Black Panther Reviews

Less an actual hand-drawn animated series and more of a really high quality motion-comic, Black Panther still offers up something unique and engaging for a viewer with little-to-no experience with the character or the Marvel universe.

Chief among its virtues is a storyline that propels itself forward at a breakneck speed which still manages to fully develop our hero and invest us in his mythology. We see glimpses of his troubled youth, his wanderlust days in his late-teens, his ascension to the throne and his fight to keep his country from imploding from wars rooted both from without and within. It’s a lot of ground to cover in the short twenty minute episodes, but they typically strike a perfect balance between character development and action sequences.

But there’s more than one problem which becomes glaring obvious as the series progresses. Did the main writers themselves not fact-check a few things before putting them into the script? One of the most obvious of examples is Storm using Cerebro. Since when does she possess telepathic powers? Or the way that Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Cyclops all seem to be drooling horny teenagers over her. The problems with the writing extend out into areas beyond fanboy pickiness. The President and many of the white characters come across as buffoonish and hopelessly idiotic. Why? What is the point of that? Occasional attempts at humor are strained and forced.

And the animation, while incredibly fluid and dynamic for a motion comic, distinctly lacks the full rage and emotion of traditional cell-animation. Many times the movements are stiff and jerky, giving the impression of paper dolls being forced to bend and emote.

Problems with the animation can be looked over once you pay attention to the top-notch vocal work being done by a gifted group of actors. Djimon Honsou as the titular character is a brilliant piece of casting, even if it’s only his voice. And Jill Scott delivers a serene, regal, Earth Mother Storm. Finally a medium got her characterization down correctly.

Black Panther is not the greatest of the Marvel animated projects, but it strives for a more adult-orientated tone and generally succeeds with aplomb despite numerous faults. If nothing else, it proves that a black superhero can have a successful translation from the page to the screen. Now, here’s hoping we can get a live action Black Panther movie soon, or that he’ll be put in the eventual Avengers sequel.