And though such a list may always come down to a matter of opinion, perhaps the toughest part of ranking the best Marvel Comics characters of all time is establishing a set of criteria that transcends taste to include a given character’s importance to the Marvel Universe, their popularity among fans as well as creators, and perhaps most importantly, the stories they’ve been featured in.

What follows is Newsarama’s ranking of the best Marvel Comics characters ever – including some who will likely be your personal favorites, and some who may surprise you. 

Ultimately, this is merely Newsarama’s opinion – and we look forward to you sharing your own list of the best Marvel Comics characters of all time with us on Twitter (opens in new tab) and Facebook (opens in new tab). 

10. Black Panther

First appearance: Fantastic Four #52 (opens in new tab) (1966)
Recommended reading: Best Black Panther comics 

The Black Panther is a different brand of superhero than most because he not only wears a heroic mantle, but also a crown; a crown that carries with it the weight of an entire nation. And, we’re not being colorblind here – he’s not white like most comic book heroes then (and now). 

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in what later Marvel staffers said was an effort to feature Black superheroes in an era in which that was rare, the Black Panther was also an outsider to the Fantastic Four (and even the Avengers) and carried a dignified exoticism and connections to a near-mythical country that was refined and more technologically advanced than modern humanity at the time.

But through works like recent stories by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and John Ridley with artists including Brian Stelfreeze, the Black Panther has grown into a complex, multi-faceted hero who struggles to be a better version of himself – and it’s T’Challa’s willingness to embrace and learn from his failures that sets him apart from many other ultra-competent heroes with all the resources in the world.

The Black Panther sits in a unique place at Marvel – as the king of a nation who has recently realized that his own monarchy is at odds with democracy and the equal rights of his subjects, but who is still trying to find better ways to contribute to his home nation and Marvel’s world at large.

9. Wolverine

First appearance: The Incredible Hulk #180 (opens in new tab) (1974)
Recommended reading: Best Wolverine comics

Wolverine is the ultimate brooding loner. Combine that with a gritty tenacity and knives on (and in!) his hands, and you have a unique superhero cut from a very different cloth than those who came before him – who has carved himself a niche that countless characters have since tried to occupy.

Wolverine entered the Marvel Universe like a classic Clint Eastwood western character – as a mysterious stranger who rides into town; short on words, long on violence. That profile has propagated an intense mystery about his past that continues to deepen even as creators try to fill in the blank pages of his history.

And again, he’s got knives on his hands – and it’s actually cool, despite how silly the idea sounds on its face.

Wolverine’s catchphrase is ‘The best there is at what he does.’ And that’s proven to be true, over and over again as imitators, variants, and clones (sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally) come and go.

8. She-Hulk

First appearance: The Savage She-Hulk #1 (opens in new tab) (1980)
Recommended reading: She-Hulk by Soule & Pulido: The Complete Collection (opens in new tab)

She-Hulk began comic book life as a way for Marvel to protect its turf. Originally a female knockoff of her famous cousin Bruce Banner AKA the Hulk, Jennifer Walters was created by Marvel to establish ownership of a female Hulk before CBS could create their own version as part of its then-contemporary Incredible Hulk TV show. 

But she quickly became more than a way to establish ownership of the concept in-house, eventually surpassing many of the most intrinsic qualities that make the original Hulk a great character himself – the juxtaposition of strength, anger, and the duality between the human being and rampaging monster. 

She-Hulk was also Deadpool before there was a Deadpool – a hyper-aware, sometimes metatextual, fourth-wall-breaking character who can fit in alongside other mainstream heroes without skipping a beat.

From the novel idea of a lawyer specializing in superhero law to a successful businesswoman dealing with the realities (and fiction) of controlling (or not controlling) her anger issues, She-Hulk isn’t a cliché or an archetype, which makes her one of top (eighth-best, actually) characters in the Marvel U.

7. The Thing

First appearance: The Fantastic Four #1 (opens in new tab) (1961)
Recommended reading: Fantastic Four #51 (opens in new tab) (1966)

The Thing is the heart of the Marvel Universe. That’s right, beneath that orange, craggy exterior and gruff demeanor lies a wounded, underdog soul that was emblematic of the Marvel Universe in its earliest years. Unlike the Marvel we all know today, in the early ’60s it was a more upstart publisher with dogged perseverance and individualistic spirit that made it stand out in the crowd. Yup, just like Big ‘ol Ben.

Unlike many powerhouses like Thor, Captain Marvel, and DC’s Superman who are also easy on the eye, the superhuman strength that allows the Thing to trade punches with gods like Galactic comes with the price of a giant, lumbering, monster-like appearance. And that steep price has driven some of the greatest Marvel stories of all time like the classic ‘This Man, This Monster.’

But underneath his literally gruff exterior, Ben has the proverbial heart of gold, and it’s the display of his human qualities – like playing pranks on Johnny Storm or his fierce loyalty to best friend Reed Richards – that contrast with his appearance and makes the Thing so endearing and enduring.

Ben fits in the tapestry of the Marvel Universe like one of those patchwork pieces of his rock-like skin. And readers who were alive during the ’70s know he along with Spider-Man were the face of Marvel during that decade. But even today the Thing is a keystone – the one piece in the proverbial arch that is the Marvel Universe that makes everything and everyone else around him work better.

6. Thanos

First appearance: Invincible Iron Man #55 (opens in new tab) (1973)
Recommended reading: The Infinity Gauntlet (opens in new tab) (1991)

Thanos is the kind of character that can be (and probably is) a case study in a  college psychology class. Inspired by the Greek god Thanatos and a heaping helping of Jack Kirby’s New Gods (particularly Metron and Darkseid), Thanos’ beginnings were humble (a throwaway Iron Man villain on a janky helicopter) but he developed and grew in stature through stories in Captain Marvel, Warlock, and Silver Surfer series to eventually reach his ultimate destiny in the seminal 1991 Marvel Comics event The Infinity Gauntlet.

Birthed of regret and raised with animosity, the grown-up Thanos has an obsession with death (both the lower-case death and the actual Marvel entity Death) which has led him on a single-minded crusade for order – his order – in the Marvel Universe, often leading to body counts in the millions.

All that power, it fits like a glove  … or gauntlet … in this case.

Since then, Thanos has been Marvel’s ultimate bad guy. Creator Jim Starlin and subsequent writers like Jonathan Hickman, Jason Aaron, Donny Cates, and Kieron Gillen have made him more than just a Jaws-like force of nature, adding depth and pathos — while still keeping his proverbial teeth sharp and menacing.

With his MCU role culminating in Avengers: Endgame, Thanos has reached an even higher level of stature to become one of the most iconic villains, and even, we daresay characters – good or evil – in all of popular fiction.

5. Storm

First appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (opens in new tab) (1975)
Recommended reading: X-Men: Lifedeath (opens in new tab)

Strong women have been a mainstay of Marvel Comics – particularly in the X-Men – and Storm, without a doubt, is one of the strongest and hardest to break. Born in Harlem but forced to raise herself as a street thief in Egypt after becoming an orphan, she made a path for herself that included titles like a goddess, X-Men member, X-Men leader, queen of Wakanda, and now the ruler of Mars.

While her mutant ability to control the weather is a pivotal part of her, thanks to the writers and artists that have added layers to her character, it’s Storm the woman and her often dueling qualities of tenacity, anger, forgiveness, and compassion that have forged her into a titan of modern fiction and cemented her into the bedrock foundation of Marvel Comics most important characters.

4. Captain America

First appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (opens in new tab) (1941)
Recommended reading: Best Captain America comics

Captain America is a quintessential part of the Marvel Universe, but it took decades for him to reach that potential. 

One of the dozens of flag-waving patriotic superheroes created during the early  ’40s during Second World War, it wasn’t until the early 60s when he was thawed from an icy tomb in a story by Stan Lee and his co-creator Jack Kirby in an Avengers story that he started on the path to become who he is today.

In that era he became an anachronistic version of Americana, battling the dark turns America can take. He wasn’t the first US patriotic hero that carried a shield, but it’s those more modern stories that made everyone forget who the other guy was (Archie Comics’ The Shield, by the way, created months before Captain America).

Although not a founding member of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, he quickly became the face of the team which for many readers added to his profile as the classical heroic ideal for Marvel’s brand of superheroes. 

Chris Evans’ portrayal of Cap in MCU films over 60 years after the character’s creation only raised his stature further. While comic book Captain America is still as young and vital as always, Evan’s live-action Cap will cast a shadow over the MCU for years to come, as evidenced by 2021’s The Falcon & Winter Soldier Disney Plus streaming series and lingering rumors of Evan’s return in some form or another.

Captain America is not just a flagbearer for the United States, but for Marvel Comics as well – and that’s something even fans that aren’t from the US can (and do) appreciate.

3. Kitty Pryde

First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #129 (opens in new tab) (1980)
Recommended reading: Uncanny X-Men #143 (opens in new tab) (1981) 

The X-Men are amazing – uncanny, even – but it wasn’t until Kitty Pryde entered the picture that readers gained a real perspective of how uncanny. Created as a ‘girl next door’/grounded character in the original Chris Claremont/John Byrne era, Shadowcat was a hit character from the start – and she only got better over the years.

The secret? Unlike many young comic book heroes, she was allowed to grow up, and all of us readers could grow up with her.

Kitty Pryde is one of the few characters that have significantly grown, matured, and evolved over the years – from a fresh-faced early teens student to a full-on adult team leader today. Even while she was in her teens and early adulthood, readers met hardened versions of her such as ‘Days of Future Past (opens in new tab)‘s Kate Pryde and Excalibur’s Widget. But she also grew up for real in such touchstone series as Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD, Mechanix, and especially the current Marauders ongoing.

Of all the mutant characters, Kitty Pryde has proven to be the most human when it comes to evolution and growth, And that doesn’t just make it stand out among her fellow X-Men, but among the entire Marvel Comics pantheon as well.

2. Doctor Doom

First appearance: Fantastic Four #5 (opens in new tab) (1962)
Recommended reading: Doctor Doom: The Book of Doom omnibus (opens in new tab) 

There’s a common adage in fiction writing that also applies to life that villains think of themselves as the hero of their own story. That their motivations are noble and just even if the world sees them as misguided or evil.

For Marvel Comics, there’s no better example of the nobility of villainy than Doctor Doom.

Like most of Marvel’s greatest characters, Victor Von Doom has a tragic origin story – but whereas so many of Marvel’s best characters overcame their tragedies to become superheroes, Doom took a different route. 

While his descent into supervillainy is a thorn in the side of most of the Marvel Universe, Doom is not without a sense of honor and watching a complex, flawed, but at times noble and sometimes even regal character evolve, grow, and become steeled like the armor he wears is one of Marvel’s greatest literary achievements.

Whether it’s fighting the Fantastic Four, Luke Cage, or the entire Marvel Multiverse, Doom is always the star (if not hero) of his own story – no matter whose logo is on the cover.

1. Spider-Man

First appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15 (opens in new tab) (1962)
Recommended reading: Best Spider-Man comics

Spider-Man redefined what a superhero could be, and although many have followed in his footsteps, he’s still number one, definitively at Marvel and arguably anywhere else.

Spider-Man works because he’s the plucky undersized street-level teen underdog with a heart of gold – burdened with great regrets but gifted with an eternal desire to do better, for himself and others. In a world of mostly adult superheroes who seemingly have their life all figured out, Peter Parker works because whether as a teen or young adult, he’s both who we all are and some of us want to be – flawed but trying, always punching upward and reaching a hand to help those who need it.

Add to it his quirky but mesmerizing costume design by Steve Ditko and the nearly-trademark ways he and his powers are visually depicted in comic books (and later in television, film, and video games), what you have is not just one of the world’s most famous superheroes, but one of the most unique characters in modern fiction of any medium.

So why is Spider-Man deserving of being not just on a list of Marvel’s best characters but alone on the top spot? 

Because what Ditko and Stan Lee created back in 1962 is constantly being fine-tuned, revisited, and remade in a way that keeps him current yet classic. Today you can still tell a Spider-Man story about the awkward teen learning to exist in a world of adult superheroes and villains, while also telling a story about the Peter Parker who’s been married and a father, or a corporate CEO, or in the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, a mentor to a younger Spider-Man.

Spidey is Marvel’s best character because he was, and is, and probably always will be the most interesting character in any supervillain battle or superhero team-up, and his stories speak to the generations of comic readers who have grown up with him – and a generation that is growing up with him now.

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In Avengers Forever #6, writer Jason Aaron and artist Jim Towe are delving into a new universe within the Marvel Multiverse where Black Panther isn’t King of Wakanda – heck, there isn’t even a Wakanda. Everything is different here because Killmonger defeated T’Challa, and slowly defeated everyone, to become King of Earth.

King Killmonger.

As this issue will reveal, in this alternate Earth (there’s no official Marvel designation yet for it), the idea of a Black Panther is a “forgotten legend” according to Marvel; but forgotten doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. For in this world, T’Challa will claw his way back – with a little inspiration from Iron Man – to use his fallen country’s top resource, Vibranium, to become Vibranium Man.

Or “The Invincible Vibranium Man” as Marvel describes him, borrowing some more nomenclature from the “Invincible” Iron Man to make its point.

This is the beginning of a new arc of Avengers Forever, a new Marvel series that is quickly becoming a whistle-stop tour of various new alternate Earths. It has introduced new Marvel superhero variants as part of this multiversal Avengers squad, including a Tony Stark/Ant-Man mash-up, a Punisher-ized War Machine, and an ‘Infinity Thing’.

Avengers Forever #6 goes on sale on May 25. A collection of the first five Avengers Forever (opens in new tab) issues is scheduled for a June 8 release.

Make sure you’ve read the best Black Panther stories of all time. 

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What’s in store for the Marvel Universe, as shown by Kang the Conqueror’s precognitive future technology in the story? We’ll break it all down right now. 

Spoilers ahead for Timeless #1

Timeless #1 is framed around Kang the Conqueror as he takes a jaunt through the Marvel Universe’s past and future alongside Professor Anatoly Petrov, a college professor specializing in the concept of supervillains. 

Kang takes Petrov along with him to show him his influence over the timeline, as Petrov’s writing reveres Doctor Doom as the most influential villain of the Marvel Universe. But as the pair travel across the timestream, Kang discovers an anomaly causing temporal disruption: a rogue timeline that was cast off and destroyed by Immortus, but which has survived and is trying to rejoin the main Marvel timeline – causing huge ripples in the Marvel Universe.

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As Kang uses the observation equipment of his Oracle Base to determine the nature of the anomaly, he examines upcoming events in the Marvel Universe, some of which seem to be driven by the incursion of the “Pirate Timeline”. On his monitors (seen above), he sees visions of numerous Marvel characters along with brief, related prophecies, including:

• Doyle Dormammu killing his father with the Twilight Sword, “The son takes up the Twilight Sword and strikes down the father.”
• Ben Reilly swinging through Los Angeles, “While a son with no father finds a new home.”
• A tease of the new Iron Fist, “The Iron Fist reforged for a new hand.”
• A glimpse of Punisher joining the Hand, “While another hand is driven by a new lord on a mission of punishment.”
• A tease of the Fantastic Four’s ‘Reckoning War’ storyline, showing the moon under attack, “The moon cracked in a great reckoning.”
• A second Reckoning War tease showing a flag flying with a strange symbol, “While further in the future, another reckoning leaves humanity with dominion over Earth.”
• A tease for the current Iron Man run in which Tony Stark has gained cosmic power, creating an ‘Iron God’ armor, “A new god takes their throne.”
• Captain America seemingly being gunned down by Winter Soldier, “While an old icon falls.”
• A glimpse at a new team of Young Avengers, though their identities aren’t clear, “A young generation of Avengers rise.”
• A look at Taskmaster wearing Captain America’s uniform and carrying his shield, alongside Batroc, Paladin, Titanium Man, and a woman who may be Red Skull’s daughter, Sin, “To reclaim a stolen name.”
• A look at Shuri as the Black Panther alongside a red-haired woman in a Spider-Man costume  – possibly Mary Jane, as seen in Mephisto’s vision of his own downfall shown in Amazing Spider-Man #74, with an implication from the text that MJ may take Peter Parker’s place as a hero at some point, “The brave honor the sacrifices of those in their hearts.”
• A look at the returning Jack of Hearts, “And a heart once thought lost beats new.”

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The scene also shows separate glimpses of the previously teased image of Thanos wielding an Infinity Stone-encrusted Mjolnir, the entrance of Ravencroft Asylum, and what looks like Manhattan overrun by symbiotes. A final tease arrives at the very end of Timeless #1, with Anatoly Petrov drawing Miracleman’s logo in his notes, stating that he can’t get the vision of Miracleman he saw in Kang’s Oracle Base out of his head.

Miracleman, originally known as Marvelman, is a long out-of-print hero originating in British comics. His modern adventures, told in the ’80s by writers Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman with artists Gary Leach, Alan Davis, and Mark Buckingham, are cult-favorites among comic readers for their shockingly mature themes and the abrupt, unresolved ending of Gaiman’s run.

Marvel Comics purchased the rights to Miracleman way back in 2009 and has published collections of previously-published stories (opens in new tab). The publisher has tried to work through complicated legal hurdles involving the rights to the character so Gaiman and Buckingham could resume work on the character and finish their untold stories. Marvel has announced its coming publication to retailers several times, most recently in 2017 and then again in 2018, however, so far, the only appearance the character has made on the page is in 2019’s Marvel Comics #1000 (opens in new tab), which offered a similar one-page teaser that didn’t materialize.

Marvel again seems to be signaling plans to publish Gaiman and Buckingham’s new work.

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Back to Timeless #1, Kang and Petrov manage to defeat the “Pirate Timeline” by killing the version of Reed Richards they find there, who has killed the Celestials, stolen the Infinity Stones, and taken up the mantle of Doom.

The special ends with a version of the Judgment Day teaser Marvel released online Monday. 

With that, Timeless concludes, leaving its secrets to be uncovered in 2022 – which begins in just a few days.

Timeless #1 teases some major Marvel storylines for 2022. Before then, these are the best Marvel Comics stories of all time!

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The pandemic led to the upcoming issues of the Black Panther series to be postponed indefinitely, with the last one being March 25’s Black Panther #22 (opens in new tab). But while all of Marvel’s other major titles have resumed publication (some as early as May), Coates’ Black Panther remains aloof as the most notable title missing since the onset of the pandemic.

Back on February 29 in what became the last major comic convention (C2E2) before the onset of the pandemic, Marvel announced that Coates would be wrapping up his four-year Black Panther run with a 40-page finale drawn by current series artist Daniel Acuna and the returning Brian Stelfreeze, who drew much of the first year of Coates’ run.

“It’s the end of an era for the Black Panther as renowned writer Ta-Nehisi Coates concludes his Wakandan epic!” reads the solicitation for the finale as announced in February. “Over four years, Coates has taken the Black Panther to hell and back and expanded Wakanda into the distant stars. 

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“Now, in his final issue, he brings T’Challa full circle, back to the home he left behind…and the crown he has never fully accepted,” the synopsis continues. “This is the story of a king who sought to be a hero, a hero who was reduced to a slave, a slave who advanced into legend…and the man who has struggled to hold up an empire in his bare hands. The journey will conclude, but the legend remains. Don’t miss the close of a historic epoch in comic history!”

Newsarama reached out to Marvel for an update on the status of Black Panther #23-#25, but have not received a response. 

The publisher has released the schedule for its titles through the end of 2020, and Black Panther #23-#25 is not in those solicitations.

Read our list of the best Black Panther stories of all time – which includes Coates and Stelfreeze’s first arc together.

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Given the events of the Avengers: Infinity War ending (opens in new tab) and the heavily guarded secrets of Avengers 4 (opens in new tab), a new Black Panther movie presents an interesting challenge for Coogler, who is slated to begin writing the script next year. The Hollywood Reporter’s sources say that Coogler and co. have “an eye to start production in either late 2019 or early 2020,” meaning we’re years away from any concrete details about the sequel. But we can always speculate, and the biggest questions we have right now are: when will it take place in the timeline of this reborn MCU, and which villain will Black Panther go up against?

Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) and Klaw (Andy Serkis) were some of T’Challa’s most iconic adversaries in the comics, so they leave big shoes to fill. Perhaps Killmonger could return stronger (and angrier) than ever, or maybe Kraven the Hunter will take a break from terrorizing Spider-Man to prey on Black Panther. Unrelatedly, how will Marvel and Disney treat the naming of the sequel? Will it be Black Panther 2, Iron Man style, or have a snappy subtitle like the Captain America films?

There’s also the question of rebuilding Wakanda after it came under siege during Thanos’ triumphant attack. All these uncertainties and more will remain unanswered until Coogler actually writes the script – but it’s good to know that he’s officially back in the saddle for the sequel.

Here’s everything we know about the Avengers 4 ending (opens in new tab), which will go down long before we get Black Panther 2. 

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Early on the movie, Klaue is on the verge of sending Martin Freeman’s Everett K. Ross a Soundcloud link to his mixtape, after Ross comments that Klaue and his goons look like a band. It’s a stupidly silly gag, but one worth re-visiting. To find out what tunes and toe-tapping melodies would make its way into a Klaue-certified compilation, I went straight to the source. 

Read more

Every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, ranked from worst to best (opens in new tab)

“Everything from Mozart to jazz, actually. And Pink Floyd,” suggests Andy Serkis, when I sat down with him and Freeman to talk about the movie recently. There’d certainly be something apt about Comfortably Numb screeching through a pair of Klaue’s headphones…

His co-star Freeman felt something was missing, though. Klaue’s South African heritage needed to be represented somewhere, right? “A little bit of Boer folk music?” Freeman interjected.

There we have it, something classical, something sophisticated, something personal and… something Haddaway. Perfect. I’ve even made a Spotify playlist (opens in new tab) of what Ulysses Klaue’s mixtape might sound like, for those of you who want to jam along to the songs that inspire everyone’s favourite Vibranium dealer. Enjoy!

For a less musical look at Black Panther (but no less stirring), here’s the 6 questions I have after watching the movie (opens in new tab). Anyone got the answers?

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“When I first started talking to Marvel, one thing they were interested in was for Panther to be their version of James Bond, which I thought was incredibly interesting and exciting,” Coogler said. “It was a really outside-of-the-box way to look at T’Challa. There are some Bond films that I really, really like, and it gave me the opportunity to go watch some other ones.”

Subscribe: Pick up a subscription to Total Film magazine (opens in new tab) and get stories on Black Panther, The Avengers, and more delivered straight to you – digitally or physically!

That might sound a bit strange, given that the character is the leader of a highly-advanced nation and was running around in broad daylight throughout Captain America: Civil War (opens in new tab). But the Black Panther solo movie will show a different side of Wakanda’s king, and stress the element of secrecy. The nation of Wakanda hides its bordering-on-sci-fi technology from the world, and T’Challa approaches his foes a bit less directly this time around. Think about the car chase glimpsed in trailers: doesn’t that seem like something a Bond movie would feature?

Of course, Bond is never truly alone on his missions. He’s got friends like Q to provide him with gadgets and Moneypenny to reign in his more reckless behavior. T’Challa also has those things, courtesy of his sister, princess Shuri. When Total Film asked Letitia Wright, who plays Shuri, if she thought the comparison fit, she agreed. “Yeah, why not? She’s T’Challa’s Q. She’s by his side with the technology he needs. The way she helps him is really cool,” Wright said.

“I hope Shuri can help people. Maybe you’re in school right now, and super smart and super intelligent, and people may be saying, ‘You’re a geek,’ or whatever, making them feel bad. Maybe they can watch this film and be like, ‘Man! Being smart or a scientist or super great at math is not a bad thing at all.'”

Want to learn more before Black Panther hits theaters on February 16? Pick up a copy of Total Film magazine (opens in new tab) from your local bookstore or news stand, or get a subscription deal (opens in new tab) to stay on top of all the latest film and TV news.

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According to Variety (opens in new tab), Person of Interest alumni Winston Duke is being tapped to play M’Baku, also known as Man-Ape. In the comics M’Baku is one of Wakanda’s greatest warriors in addition to being one of T’Challa’s biggest rivals, often plotting to usurp the throne and move the African nation away from technology.

Whether Man-Ape will have his own agenda or be working with Killmonger in the movie is unclear but as far as secondary villains go he’s a solid choice, and while this will be Duke’s first feature film role Marvel have a very good track record when it comes to casting. 

Whether it’s confirmation that Andy Serkis will be reprising the role of Ulysses Klaue or otherwise, we can probably expect a few more Black Panther casting announcements in the next few months before production begins.  

Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke, Black Panther is released in UK cinemas on February 9, 2018 before opening in US theatres on February 16, 2018.

Images: Marvel

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While at Wizard World Philadelphia (via ComicBook.com (opens in new tab)), Sebastian Stan speculated on his character’s future: “I don’t know, man. I mean, there’s obviously a very clear answer but I’m not maybe say it, now. Where did he end up at the end of the movie [Captain America: Civil War]? That’s the movie he should be in. I feel that would be the natural…but I don’t know”.

Check it out below…

Stan is right in that Black Panther would be the logical film in which to have the Winter Soldier reappear in the MCU. Indeed, Marvel have proven that they are second to none when it comes to planning ahead, and Bucky presently being in Wakanda is no accident. 

Pondering what the Winter Soldier’s role might be in Black Panther is really intriguing; the two characters were at odds for the majority of Civil War, but it ended with T’Challa doing Bucky a favour. Why the Winter Soldier ultimately comes out of hibernation – and what state he’ll be in (Bucky is currently without his signature metal arm) – are fun questions that will hopefully lead to great payoffs. 

Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, Black Panther is released in UK cinemas on February 9, 2018 before opening in US theatres on February 16, 2018.

Images: Marvel

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