Wakanda

Wakanda in the Marvel Cinematic Universe located between Niger and Nigeria next to Lake Chad.

Wakanda, officially the Kingdom of Wakanda, is a country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in comic book Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). Birnin Zana is the capital and largest city. Wakanda is located in sub-Saharan Africa and has been shown as being in East Africa. It is home to the superhero Black Panther.

Location

In the MCU, Wakanda is located just north of Lake Turkana, at a point bordering Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan.

Some sources place Wakanda just north of Tanzania and at Rwanda, as mentioned in Fantastic Four vol. 3 #21. However, others, like Marvel Atlas #2, show it at the north end of Lake Turkana, between South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia, surrounded by fictional countries like Azania, Canaan, and Narobia.

Director Ryan Coogler said that his version of Wakanda in the 2018 film Black Panther was inspired by the Kingdom of Lesotho.

In recent stories by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, Wakanda is located on Lake Victoria, near the fictional nations of Mohannda, Canaan, Azania, and Niganda. These locations are mostly in the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Birnin Zana is a city in Wakanda, considered a smart city. People walk along busy, car-free streets with shops, except for shuttle buses. This is similar to the woonerf concept, which started in the Netherlands in the 1970s. Maglev trains zip above and around the city. Wakandan buildings have traditional African elements like thatched roofs and hanging gardens on tall structures.

In other media

Wakanda has appeared in comics and various media adaptations, such as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise.

References

  1. ↑ Cronin, Brian (September 19, 2010). "A Year of Cool Comics – Day 262". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  2. ↑ GEORGE GENE GUSTINES (July 22, 2016). "Marvel's World of Wakanda Will Spotlight Women, on the Page and Behind It". NYT. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved July 29, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ Michael Hoskin, Anthony Flamini, Eric J. Moreels & Stuart Vandal (w). Marvel Atlas 2 (May 2008), Marvel Comics
  4. ↑ "Searching for Wakanda: The African Roots of the Black Panther Story". 15 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  5. ↑ Smith, Tymon (18 February 2018). "How 'Black Panther's' director fell in love with Lesotho & isiXhosa". Times Live. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  6. ↑ Jones, Nate (15 February 2018). "Black Panther's Wakanda, Explained". Vulture. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "Conceptualizing the Black Panther". The Atlantic. 22 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  8. ↑ "Finding Birnin Zana" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  9. ↑ "The Real-Life Possibilities of Black Panther's Wakanda, According to Urbanists and City Planners". architecturaldigest.com. 28 February 2018.