When Black Panther: Wakanda Forever first hit theaters in November of last year, Tenoch Huerta was instantly elevated into the pantheon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s greatest-ever villains by many.
The leader of the Talokan nation simply wanted to be left alone, but when he felt as though his territory was being encroached upon, he took it upon himself to spearhead an attack that packed the capabilities and potential to have massive real-world ramifications in the context of the MCU.
There’s a reason why saying the best baddies are the ones who make you fully believe their motivations are entirely justified has long since become cliched, but it’s also a standard development for fans to turn on popular movies once the dust begins to settle on their initial runs.
Since coming to Disney Plus, Wakanda Forever has found itself placed firmly in that camp as a cynical reevaluation gets underway, with Namor the latest to find himself in the firing lines of discontent.
Ryan Coogler’s sequel may not be a patch on its Best Picture-nominated predecessor, but the fact Wakanda Forever has gone from generating outpourings of very real emotion in theaters around the world to being pilloried for its shortcomings in the space of less than three months neatly sums up modern fandoms in microcosm.
Accentuate the positives while hiding the negatives should always be the modus operandi, but the comic book crowd has an unwavering penchant for focusing on the latter above all else. On the plus side, we’re guaranteed to see Namor again, so he’s got plenty of time to win over the skeptics.