Flashback Friday: Black Panther

Welcome to Flashback Friday where I discuss pops from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anything pop related to the MCU is up for discussion including films and television series. Let’s jump right in with this week’s discussion which was chosen by Ryan James who was last week’s trivia winner. Black Panther from the Captain America: Civil War set is Ryan’s choice.

Discussion: Black Panther debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016 in the smash hit Captain America: Civil War. After his father was killed T’Challa became the Black Panther and hunted the Winter Soldier because it was assumed he was the person behind the bombing. Towards the end of the film he joins Iron Man’s team to take on Captain America’s team. This introduction was the first time that the Black Panther character was seen on screen. Fans and critics applauded the debut and the film. I thought it was a fantastic introduction for the character and one that will be heavily expanded on in this year’s Black Panther film. Marvel gave us just enough of Black Panther to get us hyped up for his upcoming solo film.

There are three different Black Panthers in the Captain America: Civil War set. The first one is the fully costumed Black Panther. The second one is the Walmart Glitter exclusive. Finally, we have the Unmasked Black Panther that was a Walgreens exclusive. I remember going on the hunt for that one. After going to three Walgreens I finally found what I was looking for. There were three on the shelf and I bought all three. I kept one and traded the other two for other store exclusives. It ended up working pretty well. If you’re excited for Black Panther then there’s very good news. On top of the three in this set you can look forward to a ton of new ones coming in the Black Panther set from the new film debuting next month.

When it comes to buying pops I know most of us prefer not paying an arm and a leg to add to our collections. Luckily, you won’t have to when you try and add the Unmasked Black Panther to your collection. He’s going for retail price right now which means you can pick him up for roughly $10.00 – $12.00 sans tax and shipping. I’m not sure if you can still find him in Walgreens but Amazon and eBay are solid options. You should also check out our Facebook group where you can buy, sell, trade, and discuss everything Funko. You should definitely start picking up these older Civil War pops because once Black Panther hits cinemas worldwide and more and more people become fans of the character these may become a bit more difficult to find.

Fun Fact: In this section I’ll post an interesting fact or two from the chosen film or television series.

T’Challa had a much smaller role in the earlier drafts and did not even appear in costume, as the writers intended to put more focus on Spider-Man and save Black Panther’s origin for his own movie. However, when it looked like Marvel would not be getting permission to use Spider-Man, Black Panther’s role was beefed up significantly. By the time they did get to use Spider-Man, T’Challa had already become so integral to the plot that they decided to leave his role as it is and give Spider-Man a smaller part.

Trivia: Welcome to our weekly trivia where you have a chance of choosing the pop for the next column. Be the first to comment with the correct answers to both questions and win. If you become the weekly champion you must choose a pop within the MCU that has not been featured in the Flashback Friday series. This week’s questions will come from Captain America: Civil War.

Q1: Which Phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe does this film begin?

Q2: How many suits did Iron Man use in this film?

I hope you enjoyed this week’s column. Please check back next week for a brand new Flashback Friday. Excelsior!!