All hail Marvel's new king.

Let it never be said that representation in pop culture doesn’t matter. It absolutely does. Seeing yourself in those you admire should never be underestimated, yet it frequently is. Let’s face it - if you’re white, straight, and male; you’re not short of idols that look, sound, and act just like you. For those that aren’t, however, the pickings can be slim.

For superheroes especially, representation is everything. They are avatars for our hopes, fears, aspirations, ideals, and cultures. It’s how Spider-Man has appealed to awkward, nerdy kids for so long and why we’re drawn to Superman as an amplification of our search for god-like perfection. However, for all their universal appeal; neither character look or sound like half world’s population, and the demoralising effect of this imbalance must be devastating.

Though it’s taken an age, the seeds of change are finally beginning to germinate and, hot on the heels of Wonder Woman’s unprecedented success, Black Panther has arrived to further tip the balance for representation in mainstream cinema.

After the death of his father, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. With the relationship between Wakanda’s tribes fraught and the nation at a crossroads, T’Challa soon finds his sovereignty challenged, and as two powerful outsiders conspire to destroy the country, his mettle as king and Black Panther is tested in a conflict that puts Wakanda and the entire world at risk.

For the cynical among us, it’d be easy to dismiss Black Panther as mere Hollywood tokenism; yet to do so would be to misunderstand just what and who the character is. Created in 1966, Black Panther was the very first black superhero in American mainstream comics; representing a significant moment for race representation in popular culture and society at large. Fifty years on and here we are again.

As much as one can say this about any form of entertainment, Black Panther is an absolute game changer. Not only does it possess the capacity to affect sweeping reform within Hollywood, it has the potential to send shockwaves through the wider cultural landscape. Considering we’re talking about an enormous, mega-budget blockbuster here, that might sound a tad hyperbolic…yet that’s the point entirely.

Easy on the eyes, relentlessly entertaining, and full of the kind of comic energy Marvel now do in their sleep; Black Panther’s beauty and importance is precisely because of its crowd-pleasing, mainstream nature and not in spite of it. Of course there’ve been plenty of black-led films before and many that can proudly boast a majority black cast, yet there’s something in Black Panther that puts it apart from anything we’ve seen before. This isn’t just a film that’s black and proud, it’s a $200 million blockbuster that’s African and proud. Just let that sentence soak in for a moment.

By placing the weighty issues of race and Africa at its heart, while simultaneously keeping things universal and easily digestible; Black Panther hits that ever-elusive sweet spot, as it layers on pertinent, thought-provoking social concerns without once taking its eye of its mission to entertain.

Positively teeming with joy for its homeland, it’s no exaggeration to say that this unabashed celebration of Africa just hasn’t been seen before at this level or expense and, as Black Panther stands tall for the combined cultures, traditions, and rhythms of an entire continent; you really have to wonder why on earth we’ve not been here before.

From Zulu to Blood Diamond, via Hotel Rwanda; regardless of the film’s ultimate qualities, almost every big screen depiction of Africa has been on predictably and dispiritingly negative terms. However, to have the biggest film franchises on the planet offer up a vision of Africa that’s remarkably realistic, yet startlingly fantastical, is as surprising as it is exciting and hopefully a beacon for others to follow.

Aesthetically, Black Panther is African to its core, yet it’s supplemented with the kind of comic book imagination and high-fantasy that feels genuinely fresh. Of course, since dropping Iron Man on us a decade ago, Marvel have made a killing from juggling fantasy and reality, yet this is the first time it’s been shot through with a genuine, real-world culture to create something utterly unique.

Black Panther represents by far the most prominent exponent of Afrofuturism we’ve ever seen on the big screen, as it sticks admirably faithfully to the aesthetics and philosophies the movement epitomises. As a concept that explores the intersection of African culture and technology, Afrofuturism appears ripe for cinematic exploration yet, until now, it’s been stuck in the pop culture shadows.

Teeming with the kind of futuristic, cloud-tickling skyscrapers and progressive urban planning that’d put many western (or eastern, for that matter) cities to shame; Wakanda takes the sort of sci-fi Marvel imagery we’ve seen from the likes of Asgard and Xander, yet grounds them in the sights, sounds, and architecture of something unmistakeably African. In doing so, Marvel and writer-director Ryan Coogler have breathed life into an entirely fictional country; creating a fully formed, fully functional entity full of life, culture, and boundless potential that stands proud for the much maligned continent.

To present such a vivid example of an African nation free of a colonial past and left alone to grow, advance, and become its best self is infinitely intriguing, yet we’ve not seen anything remotely resembling it from Hollywood before. As the first of its kind then, it’s one ballsy move on Marvel’s part to tackle such nuanced subject matter that, while stacked with potential, could easily collapse under its own ambitions.

For any blockbuster to tackle the hefty subjects of colonialism, radicalism, racism, tribalism, isolationism, and a bunch of other -isms too numerous to recount; there will always be pressure to afford it all the requisite level of respect and consideration they deserve, yet Black Panther shows no visible sign of strain.

Comic book or not, any film would struggle to balance themselves on such a precarious political tightrope, yet the way Black Panther melds every hot button topic together, while remaining entertaining, is truly something special. With Captain America: Winter Soldier, Marvel proved they’re not afraid to go there politically, however, this is a different beast altogether.

As the man behind the Marvel machine, credit once again has to go to über-producer, Kevin Feige, for not only understanding the root of Black Panther’s appeal and running with it, but for allowing the director, creative team, and talented cast free reign to do their thing free from the constraints that usual go with huge movie franchises.

All would be for nought though, if the man in the directing chair wasn’t up for the job, yet the way relative newbie Ryan Coogler steps up to the plate is one of the film’s real success stories. In possession of frankly unfair levels of talent for one so young, Coogler’s meteoric rise from the small-scale Fruitvale Station, through Creed, to helming a Marvel behemoth is no fluke; reflecting the director’s intimate and unbound knowledge of cinema, as well as a seemingly limitless ambition.

Coogler’s unflinching confidence in his own abilities, together with a clear passion and knowledge in Black Panther lore allows T’Challa the best possible opportunity to step into the spotlight and to allow the film to become one of the most evocative and affecting entries MCU to date. Coogler’s visual flair, eye for a good fight, and commitment to making the film as African as possible, all contribute to an overwhelmingly positive viewing experience; building an expansive world that allows his cast every chance to shine.

Hands down one of the most stacked casts for any blockbuster in recent memory – superhero or otherwise – there’s not one weak link and, while the ensemble being majority black really shouldn’t be the novelty it is, seeing such a variety of talented black actors from across the globe gathered together, is nonetheless something to behold.

Starting at the top, Chadwick Boseman is diplomatic coolness personified; instilling T’Challa with just the right level of regal charm to make him a natural and believable leader, while giving him the kind of character foibles that mark Marvel heroes out from the crowd.

For anyone who witnessed his astonishing turn as James Brown in Get on Up, there will be no surprise to see Boseman pull in this kind of regal performance, yet he surpasses expectation with style, charm, and heroism to spare. Though Black Panther has never been considered an out-and-out superhero, Boseman comfortably turns a potentially pompous character into the honourable and noble hero the world needs right now.

Beyond any doubt, Black Panther is Boseman’s movie, yet this doesn’t stop his reign being threatened by those around him; most notably the film’s female cast, whose beauty, brains, and brawn see them steal the show from under their king’s nose. Never once subservient to T’Challa, we’re presented with one of the strongest collections of female characters from any action blockbuster ever.

Angela Bassett’s Ramonda steps into the parental void left in the wake of King T’Chaka’s death with a natural authority and grace, while Lupita Nyong’o as super-spy, Nakia, and Danai Gurira as rock-hard Dora Milage leader, Okoye, are both their king’s protector as well as distinctive characters in their own right.

Outshining all before her, however, is Letitia Wright as T’Challa’s younger sister and the one Marvel character likely to beat Tony Stark in a tech-off. Whip smart, funny, and charmingly brattish; Shuri plays Q to T’Challa’s Bond and proves herself the bedrock of Black Panther’s success as she supplies her brother with some of the finest gadgetry the MCU has seen, all while having mountains of fun. As the youngest member of the cast, Wright could easily find herself lost, yet the girl from Tottenham is an absolute standout in a cast stuffed with standouts.

On the villain front, Marvel have upped the ante once again to prove their doubters wrong. Ruthless, spiteful, rage-filled, and terrifyingly sympathetic; Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger is everything you can ask for in an antagonist, as Jordan gives a tour de force performance of unfiltered fury and unexpected emotional resonance that puts him alongside Loki at the very top of the MCU bad guy tree.

However, despite Killmonger’s undoubted strengths, his antagonistic role does expose one of the few chinks in the Black Panther’s vibranium-laced armour. In his own right, Killmonger is a truly fantastic villain, yet he inevitably slips into that very superhero of tropes - being the protagonist’s mirror image. It’s been done in a million comic book movies before and will no doubt be done a million times more and, as two very similarly besuited guys duke it out for the final showdown, it’s hard to shake the feeling of overfamiliarity.

Although the idea behind Killmonger and T’Challa’s final battle is an excellent, it’s execution is a little underwhelming. As Black Panther enters its final act and its CGI begins to fray around the edges, the videogamey feel to it all threaten to overshadow the film’s otherwise sterling visuals. However, by this point, Coogler and the entire team have knocked everything else so far out of the park, it barely matters.

Regardless of the CGI’s occasional bagginess, Black Panther’s action excels as it flips between head-spinning car chases and brutal hand-to-hand combat with dexterity. Among its many joys, Creed’s bouts were some of the best of the entire Rocky franchise and it’s precisely this eye for a fight that’s helped inform Ryan Coogler’s approach here.

As Black Panther’s defining set piece and one of the most memorable of any Marvel film to date, the 007-esque Busan casino throwdown perfectly encapsulates the filmmaker’s nimbleness as the fluid and brutal action reveals the director’s willingness to push the boundaries of what a comic book film can achieve.

As a piece of superhero cinema and another notch on the MCU belt, Black Panther is an unmitigated success and an exceptional full-blown introduction to one of the most intriguing characters in Marvel’s arsenal. As a piece of ceiling-shattering social commentary and a watershed moment for representation at the highest level of popular culture; Black Panther is unparalleled.

Backed up by a well-stocked, wonderfully diverse cast and a director on fire; Black Panther pulls off that most sought-after of achievements – to be both wildly entertaining and chin-strokingly poignant.

Without a doubt, Black Panther represents a pivotal moment for black and African representation on the world stage; opening up a world of exciting possibilities for cinema, the superhero genre, Marvel, and every young kid in need of a hero that looks like them. In a world of turmoil and divide, T’Challa is both the hero and the leader we so sorely need right now and, as we enter a new era for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s safe to assume we’ve found our king to lead us into a bright future.