Ok seriously we’re not appreciating M’Baku enough?? Boy challenged T’challa, lost, accepted it and left. Then like 3 days later the king washed up on his shore and he’s like “aye I could use this to become king but nah let’s save the guy until he gets better” so now he has an unconscious, barely-clinging-to-life king in his living room, but he does everything to save him. Then the servants of that king show up, offer him the throne and the Black Panther serum which would pretty much make him invincible, and what does he do? Does he go “Mhm ok niiice” and accept it, thus becoming rightful king? Nope! He shows them the dying T’challa, who they bring back to life with the serum and leave. They ask for his army, but he doesn’t want to risk his people, but in the end realises they should stick together so he barges into the battle like the fucking Icon™ he is ok I just love M’Baku let’s give him the appreciation he deserves
M’baku is the personification of honour imo. You won’t find a defeated warrior with pride and honour like his that easy. Respecting his rival, the needs of his people and Wakanda itself??? Putting all that over his ego???? Someone raised that man right yo.
At the same time, we can’t forget T’Challa’s role in all this. He had M’Baku at his mercy, and could have easily killed him or gone out of his way to humiliate him. Instead he treated him as a fellow warrior with honor, and assured him that he respected his leadership of his tribe. That very much planted the seeds of M’Baku’s respect for him, and wound up serving as his own salvation.
It’s the rarest of unicorns – two competing alpha males whose masculinity isn’t toxic.
Entertainment Weekly: This doesn’t exactly fit, but I thought a little bit of the Amish. The Jabari have a separate, traditional culture within a modern one. But then, the Jabari don’t lack technology. Winston Duke: Yeah, they’re not against technology. They’re against Vibranium. Their society is based around Jabari wood.
EW: That’s what we see decorating M’Baku’s throne room. WD: Yeah, this is something we didn’t get to interrogate deeply in the film, but everything for them is based around this Jabari wood that comes from this sacred tree. Everything in Jabari land is made out of this sacred wood that can essentially go toe-to-toe with a Vibranium sword or a Vibranium weapon because it’s this tempered, strong, treated wood.
EW: But it has its own mythology… WD: They believe it was given to them by Hanuman, the ape god. Meanwhile, the people of Wakanda will say, “No, it’s actually the Vibranium that’s seeped into the wood. That makes it stronger.” [Laughs] You have this whole divergence of ideas. They’re quite technologically sophisticated but it’s based around wood. Meanwhile, Wakanda proper is technologically advanced based around Vibranium. That’s kind of where they get separated, but it’s still the same house.
EW: What does M’Baku really want, deep down? WD: Where’s Wakanda going? How are they going to do that? T’Chaka (John Kani) is dead. I didn’t like the direction he was taking the country and now his son is going to take the throne, all these people have been asleep letting these people take control of the country for all these years, and we’ve just been watching from the mountains being like, “This isn’t right. My people have to live, they got to survive.” Instead of him just being this ostentatious dude who’s running around in a gorilla fur costume, he’s this guy who has deep attachments and needs. You can understand, “If I was in that position, I think I would have to make a similar choice.”
EW: M’Baku is a showman. WD: He is. He’s proud and he’s big, and he is a showman. It’s the idea that if I’m going to challenge and take over this country, I’m going to do it with honor and I’m going to do it in front of everyone the right way. I’m not going to use some subversive tactic to take over the country the way other people could.
EW:He does this chant, a kind of grunt that silences people. He’s frightening, and then immediately funny. He knows how to weaponize his demeanor. WD: It’s super fun to play, and we created the entire culture. The Jabari, similar to the Dora Milaje, believe in the oneness. When he speaks, he speaks in a “we,” but he doesn’t talk as a royal “we.” When he says “we,” it’s really we, like me and my people. That means a lot to him. When he speaks of the Jabari, he speaks of them as one.
mcu m’baku is honestly one of the greatest aspects of black panther. he respects and honors the customs of his people and of the crown. he was defeated and accepted the outcome, and even when he was offered the throne, he honorably declined because t’challa is still alive. When ramonda, shuri and nakia give t’challa the heart shaped herb, he turned around…. this has to do with the crown of wakanda, and it’s not something he should be privy too, and he respectfully turns away (unlike ross who was wide mouth gaping at the ritual of it all).
ALSO t’challa asks him to look after his mother, and he promises that no harm will come to her, and YOU BELIEVE HIM BECAUSE HE’S ALL ABOUT HONOR…. BUT he makes it clear that he’s doing this out of respect for Wakanda and the crown, not really out of respect to t’challa himself. He also doesn’t waste an opportunity to remind t’challa that this is the first time the king has come to the Jabaris in years, that his tribe is often dismissed and overlooked by the rest of the nation.
To find M’Baku’s voice, he researched and imitated Nigerian accents, further separating the character from the South African-inspired T’Challa. It’s just one of many ways the Jabari differ from the city-based Wakandans, who largely worship the panther god Bast. “The panther is sleek, the panther is sneaky, the panther is covert—meanwhile, the gorilla will show up and bang on his chest and make noises to warn you about what is about to happen if you continue to cross the line,” Duke says. “We don’t hide, we don’t sneak. We come through the front door.” (x)
I love this detail! You can all be considered Wakandan, but there is clearly a perceived hierarchy and a tier of importance here, an “othering” of people despite the same allegiance to your country, and I love that M’Baku sticks it to T’Challa this way. And also to to Everett Ross. No fucks given there- About the Jabaris, Winston Duke says…
“They haven’t been affected by colonialism and all the narratives that are associated with developing a sense of inferiority and people comparing them to animals”[…] “To them, this is just who they pray to, and they find their strength and agency in this religion. So being a bit gorilla-influenced was a sense of pride for them.”
He grunts at Ross to silence him. Ross is kind of an interloper. He has no say in Wakandan traditions, and has no place in his court. Even if Ross thinks of M’Baku as an animal, it literally means nothing because his opinion does not matter.
Later when M’Baku and the Jabari show up, it was in the nick of time but also it’s him announcing that they will want a greater say in the future of their country. And you’re hinted that this might be the case because M’baku is in the last council scene next to T’Challa.
This is not to say that M’Baku is without fault. He scoffs at Shuri and is dismissive of her ability and ridicules T’Challa for putting a 16 year old girl in charge of the technological future of the country. It will be very interesting to see how he and Shuri interact in future installments. I WOULD REALLY REALLY LIKE TO SEE THIS, especially since they both got jokes, generally at the expense of the colonizer. It is not like tradition and technology cannot co-exist, although finding that balance can be extremely difficult. I think this is a really interesting sub-theme that runs through the movie.
Makes grandiose speeches and is willing to die trying to get the throne
Let’s Nakia, Shuri, Ramonda, and Everett kneel before him – proclaiming him the person they’re willing to follow and stand behind, knowing full well T’challa is alive
Saves that info until he’s convinced they mean it (bc he feels his people have been slighted and deserves the respect – true)
Threatens to feed Everett to his children
Constantly interrupts heartfelt family moments
Refuses to give aid to T’challa when he asks
Shows up when and/or waits until T’challa is losing and helps turn the tide of battle
laughs at his own joke for like a minute while everyone else is like “this is a very serious situation, you have to know that” and he’s still just like “feed him to my children! fuck I’m so fucking funny”
tora42's nonsensne 