Recap: Marvel's "Eyes of Wakanda" Scratches the Surface of Black Panther Lore in Opening Episode
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has introduced millions of fans to the technologically advanced fictional nation of Wakanda. Now, in Marvel’s latest animated series, those fans get to dive deeper into the lore of this mystical land. Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda looks back at the history of the African country while introducing some new characters and providing some new stories along the way.
The first episode opens up with a look at Crete in the year 1260 BC. The peaceful island is quickly overtaken by raiders led by a man wearing a lion mask and wielding technology with a familiar purple glow. The lion and his soldiers lay waste to the warriors of Crete and bring their people onboard their ships. Meanwhile, we see one of the women of Crete trying to get a better look before she is also taken by the Lion’s soldiers.
On one of their ships, the Lion’s soldiers try to welcome their captive audience to join the Lion and his people. One of the men resists and he is brought into a cell to be branded and tortured. The mystery woman from earlier cowers before being selected by a guard to be brought to that same cell. Inside though, she stands strong and refuses to give herself to the Lion.
We then flash back to six weeks earlier in Wakanda. Noni of the Merchant Tribe, the woman we saw in Crete, is summoned by Akeya, the leader of the Dora Milaje. It is revealed that the Noni is a former Dora but she was never very good at following orders. Akeya explains that a former member of the Royal Guard stole Wakandan technology and deserted Wakanda and is now building his own kingdom. She says they have sent soldiers after him but every one was trained by the Lion and none of them have returned. Because Noni was expelled from the Dora and never met the Lion, he would never see her coming. Noni reluctantly accepts the task of bringing the Lion back to Wakanda.
Back on the ship, Noni makes short work of the guards who put her in the cell but they refuse to give her any information. Noni gives their weapons to the other prisoners and makes her way outside. She sees the Lion’s fleet of ships as they link themselves together, forming a sort of city at sea.
Noni sneaks past several guards before eventually working her way into a room where some of the women captured on Crete are being given their orders. A woman tries to fight back but one of the Lion’s top soldiers threatens her. Noni intervenes and stops the soldier but an alarm is sounded and the fight begins.
Noni tries to escape as soldiers chase her but she is eventually cornered and begins to fight instead. The Lion hears the action outside and gets a closer look, seeing that Noni is a very capable fighter. One by one, Noni takes out the Lion’s top soldiers in an impressive action sequence. Meanwhile, the Lion himself gears up for a fight with his stolen Wakandan tech.
The Lion sees Noni kill his last soldier and welcomes her up to his chamber. He explains to her that she is the first Wakandan to come for him whom he did not train himself. He tries to explain to her that the world outside of Wakanda is free and that he learned that when he was first sent out by Wakanda as one of the Hatut Zeraze, or War Dogs. We have seen the War Dogs both in the comics and in the MCU in the past, with Hunter and Nakia being the two most significant examples respectively. He offers her a place in his kingdom, free of the path set for her by Wakanda. Noni refuses and they fight.
After a lengthy back-and-forth, Noni eventually gets the better of the Lion, using his own tech against him. The Lion sits back in his throne, bleeding from the chest, and starts a vibranium-powered explosive in an effort to eliminate both himself and Noni. She escapes just in time though, leaping from his ship into the ocean. She fails to retrieve the Lion’s tech as she watches it fall to the bottom of the ocean. She does, however, manage to obtain his mask.
Back in Wakanda, Noni tells Akeya she failed because she did not bring the Lion home or recover his stolen tech. Akeya informs her she eliminated the threat against Wakanda and offers her a place within the Dora once again. Noni refuses though and implies she instead wishes to become a War Dog.
Akeya explains to Noni that becoming a War Dog cannot be asked of anyone but instead, must be volunteered. She tells Nonie she always thought this would be her purpose, admitting her assignment to hunt down the Lion was a sort of a test to nudge her in this direction. Noni expresses her willingness and desire to become a War Dog and retrieve any stolen Wakandan technology before it can do any harm. Akeya accepts and welcomes her to the War Dogs as the episode comes to a close.
This is a strong introduction to this new short series. While it explores a time and story that is new to Marvel fans, it ties back just enough into the lore of Wakanda to feel as though it is a piece of the larger story. That, combined with the unique art style and visually impressive action sequences will likely be enough to keep a significant portion of the audience interested going forward. And now with Noni joining the War Dogs, this story could take us to some very interesting places.
Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda is streaming now on Disney+.