black Panther, obviously).
Avengers: Infinity War is the next Marvel movie to come out, landing in theaters on May 4.
