If you're a comic book reader, it's often fascinating to see how characters you've enjoyed on the printed page for years are adapted for a movie. So just imagine how it feels for a comic book writer or artist to see a character that they created be brought to life in a theatrical setting. That's just what writer Don McGregor was able to do with the recent release of Black Panther, as several of the Black Panther characters he created for Marvel Comics, including Killmonger, were major players in the movie. Like a lot of people across the world, McGregor enjoyed Black Panther immensely, saying:
Michael B. Jordan was great as Killmonger. The thing that actually struck me the most was that I love Chadwick [Boseman] as T'Challa. I always thought that T'Challa should have a quiet dignity. He doesn't have to raise his voice, he walks in the room and he's the guy. And if trouble's gonna happen, you want him there to come in and back your play. To have Angela Bassett playing Ramonda, another character I created, was so beautiful.
Don McGregor joined Marvel Comics in late 1972 as a proofreader, but he quickly became a writer and editor for the company. In 1973, he starting working on the Jungle Action book, where he penned a 13-issue tale titled "Panther's Rage," which introduced Erik Killmonger to the Marvel universe. Decades later, McGregor was among the first to see Michael B. Jordan's performance as the MCU's Killmonger when he attended the Black Panther world premiere, and he was pleased with what he saw. McGregor was also surprised to see that Black Panther had included one of the wildest moments he ever wrote for T'Challa: the hero tackling a rhino.
As for what elements from his stories he'd like to see included in future Black Panther movies, Don McGregor informed Nerdist that it's important that the future MCU entries stay true to the radical nature of the original Black Panther stories, as well as honor the people who created this material. As McGregor put it:
I would like them to capture the spirit of what the books were about and what we hoped to achieve. Most importantly, that the legacy of people like [artists] Rich Buckler and Billy Graham, who are both gone now, be kept alive.
It's safe to say that Black Panther will go down as one of the MCU's most successful movies. Besides earning numerous positive reviews, it's a commercial powerhouse, and will cross the $500 million mark globally today. While Marvel hasn't officially announced Black Panther 2 yet, with a performance like that, one would imagine that Marvel won't pass up on the opportunity to deliver a sequel.
Whether you've already seen Black Panther or haven't experienced the Wakandan action on the big screen yet, be sure to read our review and To 3D guide for the movie. We'll reunite with T'Challa and several members of his supporting cast in Wakanda when Avengers: Infinity War is released on May 4.
