okay but?? t’challa is actually such a good person like holy shit?? he realizes he made a mistake and immediately does everything he can to make it right?? like the whole movie he was being a prince/king, busy trying to seek justice for his father and then he just turns around, has like the best epiphany is the world, and harbors bucky in wakanda??? like what kind of selflessness???? what kind of grace???????
So, I agree with most of this. T’Challa is the actual best, he’s one of my all-time comic faves, I’m so glad people are seeing how amazing he is. But! Especially given the entire history of how mcu fandom treats black characters, I think we need to be extremely careful about describing his actions helping Bucky and Steve as ‘selfless’. (Important note: I’m not calling out OP whatsoever, but this post is popular, I’ve seen it like 3 times on my dash already, and I think this idea needs to be spread.) Like hell yeah he is honorable, he is noble, he is made of freaking grace. But he’s not ‘selflessly’ helping the fugitive ex-Avengers, these are the actions of a King. He is trying to negotiate a clusterfuck powder keg of an international situation and do what is best for Wakanda and if he is anything like T’Challa in the comics, steer this thing towards peace, but on his own terms.
Judging by the comics, I’m sure T’Chaka’s decision to start opening up Wakanda to the rest of the world was very controversial. I’m sure many Wakandans took his death as a sign that this was a Bad Ida and they should back out. T’Challa could have brought Zemo to be tried in Wakanda, and I’m sure that’s what the Wakandan people would have preferred. Instead he hands Zemo over to the international community for trial. It’s a sign he’s still willing to try to make the international cooperation work. Helping Bucky and Steve is a sign he’s willing to try to work with them as well.
Someone else in the notes called him out for supporting the Accords on the one hand and breaking them on the other, saying he’s like Steve and he thinks the rules don’t apply to him. But we have to remember T’Challa offering to help Bucky is not just the actions of a good person (and he is a very good person) it’s also the actions of a newly minted King and a nation. We see this beautifully in his character arc in Civil War; he starts out acting from a place of his grief and pain but by the end of the movie he chooses to move beyond his personal feelings and start acting from a place of statecraft. Is he compassionate, is it statecraft that values honor and justice? Of course. But at the end of the movie he is definitely doing what he thinks is right for Wakanda’s long term peace and security.
throughout civil war steve held himself together. he was stoic. he kept his emotions over losing peggy in check, he kept his anger to tony and the accords contained, he kept everything very well under wraps. until tony hurt bucky and then the dam broke and we got to see every pent up emotion steve had ever felt and it was fucking terrifying
Thor: Heimdall, how fare my Avenger companions back on Earth? Are they well?
Heimdall: The Man of Iron and his American Captain are fighting and have both adopted insect men as their children.
Thor: I’m sorry what?!
u know that scene in civil war where Bucky and Sam are like stuck on the ground in the webbing? how did they get out of that? i like to imagine it was Bucky that got free first and just stood over Sam with a smug look whilst Sam was like “Just cut me out of here man.” and Bucky’s all “Y’know, I could, but then again you could’ve moved your seat up and you didn’t so,,, idk pal :////”
i’ve made posts since the day i found out bucky went back into cryo at the end of cw talking about how it’s a smart move to do by the writers because his winter soldier trigger words are still out there and he’s in serious danger…….only for the writers to admit that they put bucky back into cryo to punish him for his crimes as the winter soldier…………..bucky deserves better than the shit the mcu does to him
I can’t stop laughing at Steve’s letter to Tony. He was like “I’m sorry for everything but not really since I grabbed all my pals back from jail and I’ll be basically running the secret avengers now, ring if you need us. BTW when Bucky get his new arm it won’t be Stark tech because T’Challa understands Bucky is a victim and he is also smarter, richer and vibranium is way more strong and light than any other metal thank you very much”
Basically: “I got me and my buddy a new sugar daddy.”
thefallendream 