A Few Thoughts on Wakanda and Talokan (Black Panther)

*Wakanda Forever spoilers.*

Just as Wakanda itself was one of the best parts of Black Panther, seeing Talokan is one of the highlights of its sequel. Watching these two hidden superpowers from the Global South take each other on makes for some fine storytelling, as engrossing as it is exciting. Today, I want to look at the two nations and some of the parallels between them.

Both Wakanda and Talokan have vibranium to thank for their advanced technological richness. We already know the story of Wakanda’s origins, of a meteor leaving a mountain of vibranium in the heart of Africa and the five tribes uniting to guard it. We don’t know the exact details of how much vibranium Talokan has or where it came from, but we know that the extraordinary metal powers its technology as well. Wakanda boasts high-tech gadgets such as sand tables and kimoyo beads, while Talokan has water bombs and an artificial sun to light its deep-sea kingdom.

Vibranium also accounts for the superhuman abilities found in both countries. While Wakanda restricts the use of the heart-shaped herb to the Black Panther, the nation’s protector, with the powers bestowed during a deeply rooted cultural ceremony, Talokanil society depends on the ingestion of the vibranium-infused aquatic plant they discovered. In addition to enhanced strength and agility, the plant gives them gills and the ability to withstand extreme pressures, which allows them to sequester themselves underwater.

Both have passed most of their histories unknown to the outside world. Wakanda has used a hologram of jungle cover to shield itself, while Talokan’s remote location has kept it hidden. However, Wakanda’s recent decision to reveal itself to the world, sharing its knowledge and resources, has put Talokan on the alert. With the rest of the world now clamoring for vibranium and Wakanda firmly against trading the powerful metal, countries have gone looking for vibranium elsewhere, and Namor knows it’s only a matter of time before their search leads them to Talokan. In order to keep his people safe, he’s ready to burn everything on the surface, and if Wakanda gets in his way, he’ll start with them.

Obviously, this is an extreme reaction, and it might feel instinctive to view Wakanda as the “good” country to Talokan’s “bad” one. But I think their different responses to the outside world are in some ways rooted in their origins. Wakanda discovered vibranium long, long ago. By the time European imperialists were carving up Africa and the West was fostering a thriving slave trade, Wakanda was already hidden, and they remained untouched by the oppressive ravages of colonialism. By contrast, Talokan was created in direct response to colonialism. Dying from smallpox, Namor’s mother and her tribe turned to the vibranium-infused herb in a last-ditch effort to cure themselves of the European virus, and when they realized that, as a byproduct of the herb, they could only live underwater, they used it as an opportunity to hide themselves from the conquistadors seizing their land on the surface.

Wakanda was a fortress erected long before imperialists arrived on their continent, and their high-tech camouflage protected them easily. Talokan was a barricade built by a people who’d already been poisoned by avaricious invaders. That trauma runs deep and spans generations, and with the immortal Namor as their leader, that oppression can’t be forgotten. This, I think, plays a big part in why Wakanda’s dealings with the outside world involve foreign aid and wary diplomacy while Talokan’s first instinct is to protect themselves, going on the offensive before anyone can hurt them.