8 Important Things We Learned In The First Black Panther Trailer

Our first look at Marvel's Black Panther is finally here! The movie is a hugely important one, as it'll be the first modern Marvel or DC film to star a black hero. More than that though, it'll introduce one of the most underrated Marvel characters to the world properly for the very first time, after Chadwick Boseman made his awesome debut as T'Challa in last year's Captain America: Civil War. As you can see above, the teaser re-introduces us to the uber-cool black-suited hero as well as giving us our first look at his home country of Wakanda. We also get glimpses of most of the amazing star-studded cast - including Forest Whitaker, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Angela Bassett, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya and Andy Serkis. Despite being just a teaser, there's a lot jam-packed into the trailer's two minute runtime. There's much for us to unpack, then, so let's get cracking. From character cameos to new reveals about Black Panther's abilities, here are 8 important things that we learned from this first bit of footage. 8) Enemies Reunited The trailer opens with the return of two familiar faces to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Government agent Everett Ross, introduced in Captain America: Civil War, is seen interrogating Ulysses Klaue, the South African criminal last seen getting his arm chopped off by Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The pair are discussing the truth about Wakanda, with the country's king himself watching through a (apparently ineffective) one-way mirror. In the comics, both Ross and Klaue are pretty major parts of the Black Panther mythos. Ross is usually the US ambassador to Wakanda and could be used in the movie as a kind of sidekick to T'Challa, or at least an audience identification character as we're introduced to the mysterious nation. Klaue, meanwhile, is typically the murderer of King T'Chaka, which is actually Zemo in the MCU. As such, we've yet to see how big a role he'll have in the movie. The pairing of these two characters will no doubt please Lord of the Rings fans as well - actors Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis previously played enemies in The Hobbit movies, with Freeman as the heroic hobbit Bilbo Baggins and Serkis as Gollum. 7) The Truth About Wakanda Klaue explains that the common image of Wakanda as a "third world country," known for its "textiles, shepherds cool outfits," is actually all a front. Apparently, Wakanda is the real inspiration for El Dorado, the mythical city that's usually thought to be in South America. Intriguingly, Klaw claims that he "is the only one who has seen it... and made it out alive." As Klaue's voiceover plays, we see Wakanda unveiled to us in all its glory. Though the country was briefly glimpsed at the end of Civil War, we didn't learn too much about it other than that it has a giant panther statue and is home to some sophisticated cryogenic freezing equipment. Here, we discover that the nation is a strange mix of a traditional African culture with some super-advanced technology. The visuals in this scene are fantastic and promise that Wakanda will make for a fresh location to explore, as opposed to all those MCU movies set in New York. It's a strange coincidence though that Marvel are also doing a film about a royal superhero from a mysterious hidden land right after DC have made Wonder Woman. 6) Bullet-Proof Black Panther With Wakanda introduced, it's time for the trailer to reveal its protector. As a gang of armed thugs prepare to cause trouble, a dark figure lunges at them from the trees of the jungle. Like Batman let loose in the wild, Black Panther silently plows through his enemies, not even flinching as bullets fly at him and bounce off his Vibranium armour. The idea of a superhero facing down a hail of bullets is obviously a very common thing - going right back to Superman - but it takes on another, more significant, meaning here. Like Marvel's Netflix series Luke Cage, the idea of having a bulletproof black hero brings to mind the social injustices of the real world and gives a deeper edge to the already awesome action on display. The use of Klaue's voiceover in this scene suggests that these thugs are his men and this sequence is a flashback to when he visited Wakanda. Perhaps it might even be the first time we see the fully-suited Black Panther in the movie? 5) Forest Whitaker's Role For the briefest of seconds, the trailer next reveals Forest Whitaker's character. The actor - recently seen as Saw Gerrera in Rogue One - is almost unrecognizable under some distinctive spotted facial make-up and flowing purple robes. In case you're wondering, Whitaker will be playing Zuri, a Wakandan elder statesman and adviser to T'Challa. Director Ryan Coogler has called him "Black Panther's version of Obi-Wan Kenobi" and apparently, he serves as the closest thing the king has to a father since T'Chaka died. Every superhero needs a good mentor and Zuri could end up being a great character, one who develops an interesting relationship with T'Challa. Black Panther is set to explore the political drama of Wakanda, as T'Challa's reign over the country is contested, so we expect Zuri to be a major player on this side of the movie. 4) Killmonger As well as Andy Serkis' Klaue, Black Panther will introduce T'Challa's other nemesis - Erik Killmonger. In the comics, Killmonger is a militant Wakandan who was exiled from his homeland. He trains himself to the peak of mental and physical fitness to the point where he's able to challenge Black Panther for the chance to overthrow the king. In the movie, Killmonger will be played by Michael B. Jordan - in his third appearance in a superhero flick, after Chronicle and Fantastic Four, but his first as a villain. The actor's face first appears at the 1:19 timestamp, where the character looks to be being apprehended by Get Out's Daniel Kaluuya as W'Kabi, one of T'Challa's men. He does appear earlier in the trailer, however, but you'd have to know your comic books to recognize him. One clip reveals that Klaue won't be locked up forever as an ally will break him out of T'Challa's detainment facility. All we see of his savior is someone in a ceremonial animal mask with horns and a mane. It heavily resembles the one worn by Killmonger in the comics, and if you look closely you can make out Jordan's eyes behind the mask. It looks like Klaue and Killmonger will take a leaf out of the usual supervillain handbook then and team up to take out the hero standing in their way. 3) Meet The Dora Milaje Next, we seemingly travel away from Wakanda as another couple of key players in the movie are introduced. In what looks to be an Asian casino, we see Oscar winning Lupita Nyong'o as Nakia and The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira as Okoye kicking ass. Who knows what's going on here, but the MCU can never have too many action heroines. These two characters are the greatest fighters in the Dora Milaje, the king's all-female royal guard and traditionally his wives-in-training. In the comics, however, T'Challa waves away this tradition and doesn't force them to marry him, which earns him their respect. It's likely the movie will include this as well. While Okoye looks to be portrayed like her comic book self, the film could take a lot of liberties with Nakia. In the comics, she's an antagonist who goes by the name of Malice. She's obsessed with marrying T'Challa and has teamed up with Killmonger in the past. Will the character go down the same route here, or remain a good guy? We later see the full force of the Dora Milaje back home in Wakanda. The women are decked out in their ceremonial red robes in the Wakandan royal court and are seen battling Killmonger. In this scene, we can also briefly see Angela Basset in a white wig as Ramonda, T'Challa's mother. 2) T'Chaka's Voiceover Running through the second half of the teaser trailer is a voiceover that's seemingly told to T'Challa. Those with a good ear for voices will recognize the speaker as John Kani, who played King T'Chaka in Captain America: Civil War. Obviously, then, Kani will feature here in some capacity, most likely in flashback form. His voiceover will no doubt be something that will prove to be important in the movie as it underlines what will likely be T'Challa's character arc throughout the film: the difficulty between remaining a good man and being a good king. Here's the voiceover in full: "The world is changing. Soon there will only be the conquered and the conquerors. You are a good man with a good heart. And it's hard for a good man to be a king." Currently, it's unknown how major a role Kani will play in Black Panther. Will the movie fill out his relationship with his son across several flashback scenes? Or will it just be the one - near the beginning of the film, perhaps? - to remind us of T'Challa's loss? 1) The Power Of The Panther Suit Black Panther's suit isn't just highly durable and cool-looking. It also has some of those hi-tech Wakandan gadgets worked into it, too - as the final shots of the trailer reveal. If you hadn't seen enough to convince you that Black Panther is one of the most exciting Marvel superheroes ever, this scene should do the trick. Recalling his incredible car-flipping gymnastics from Captain America: Civil War, we see T'Challa slam down on top of a car on a speeding highway. A purple glow irradiates out from the impact and the vehicle flips over in the air as Black Panther gracefully jumps away. We can infer, then, that the suit can produce energy blasts as well as being bulletproof. But does it have any more tricks hidden away? If it does, and it looks like Tony Stark might want to watch out. There's a new superhero with a very powerful suit in town, and his name's Black Panther!