By now, I’m sure that all of the people reading this article have seen the new “Black Panther” movie. However, rather than writing a generic movie review about the plot of the movie or about Chadwick Boseman’s portrayal of T’Challa (he was phenomenal by the way), the actor that I want to focus on is Michael B. Jordan. Jordan played Killmonger, who is T’Challa’s nemesis in the film, and honestly, Killmonger was the best Marvel villain I’ve ever seen.

Michael B. Jordan did an amazing job playing Killmonger because even though he was clearly the villain of the movie, he was still a very relatable character. Killmonger was a black man that had a strong understanding of his African roots, but it was also very clear that he was American. This was demonstrated by the way he spoke and also by the way he dressed. Killmonger had a strong hatred for the country of Wakanda due to the fact that Wakanda was one of the richest nations in the world, but instead of sharing their wealth, they lived in secret. While racial inequality was rampant throughout the world and many people of African origins were being ill-treated, Wakanda could’ve used their wealth to stop this problem, which is why Killmonger wants to be the king. He wants to use the wealth in Wakanda to help all of his African brothers and sisters throughout the world that are poor or have been oppressed. By reading my previous statement, it sounds like Killmonger is a pretty decent person, right?

Well, here is the issue: Killmonger wants to overthrow all of the governments in the world and oppress them like the colonists did to many African nations. Killmonger makes it very clear that he wants to start a revolution, but rather than provide equal opportunity for all, he has a deep emotional attachment for his people (referring to people of African descent) and no one else. Basically, Killmonger is on a mission of racial vengeance against white supremacy, and he is willing to kill anyone that gets in his way.

He wanted to turn the whole world upside down and director Ryan Coogler did an amazing job of demonstrating this. For example, when Killmonger defeated T’Challa and he became the new king of Wakanda, it was clear that Killmonger was going to be a different kind of king. As soon as he became the next Black Panther, Killmonger burned the garden that kept the sacred herbs of Wakanda, and as he approached the throne, the camera was turned upside down. This was a great cinematic technique that illustrated Killmonger’s dreams and aspirations. He wanted to upset the established order and as he so eloquently put it, he wanted to “BURN IT ALL!” (Also, the music that was played when Killmonger sat on the throne as the new king was so epic, and it gave me this feeling of “oh snap this guy means business and things are about to change.”)

This is a character that could have very easily been a hero to the world, if a few things in his life turned out differently. Because of the hardships that he faced throughout his life (for example, learning about how his father was killed, and seeing all of the hardships that people of African descent had to deal with) rather than wanting to fight for equal opportunities for all, he became the very evil that he wanted to eradicate. He wanted to colonize the colonizers. Killmonger is dealing with a lot of pain in his heart, and this pain has made him cold.

Now in some ways, Killmonger is definitely right. Black people have had to deal with too many hardships and racial inequality must be dealt with. However, Killmonger’s only problem is his approach on dealing with this issue and this is where T’Challa is his opposite. By the end of the film, T’Challa also wants to help to combat poverty throughout the world and he also wants to fight for those that can’t fight for themselves. However, rather than start a race war and oppress all white people like Killmonger wants to do, T’Challa wants to use Wakanda’s wealth to raise up black people, but without using violence.

Although it is clear that T’Challa’s approach to fighting racial injustice is definitely the better one, he would have never reached this conclusion if not for Killmonger. At the beginning of this film, T’Challa is content with only protecting the people of Wakanda, but because he sees the pain that Killmonger is dealing with and because he sees the mistake that his father made by only caring for the people of Wakanda, T’Challa has a change of heart. In the end, Killmonger was necessary in order to spark a positive change for the oppressed.

I’m going to be honest, when T’Challa stabbed Killmonger at the end of the film, I let out an inaudible gasp at the theater. Killmonger was the best Marvel villain I’ve ever seen and knowing that he was only going to be in one movie was heartbreaking! He added an element to the movie that could not be replaced. He was humorous at times, quite knowledgeable, definitely crazy, but also a realistic villain, and what I mean when I say realistic is that he was not just some alien from another planet that wanted to take over the universe. Because of his circumstances and hardships throughout his life, you could clearly understand why Killmonger became this evil person whose warped idea of justice was really vengeance for his people that have been treated unfairly for too long.

And of course, Killmonger couldn’t just die like any other villain. He had to leave us with one final quote so that his legacy would live on forever. “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, cause they knew death was better than bondage.”

If you have not seen “Black Panther,” I advise you to see it just to watch Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Killmonger. It is truly something special.