Why Black Panther Should Be the Next Leader of the Avengers

Greetings all,

I just wanted to share a tangent with you. I hope you’ll forgive me.  I watched Black Panther on opening night. This isn’t a review.  If you want to know what I thought, well, I liked it. I thought it was a pretty solid Marvel movie. I was entertained.  The epiphany, however, is in watching the character develop.

He’s a natural leader. He’s charismatic. He’s compassionate. He’s disciplined. He’s merciful.

How in the world do you not make this guy the next leader of the Avengers?

What I don’t want to turn this into is a debate about race or culture. Look, it’s great that this character brings ethic and cultural diversity. Those are good things.  But it’s what we do in our life that makes us. Our skin and our culture are factors, but they don’t define us. So you won’t hear me talking about how it’s time we had a black this or a woman that. Frankly, I don’t care who you are, what you look like or where you’re from.  All I care about is the simple yes or no answer to the question, “Can you do the job?”

T’Challa checks every box that matters.

[image error]Image taken from Collider. Honestly no real leg to stand on here. I’m just praying the Mouse doesn’t take offense.

Natural leader: During one scene, he’s faced with his advisors. One, a close friend, wants one course of action. What he does is listen to all of his advisors. Bozeman does a fantastic job of making me believe he’s listening and considering the options. He evaluates all the information and makes a decision. This is what leaders must do. Trust their team, but make the call. (CHECK)

Charismatic: Dude, seriously, if Boseman were to run for president on this movie alone, I’d vote for him. He’s so compelling. He’s emotional without being weak. He’s entertaining without being foolish. His ability to make others feel for him is unquestioned. I can’t quantitate this data. You’ll either watch the movie and agree with me, or you won’t.  For me, this is a CHECK.

Compassionate: When faced with the key plot, he doesn’t respond to a threat. This is actually critical information. Most leaders will only asses hazards and identify means to mitigate those hazards.  Those leaders are effective, but they’re rarely great. You see, T’Challa understand that choices like that were what caused his current conflict. He sought understanding. He wanted to find alternative solutions. He wanted to unite rather than just defend. Listen, if he only had this arc, I’d still think he should take over the Avengers. Uncompromising men are exemplary. But understanding leaders change the future.

[image error]Image taken from IndieWire.

Disciplined: He enforces standards without regard to his personal feelings. He upholds the intent of the law without being subject to the letter of it. He proves his subject to his laws when he puts himself in a position of danger. He holds others accountable even when he regrets the need to do so. He does so while being as merciful as he can be at every opportunity. His mercy isn’t a hindrance, it’s an aspect of his leadership.

It’s my opinion that we focus too much on skin color or gender. Now, I’ll confess it’s very easy for a white, middle-aged, man to say that. However, I believe we’ll never push pass these boundaries we’re fighting if the only way we identify one another is with these crude adjectives. I’m not calling for T’Challa to take over because he’s black. I’m saying he should be in charge because he’s the best qualified. We should let go of the other reasons. They ultimately don’t matter.

The business and time spent means Captain America’s time is limited. I’m not saying he should be ousted. But he’s a prime example on how uncompromising men can cause more problems than they fix. That’s not why he’ll eventually be killed off. He’ll eventually be killed off because Chris Evans can’t play Captain America forever. We all know Robert Downey is close to the end of his amazing run as Iron Man. The fact is someone will have to step up to lead in Phase 4 and beyond, and Black Panther made it very clear to me who that leader should be.

Thanks for reading,

Matt