Editor's Note: The following contains Black Panther: Wakanda Forever spoilers.Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is easily one of the most exciting entries in the MCU in some time, introducing us to the underwater kingdom of Talokan – home to the Talokanil. Director Ryan Coogler's second Black Panther installment, and the MCU's final film in Phase 4, reckons with the state of the fictional country of Wakanda after the tragic passing of its King and protector, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman). As most fans are aware, Boseman’s battle with colon cancer led to the actor passing away in August 2020. The sequel thus incorporates the real-life tragedy into the film, picking up after King T’Challa’s death and leaving Wakanda vulnerable and open to attack from this new kingdom of outsiders. Enter Atlantis, or rather Talokan.

Based on the mythical Aztec paradise Tlālōcān, the film decided to change the new MCU character Namor’s (Tenoch Huerta) comic book lore from him being the Prince of Atlantis to the ruler of Talokan. Tlālōcān is said to be a place where those who die from lightning or drowning rest in paradise. Tlālōc, the rain deity, governs the Palace. This marks the first time Marvel incorporated Aztec lore into the MCU.

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In the comics, Atlantis was a small continent that later became submerged under water and became the home to the race of “homo mermanus” people, later known as Atlanteans. The race is distinct for the people having two fish-like gills in the neck region, as well as people having green or blue-pigmented skin. After “The Great Cataclysm”, the MCU’s Atlantis sunk below sea level and became a ruin until homo mermanus people made it their home and built a civilization. It is important to note that it was the Celestials who sent the land underwater and the beings have already been introduced in Eternals.

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Homo mermanus in the comics are cousins of Homo sapiens but there have long been tensions between the two species. In the MCU, prior to Wakanda Forever, there was no concept yet of Atlantis or Talokan, so it stands to reason that there hasn’t been any contact between the Atlanteans and the humans in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. However, it is possible that Wakandans are well aware of the threat beneath the surface and already have history with the Talokanil before the film even begins. In the comics, Namor and Atlantis have often fought with the nation of Wakanda. One notable time was in the Avengers Vs X-Men run where Namor (a mutant overcome by Jean Grey’s Phoenix force) decides to take control of Wakanda. In Infinity, another Marvel crossover comic story Shuri as Black Panther decides to attack Atlantis to take revenge for Namor’s previous actions in Wakanda.

In the comics, Namor is one of Marvel's first superheroes, occasionally positioned as an anti-hero. He's been a member of a variety of different super squads from the Avengers to the X-Men, and even at times the Illuminati. Within the comic realm, he is the son of an unlikely pairing between the princess of Atlantis and a human sea captain. Only time will tell how the MCU chooses to present his origin story.

Talokan in the film is just as advanced as Atlantis is in the comics. However, by focusing on the Aztec lore significantly, the movie also does a fairly great job of making the city differ itself from the depiction of Atlantis in the comics as well as in the DC Aquaman film. There have been countless depictions of Atlantis on screen, from animated classics like Atlantis: The Lost Empire, to Golden Age Hollywood depictions of the city such as in Journey to the Center of the Earth in 1959.

Focusing on Aztec mythology allows the MCU to not only put a creative spin on the fabled lost city, but connect it closely with its mesoamerican cast. Huerta has even commented on what it means to be the MCU's new ruler of Talokan, saying that taking up this mantle has huge resonance as, “part of my personal heritage, as a Mexican, and as an inhabitant of Mesoamerica.” He adds, “Namor loves his people, and he’s gonna protect them because to be a ruler you have to serve the people.” Playing Namor, Huerta feels that, “Finally [he] could find a more powerful representation of [his] culture, with dignity and respect.”

Tenoch Huerta as Namor in 'Black Panther_ Wakanda Forever'
Image via Marvel Studios

Huerta's take on the character was so popular that many fans campaigned for him to get his own solo film set in Talokan. But fans were also in awe of how richly Talokan was developed in the Black Panther sequel. In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Talokan was created after a piece of the meteor that gave Wakanda vibranium, or another meteor of a similar nature, landed in the region of the world where Mesoamerican culture was well-developed. This brought rival nations Wakanda and Talokan together in a way that Wakanda and Atlantis were never brought together in the comics.

According to Namor, His mother was from a tribe that lived in the Yucatan region of what is now Mexico 500 years ago. Spanish colonists tormented their faction, forcing them to flee. Each tribe member drank a peculiar herb from a luminous plant that resembled those we are familiar with from Wakanda. They were able to breathe underwater thanks to this plant, but were unable to thrive above ground. With breathing technology though they surface from the depths centuries later. However, when exposed to air, their skin would turn blue. The exception to this though was Namor.

The film's production designer Hannah Beachler also explained the creative decisions taken into bringing Talokan to life, saying, "Ryan and I discussed how we wanted this to be a bit of a darker world, more of a realistic ocean. But there was definitely the freedom to explore and to try to find it because there were over 100 iterations of the world before we found what one we were going to go with. You just kept building and pushing on the design and questioning, “How does that work, or why is that there?”'

The movie premiered in theaters November 11, 2022 and grossed almost 850 million dollars worldwide. The movie is also notable for giving star Letitia Wright a star vehicle and putting Angela Bassett in the running for her second Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category. This made the movie the first Marvel picture to receive an Academy Award nomination in any acting category. The movie was also nominated in other key categories like Best Original Song (for Rihanna's Lift Me Up), Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now streaming on Disney+.

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