Grief, Rage, and the Ties That Bind T’Challa and Erik Killmonger
Much has been discussed about the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief. Anger is the second stage and, perhaps, the easiest to access. It tends to give us a sense of purpose in a situation where we often feel helpless. It’s also an emotion that comes with great power. T’Challa’s and Killmonger’s stories are threaded together by the grief over the losses of their fathers and the anger it inspired. Much of T’Challa journey with his anger took place in Captain America: Civil War while Killmonger’s was the center of Black Panther.
T’Challa followed a similar journey of grief, anger and revenge in Captain America: Civil War. Like Killmonger, he lost his father to senseless violence. In both cases, learning who was responsible for the attack awakened a need for retribution. When James ‘Bucky’ Barnes was falsely identified as the person who set the bomb that killed T’Chaka, T’Challa pursues him with a single minded focus, working through his grief via violence. Solid in his quest, he fights his way through the Avengers and finds his way to Barnes. In the end, seeing Iron Man, Captain America and Barnes battle each other helps him recognize the irrationality of his anger. He moves into acceptance, choosing to turn over Zemo – the man who was truly responsible for his father’s death – to the authorities rather than killing him.
And then you have Killmonger. While N’Jobu was radicalized by witnessing the plight of Black Americans in Oakland, Killmonger was radicalized first by the death of N’Jobu. Though he shares the same passion for the plight of Black people as his father, he, too, uses violence to work through his grief and is immovable in his goals of revenge. This is evidenced by murdering his girlfriend to get to Klaue and his unflinching violence towards the women of Wakanda, in general.
Not only was T’Challa older at the time of his personal tragedy, he also had a system of support. We see this in the gentle comfort Nakia gives him, his mother and sister, as well as in his country’s eagerness to rally behind him upon his return. Even when he discovers the truth of his father’s treatment of N’Jobu, that rage from Civil War doesn’t return. Instead, he’s able to channel his anger and disappointment into protecting his country.
In contrast, Killmonger is alone, orphaned by both his family in Wakanda and his family in America. He lost his world when his father died, leaving him mired in his pain and resentment. N’Jobu’s death awakens a hate in him for a country that turned its back on him and a King that betrayed his father. It led him to enlist in the military and black ops, which required him to kill in multiple countries. All of this, mind you, was in preparation to avenge his father’s death. Once he finds himself in power, he tries to use his position in a way that puts weapons in the hands of the oppressed, opening the doors for more death and destruction.
There’s a moment when Killmonger speaks to N’Jobu in the ancestral plane and N’Jobu talks about being lost. While he’s referring to being separated from their homeland, it can also describe how Killmonger is lost in the process of grieving. He cries for this father, but rather than pivot to acceptance, he only emerges with more anger. It’s hard not to imagine how different things would have been had Erik had a support system similar to T’Challa’s to help guide him.
To Killmonger, T’Challa represents everything he didn’t have. T’Challa grew up in a comfortable environment with both parents. He even had a close relationship with Zuri, whom Killmonger knew as Uncle James…the same uncle that betrayed his father. Most of all, T’Challa received justice for his father’s death, which is something Killmonger could never have no matter how many people he killed. Close to death, he had to accept that he could literally burn the world around him down, but it wouldn’t bring back his father.
Erik Killmonger had been driven by his rage and grief for so long that he had only managed to reach the final stage – acceptance – upon his dying breath. Both he and T’challa worked their way through the grieving process, but experiences and access made all the difference between one man’s tragedy and another man’s triumph.
