Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Easter eggs and references to the wider Marvel universe are plenty. The sequel might not feature as many MCU crossovers as the other movies, but it is still packed full of them. We've rounded up the biggest ones here, so you can dive deep into all the MCU connections to be found in Black Panther 2.
Now, before you go any further, take this as your warning that there are major Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spoilers ahead. Don't read the below if you haven't seen the movie just yet! If you are up to speed, though, check out the top Black Panther 2 Marvel Easter eggs and references below.
Black Panther 2 Easter eggs
Lake Bell
Lake Bell voices Black Widow in the What If…? animated series, but in Wakanda Forever, she plays a member of a US diving expedition looking for Vibranium beneath the sea. The crossover is short-lived, however, as Namor downs the helicopter Bell's character is using to escape when Talokan attacks.
Ant-Man
Look closely at the ticker during a CNN broadcast, and you'll see a reference to Scott Lang's book, "Look Out for the Little Guy," first mentioned in the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania trailer. During the events of Wakanda Forever, Lang's busy doing a publicity tour for the book.
New Asgard
In another CNN broadcast, the ticker references New Asgard – a familiar setting from Thor: Love and Thunder, and where the Asgardians settled after the destruction of their home in Thor: Ragnarok. The country is doing international trade deals.
Bashenga
Bashenga was the first ever Black Panther and Wakanda's first king. He's mentioned in Wakanda Forever, and his story was first told in the MCU in Black Panther's prologue.
Bast
The film opens with an emotional scene that sees Shuri praying to Bast, the goddess who gave Bashenga a vision that led him to the Heart-Shaped Herb. Bast can be seen in Thor: Love and Thunder in Omnipotence City.
Imperius Rex
When Namor and Shuri have their climactic battle, Namor declares "Imperius Rex" in his own language. This is his long-running catchphrase and battle cry from Marvel comics. While its meaning doesn't have an official explanation, "Rex" in Latin means "king," and the Latin word "imperiosus" translates to "powerful."
Mutants
While explaining his people's history to Shuri, Namor says he was born a "mutant" after his mother consumed a plant that turned her from an air-breather to a water-breather. In Marvel comics, Namor carries the X-gene, just like the X-Men. Other mutants in the MCU include Ms. Marvel.
Midnight Angels
Shuri creates a new exo-suit that gives the wearer extra durability, which she calls the Midnight Angel. In Marvel comics, the Midnight Angels are an elite branch of the Dora Milaje. The blue suits worn by Okoye and Aneka in the movie are very comic book accurate to the Midnight Angels' look, too.
"We are home"
When Okoye arrives back in Wakanda in Black Panther 2, she says, "We are home." This is the same thing she says when arriving in the first Black Panther, right before Wakanda is first properly revealed.
The Hulk
M'Baku gives the big green Avenger a shoutout in Wakanda Forever, saying Namor is "as strong as the Hulk."
Princess Leia
Down in Talokan, Shuri is given a new outfit to wear to meet with Namor. Riri panics, pointing to a pattern of movies where female characters are given a dress to wear before meeting a villain – namely Princess Leia from Star Wars, Marion Ravenwood from Indiana Jones, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. In The Empire Strikes Back, Leia gets a new outfit on Bespin shortly before a surprise meeting with Vader, and Marion is given a white dress to wear in Raiders of the Lost Ark for dinner with bad guy Belloq. Belle is also given new outfits in the Beast's castle, though we'd argue he isn't really a villain. Star Wars and Indiana Jones are both Disney properties, just like Marvel.
Stark tech
An obvious one, but when Shuri looks at Riri's schematics, she asks if it's Stark tech – Riri has built her own Iron Man-inspired suit. Also, in her first flight, Riri goes too high and loses consciousness from lack of oxygen; Tony Stark's first flight in his own suit saw him fly too high, freezing his tech completely.
Val
Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Val is currently working behind the scenes to set up the Thunderbolts, a team of anti-heroes and reformed villains who are getting their own movie in Marvel Phase 5. She previously showed up in the Black Widow post-credits scene and Falcon and the Winter Solider. Val's appearance in Wakanda Forever reveals she is now also Director of the FBI, making her very powerful indeed.
Artificial Intelligence
Ramonda tells Shuri she thinks A.I. will one day take over the world and kill everyone – which very nearly happened in Avengers: Age of Ultron, when the titular, murderous robot almost wiped out the planet. Shuri's Griot, though, shows no such dark aspirations; he's also voiced by Trevor Noah.
Civil War
In Captain America: Civil War, when faced with his father's killer, T'Challa chooses against revenge, telling Zemo: "Vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them. I'm done letting it consume me." In Wakanda Forever, when faced with her mother's killer, Shuri tells Namor: "Vengeance has consumed us. We cannot let it consume our people."
Chadwick Boseman's birthday
Many moments in Wakanda Forever pay tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, but there's a subtle nod to the T'Challa actor that you might have missed. A number plate in the movie reads "CB112976," which works out as "Chadwick Boseman, 11/29/76 – the actor's birthday.
"Show him who you are"
When Shuri is about to kill Namor, Ramonda, appearing from the Ancestral Plane, tells her, "Show him who you are." This is what she told her son T'Challa as he duelled M'Baku for the throne in Black Panther.
The new Black Panther suit
While Killmonger returning in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was a huge moment (we haven't included it here as it's not really an Easter egg, but a major part of the movie) there are hints elsewhere about Shuri's connection with Michael B. Jordan's villain. You may notice that her suit has gold inflections – Killmonger's Black Panther suit had similar gold streaks marking it, adding a subtle link between the two characters.
For more of your Black Panther: Wakanda Forever needs, check out our guides to:
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ending explained
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever post-credits scene explained
- Who is the new Black Panther?
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever's Val cameo explained
- Black Panther's son, explained
- Everything we know about Black Panther 3
- When is Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney Plus?
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on the Marvel timeline
- Everything we know about the Ironheart series
- All the new Marvel movies and shows coming soon
- Our guide to Marvel Phase 5
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