Review by Grant Dillard, Staff writer

If one was to ask someone what they considered the best aspect of “Captain America: Civil War,” they would most likely point to the spectacular introduction of Spider-Man. While that character’s inclusion was absolutely incredible and long overdue, that doesn’t mean that the debut of Black Panther wasn’t just as good. The fan-favorite hero managed to impress critics and audiences thanks to a well-written story arc and a great performance from Chadwick Boseman. Now the character has been given his solo movie, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe is already off to a fantastic start this year.

After the death of his father in “Captain America: Civil War,” T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns to his home city of Wakanda: a secret city in Africa that thrives on advanced technology. He takes his father’s place as king of Wakanda, but finds himself having trouble with the responsibilities tasked upon him. Things don’t get any better when an outsider named Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) challenges T’Challa for the throne so he can carry out an evil plot. Wanting prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war, King T’Challa, the Black Panther, must team up with C.I.A. Agent, Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) and members of the Dora Milaje, Wakandan special forces, to stop Killmonger’s plan.

There’s so much to love about “Black Panther.” First of all, the city of Wakanda may be the most fascinating setting of all the Marvel movies. It’s a vast, beautiful city with colorful costumes and landscapes, creative vehicles and gadgets, and an engaging history and culture that’s easy to follow and get invested in. It’s also interesting seeing a protagonist balance the responsibilities of both superhero and king. There have certainly been films about superheroes trying to balance a double life, but not like how this film portrays it. The scenes where T’Challa communes with the Wakandan council on what decisions to make could have easily come across as boring, but thankfully, lthat’s not the case here.

The film also does a really good job at being a standalone film, while also still having ties to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anyone can go into the film without having seen any of the other Marvel movies and still get a good idea of what’s going on. The only tie in events that are explained further in other movies are minor details. Some events include why the side-villain, Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) has a missing arm, who the character of Everett Ross is and how he and T’Challa know each other, or more details on why T’Challa’s father was murdered and who the killer was. Even the first of the traditional after-credits scenes is tied in to the main narrative, not foreshadowing future movies. It’s the second after-credits scene that focuses on foreshadowing, featuring a familiar character who casual viewers wouldn’t recognize.

The film also features what may be the best overall cast of characters, which is saying a lot given how many iconic and memorable characters the MCU has showcased. T’Challa is just as great as he was in “Captain America: Civil War.” Having gotten justice for the death of his father, he now finds himself dealing with the heavy burden of taking his father’s place as king, which makes for good drama with the character. T’Challa simply wants to be a good king like his ancestors before him, but he does have his limits. This especially comes to show when he uncovers shocking histories that happened in Wakanda long ago, and immediately wants things to change in regards to how the city works.

The supporting cast is also wonderfully done, and shouldn’t be overlooked. T’Challa’s younger sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright,) is a highly intelligent tech expert who provides her brother with all kinds of neat gadgets for him to use in battle. There’s also T’Challa’s former lover, Nakia (Lypita Nyong’O,) a humanitarian spy who’s willing to do what’s necessary for the good of her people. The biggest standout has to be the general of the Dora Milaje, Okoye (Danai Gurira.) Not only are her action scenes spectacular, maybe being the best in the movie, but her character is very complex; torn between her loyalty to Wakanda and to her king when T’Challa starts questioning the early Wakandan politics. Angela Bassett, Forrest Whitaker, Winston Duke and Daniel Kaluuya also costar in smaller, yet memorable roles, and each have really good chemistry with the other actors present.

Additionally, there’s the villains, which is a trend that Marvel Studios has been hit-or-miss on, but has been improved with some of their recent films. Their winning streak continues, as Erik Killmonger has to be one of the best villains of the entire MCU. What makes the character of Killmonger so compelling and engaging is that his motivations are completely identifiable, and it’s easy to understand why he wants to carry out his plans. This is a villain trope that Marvel Studios has done before with characters like Vulture from “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and Zemo from “Captain America: Civil War,” but this film takes this trope to the extra mile. Killmonger wasn’t raised in the secluded paradise of Wakanda where there hasn’t been any wars or indifferences. Instead, he grew up in the United States, where he’s dealt with many hardships and struggles that he and many others like him wouldn’t have to go through if Wakanda offered its support instead of staying hidden. Even though he takes things too far by killing off innocent people, it’s understandable to see why he’s devoted to what he’s doing.  This also acts as subtle social commentary, that thankfully never comes across as preachy, as it makes sense in terms of the film’s narrative. On top of that, Michael B. Jordan gives a fantastic performance, making for one of the most impressive comic book movie villains in recent memory, and of all time.

While Killmonger is the antagonist that viewers will remember the most, that doesn’t mean Ulysses Klaue should be forgotten. Klaue, who previously had a minor role in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” is basically the traditional over-the-top villain with Andy Serkis giving a crazy performance in one of his rare non-motion capture roles. He definitely gets some of the biggest laughs, while also serving as a real threat thanks to his powerful bionic arm.

Thanks to an intriguing story, memorable characters, great action and a compelling antagonist, “Black Panther” stands out not only as one of the best films in the MCU, but also one of the best superhero films in recent memory. Of course, fans will enjoy this film greatly, but so will casual moviegoers looking for a really good superhero movie. Best of all, audiences won’t have to wait long to see T’Challa on the big screen again: as like the very end of the film says, “Black Panther will return in Avengers: Infinity War.”