Why are there no heart-shaped herbs in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?’

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is dominating streaming, proving the franchise’s continued popularity despite losing original star Chadwick Boseman to cancer. 

It’s been four years since writer/director Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther made history as Marvel Studios’ first Best Picture nominee at the 2019 Academy Awards. This year, Angela Bassett is up for Best Supporting Actress, and her captivating performance gives Disney Plus subscribers another reason to stream Wakanda Forever.

If you queue up the movie and find yourself struggling to connect the dots between Black Panther and Wakanda Forever, you’re not alone. Between movies, television shows, and streaming series, the MCU expands across 40 projects and counting. That’s without including those Netflix and Hulu originals or the numerous Marvel franchises from outside studios, which are slowly being folded into the shared universe. Keeping track of every plot thread and Easter egg just about needs its own college course at this point. 

At the heart of the Black Panther mythos is a magical flower that gives the consumer superpowers.

One of Wakanda Forever’s major plot points is who will succeed T’Challa as Black Panther. With Namor invading Wakanda, the fictional country needs its protector. However, the heart-shaped herbs have been eradicated. It leads Shuri to take a gamble with a synthetic flower.

What happened to the other magic flowers? In 2018’s Black Panther, Killmonger usurped both the Black Panther mantle and the Wakandan throne. After he consumed the herb and gained its powers, he had the remaining flowers burned to prevent any possible challenges from would-be Panthers. Of course, one herb made it out — it was given to T’Challa to set up the film’s climactic battle sequence and duel with Killmonger. 

Now that Shuri has the recipe for synthetic magic herbs, there’s no risk of another usurper destroying the supply, thus ensuring there will always be a Black Panther watching over Wakanda.

Wakanda Forever is now available to stream on Disney Plus.