Wakanda Forever That Are More Important Than You Think

A joyful surprise to many, Michael B. Jordan's hit character Erik Killmonger made a cameo in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and with it, clarified a number of questions about Wakanda's Ancestral Plane — as well as creating just as many new questions. When Shuri ingests the Heart-Shaped Herb in order to gain the physical ability of the Black Panther and commune with former Panthers in the Ancestral Plane for guidance, it's Killmonger who awaits her there.

Unlike T'Challa, who met with his recently-departed father T'Chaka, and T'Chaka, who supposedly met with his father, Shuri's vision in the Ancestral Plane broke tradition entirely. Due to the rage in her heart and her overwhelming urge for vengeance, she meets with the most vengeful former Panther, Killmonger, who tries to stoke the flames of anger in her heart.

His presence on the Ancestral Plane makes one thing crystal clear: Every Black Panther ascends to the Ancestral Plane upon death, regardless of their actions in life. For all of Killmonger's supposed villainy, he exists forever right alongside the most virtuous of historical Panthers. From there, the potential implications are as troubling as they are varied — is all that is required to reach this paradise the drinking of the Heart-Shaped Herb? Are all paradises, like Heaven, Valhalla, and the Duat, subject to similar technicalities?