How does Wakanda make sense as a nation?

[DefunctTheory]

I remember reading a pretty interesting thing that by subverting the "black africa" trope with Wakanda they made them instead be complete monsters who could have helped the world and saved hundreads of millions from diseases like Cancer with their advanced tech but would rather keep all the fancy advancements to themselves.

An interesting take, and I suppose not without merit. Kind of falls apart when you remember that the first thing the world at large did with vibranium when they got a usable amount of it was... give it to a super soldier.

I mean, at the time, it was a good idea, since Nazis and what not. But still... yah.

 

[mduncan50]

I remember reading a pretty interesting thing that by subverting the "black africa" trope with Wakanda they made them instead be complete monsters who could have helped the world and saved hundreads of millions from diseases like Cancer with their advanced tech but would rather keep all the fancy advancements to themselves.

History tells us that African nations that have things that the Western world wants they find themselves put into not too comfortable positions. They help the outside world when they can do so safely, but their first priority is the safety of its people.

 

[DefunctTheory]

Yeah, but publishing their cure for cancer worldwide will probably not cause people to attack them.

It would if you needed vibranium to make it. In fact, just telling everyone they can do that would be a miserable idea - It's pretty hard to get public approval to start a war against a peaceful nation just because vibranium is industrially useful. Tell people those 'bastard Wakandans' are hoarding the cure for cancer, and conveniently leave the part where Wakanda would totally share if everyone promised only to use vibranium for medical uses, and the entire world is screaming bloody murder for the Wakanda King's head.

 

[mduncan50]

History tells us that African nations that have things that the Western world wants they find themselves put into not too comfortable positions. They help the outside world when they can do so safely, but their first priority is the safety of its people.

Yeah, but publishing their cure for cancer worldwide will probably not cause people to attack them.[/quote]

Of course it would. When the worlds superpowers find out that this little country has unknown levels of advanced technology and weapons, you think that they're just going to sit back and not care?

 

[Saelune]

To be fair, with the number of super geniuses, magical artifacts, and super civilizations, even with things like Thanos, Glactus, The Pheonix Force, Venom Symbiote, etc, most problems could and should be fully solved. Its only because that would end the comics it doesn't happen. Hell, its the real reason a lot of comic heroes don't kill, cause their wouldn't be all the villains you know and love.

 

[K12]

Apparently the only thing that breaks down suspension of disbelief when it comes to comic book logic is the idea of a technologically advanced nation full of black people... that's crazy talk!

I think if Tony Stark can make a major scientific breakthrough in a cave with random bits of rubbish then it makes sense that a small country in Africa could keep ahead of the curve. I don't think Wakanda has ever been presented as insular or resistant to outside knowledge or trade, just that they're largely self-sufficient and don't take a stance on world-politics, like Switzerland but with vibranium rather than Nazi gold.

The thing about scientific progress is that the general culture is often several years (or even decades) behind the most cutting edge research and tech. You could prettily easily stay ahead by quickly implenting and applying the newest science if you have a small wealthy population with plentiful resources who are very amenable to change and progress... though I think the comic book explanation is simply "...because vibranium" which also works.

 

[Something Amyss]

I get the purpose of Wakanda, to subvert a stereotype regarding african countries that a lot of western audiences believe.

Honestly, based on the comics, Wakanda fills a lot of stereotypes.

Is that a bit unrealistic? Yes. But from an inuniverse perspective, it makes sense, as vibranium is pretty much every conceivable unobtainium rolled into one. It fills in every void that most nations would fill through trade.

Well, if we're talking in-universe, we're talking a realm of sorcery, super-science and places where dinosaurs exist. We're talking about a world where a single guy can be smart enough to build a portable power supply that fits in his chest (or two people, depending on the version), yet power the most advanced super-armour the planet has ever seen. Reed Richards and Tony Stark and many, many others hide many of their secrets from the world, but advanced independently. Other nations exist with technology beyond their peers, whether isolationist or not, gods are real for all intents and purposes, and realsm of spirit and "cosmic power" exist alongside the real world. Especially important for Wakanda, which seems to see some sort of otherworldly guidance.

It seems it only takes one person, one god or one mutant to radically change a country, so thematically it fits.

It would if you needed vibranium to make it.

You probably don't since this was one of their trade options in the 2006 series.

Isn't Dr Doom also a head of state? How does the country ruled by a supervillian compare with the one ruled by a superhero?

Depends on how he's written. Sometimes he's Hitler in power armour, and sometimes he loves his country to the point that he'll do anything to protect them.

If Black Panther and Dr Doom fight each other does that mean their countries are at war?

I don't know. Obama punched out Putin and we didn't go to war with Russia. >.>

Of course it would. When the worlds superpowers find out that this little country has unknown levels of advanced technology and weapons, you think that they're just going to sit back and not care?

In fairness, Wakanda resists invasions routinely and has been the subject of them anyway.

 

[mduncan50]

Of course it would. When the worlds superpowers find out that this little country has unknown levels of advanced technology and weapons, you think that they're just going to sit back and not care?

In fairness, Wakanda resists invasions routinely and has been the subject of them anyway.

It's not usually the invasion force of a country though, but rather mercenaries or organizations like Hydra or AIM.

 

[anthony87]

Spoiler

The enter key. Please, use the enter key. It hurts the eyes to read blocks like this.

Funny story, I literally had a girl reject me over this. I messaged her an extremely long confession about my feelings, and she basically said "I liked you too, but that message hurt my eyes so much that I lost interest".

I guess it was an overall positive, since I probably avoided pretty terrible relationship and improved my paragraph formatting in one fell swoop.

To be fair, love poetry does lose some of its magic when it comes in brick form.

General Pro-Tip - Most things lose their romantic characteristics when delivered in brick form, whether it be brick-like text, or delivered on, or with, literal bricks.

Oh....

guess I won't be needing this then

Oh god.

It was funny enough as is.

But "mortarfied" pushed that right into hilarious.

 

[CyanCat47_v1legacy]

Apparently the only thing that breaks down suspension of disbelief when it comes to comic book logic is the idea of a technologically advanced nation full of black people... that's crazy talk!

I think if Tony Stark can make a major scientific breakthrough in a cave with random bits of rubbish then it makes sense that a small country in Africa could keep ahead of the curve. I don't think Wakanda has ever been presented as insular or resistant to outside knowledge or trade, just that they're largely self-sufficient and don't take a stance on world-politics, like Switzerland but with vibranium rather than Nazi gold.

The thing about scientific progress is that the general culture is often several years (or even decades) behind the most cutting edge research and tech. You could prettily easily stay ahead by quickly implenting and applying the newest science if you have a small wealthy population with plentiful resources who are very amenable to change and progress... though I think the comic book explanation is simply "...because vibranium" which also works.

I'm not saying that an african nation cannot be highly advanced and wealthy. Throughout history there have been several, be they city-states or larger empires. Most african nations today are experiencing rapid industrialisation and economic growth. what i found strange was that based on the information given in Civil War it seemed like Wakanda was completely isolationist. i explained how an isolated country couldn't possibly become as advanced or wealthy as Wakanda.

 

[irish286]

From a logical stand point? It doesn't. From a PC stand point? It's a perfect example of what Africa would be if the filthy white people hadn't showed up.

 

[Raddra]

From what I understand, they made Wakanda to appeal to black fans, but it never really took off at the time. Most black American comicbook fans of the time wanted a character who was also American to get in to, not someone from Africa.

From a lore perspective, Wakanda is sitting on one of only two sources of Vibranium on Marvel Earth, so can afford to trade small amounts of it for HUGE amounts of money or other desired resources. Their military is also equipped with Vibranium, so they're not someone you can bully: its like giving every soldier defences equivalent to Captain America's shield. (note: its not on the same level as Captain America's shield which is a unique irreplicable alloy that only incorporates some wakandan vibranium amongst other stuff). Its basically just as good against anything conventional an army could field.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I'm not saying that an african nation cannot be highly advanced and wealthy. Throughout history there have been several, be they city-states or larger empires. Most african nations today are experiencing rapid industrialisation and economic growth. what i found strange was that based on the information given in Civil War it seemed like Wakanda was completely isolationist. i explained how an isolated country couldn't possibly become as advanced or wealthy as Wakanda.

Hmmm...Japan was very isolationist, but then got a rude wake up call and developed very fast, whilst still being rather distrustful of at least certain forms of foreign interest.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

Isn't Dr Doom also a head of state? How does the country ruled by a supervillian compare with the one ruled by a superhero?

Dr Doom did manage to conquer the world once. He did a very good job running it, and did voluntarily step down after a time.

OT; If I recall in the comics correctly, Vibranium is not a naturally occurring element on Earth. But the result of an alien space craft that crashed in Wakanda's borders. All their tech was derived from that alien ship, the hull of which was made of Vibranium.

 

[mduncan50]

Isn't Dr Doom also a head of state? How does the country ruled by a supervillian compare with the one ruled by a superhero?

Dr Doom did manage to conquer the world once. He did a very good job running it, and did voluntarily step down after a time.

OT; If I recall in the comics correctly, Vibranium is not a naturally occurring element on Earth. But the result of an alien space craft that crashed in Wakanda's borders. All their tech was derived from that alien ship, the hull of which was made of Vibranium.

In universe it is a meteoric ore meaning that the Wakandan deposit was placed there by a meteor that struck the earth. There's no alien tech, or alien influence (that is known at this time) for that matter, that has granted the Wakandans a scientific leg up. There have been cosmic stories that have shown races build entire space fleets out of the metal, so while there's no reason to believe an alien crash is a source of the vibranium, it's not entirely an impossibility either. But outside of the 616, who knows, right?

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

To be fair, its a comic book movie. Somethings, like the entire everything of all, you have to take with a grain of salt.

 

[Sean Renaud]

It's also worth noting that in the Marvel Universe gods are real. The idea that Wakanda has been out of rotation since before Alexander is meaningless. Those gods might actually give a shit about Wakanda. The same way you could very easily have American Indians worshiping Norse Gods. All it would take would be Thor/Loki/Odin/Freya deciding to pop down and do something awesome once in a while.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

It's Ethiopia with a super-material edge. Remained un-colonized, long history, isolationist, etc.

With Vibranium and a magic/tech based superhero leading the country plastering over the rough spots, of course.