Welcome, curious reader, to a journey into the heart of Marvel`s latest animated venture, Eyes of Wakanda. With the legacy of Black Panther casting a long, formidable shadow, expectations for any new Wakandan narrative are naturally sky-high. And indeed, the series arrived with a whisper of acclaim, boasting an impressive 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. This, for context, places it alongside animated titans like BoJack Horseman and Samurai Jack, and notably above the likes of South Park and Rick and Morty. One might wonder, then, if the problem lies with the viewer who found themselves drifting off during this purported masterpiece.
The Premise: Noble Quest or Grand Heist?
Eyes of Wakanda unfurls as a four-episode animated anthology, a spin-off charting the exploits of Wakandan agents dispatched across the globe. Their mission, ostensibly, is to retrieve misplaced Vibranium artifacts and return them to the technological cradle of Wakanda. A seemingly straightforward premise, yet beneath the shimmering promise of Vibranium, certain disquieting questions begin to emerge.
Setting aside the inherent fantastical elements – for indeed, Spider-Man and Hulk in our world would more likely face chemotherapy than superpowers – two particular aspects of Wakanda`s long-held narrative become difficult to overlook.
Firstly, a nation that purportedly wielded beam weapons three millennia ago and possessed advanced aircraft in the Middle Ages never once sought to conquer or even influence its neighboring regions, let alone the entire planet. Had a modern-day Laos somehow achieved Bronze Age supremacy, one might reasonably expect the global lingua franca to be Laotian within a few millennia. It’s not an accusation of national character, but rather a reflection on the universal human inclination, particularly for states, to expand influence when holding such a profound advantage. Such prolonged, absolute pacifism in the face of unparalleled power stretches the bounds of credulity.
Secondly, if the Wakandans are truly the world`s most enlightened and benevolent people, was it not their moral and ethical imperative to offer assistance to the rest of humanity, or at the very least, their immediate neighbors? Even as European powers systematically subjugated and exploited much of Africa, Wakanda seemingly remained preoccupied with the preservation of its trinkets. Their justification? Vibranium`s inherent danger. Yet, no one else was even aware of its properties, rendering the danger moot. Ironically, the only individual to weaponize Vibranium was a rogue Wakandan.
And it is precisely these individuals – the self-isolated, artifact-reclaiming agents – that the series elevates to heroic status. While some are bestowed with great power and, consequently, great responsibility, Wakanda appears to have received great power and, paradoxically, great hypocrisy. Their formidable capabilities are not primarily directed towards combating global injustice but, rather, towards an activity that frequently skirts the definition of theft. While the “stealing from a thief” dilemma might occasionally apply, more often than not, these agents are pursuing harmless artifacts of other cultures that merely happen to contain Vibranium.
Case Files: When Narrative Stumbles and History Fumbles
Let us delve into the chronicles of these missions, where the threads of heroism often fray into perplexing narrative choices.
Episode 1: “In the Lion`s Den”
Set in 1260 BCE around ancient Crete, this episode sees a rogue Wakandan commander forging a kingdom with Vibranium weaponry, enslaving Mediterranean peoples. Wakanda dispatches a former Dora Milaje elite guard member to contain him. The narrative here leans so heavily into the clichés of low-budget action films that it almost feels satirical. Our protagonist, a classic “lone wolf” who “marches to her own beat,” defiantly cuts down a squad comprising a Viking, a Samurai, and an Assassin – an eclectic mix for 1260 BCE, to say the least – before single-handedly defeating the super-weapon-wielding villain with merely two knives. This episode marks the solitary instance where Wakandan agents` intervention truly felt necessary, as the Vibranium weapon was genuinely in dangerous, albeit Wakandan, hands. However, even here, their primary motivation wasn`t altruism but the containment of a potential rival power.
Episode 2: “Legends and Lies”
Given Africa`s immeasurable cultural richness – a cradle of humanity teeming with unique histories and mythologies – one might anticipate a Marvel anthology about Africa to explore these vast, fertile grounds. Marvel`s response? Dedicate half the series to Ancient Greece. “Legends and Lies” offers yet another rendition of the Trojan War and its infamous wooden horse, as if the world yearned for another retelling. Here, Achilles finds a “best friend” in Memnon (historically, an adversary slain by Achilles), who is, in fact, a Wakandan agent secretly attempting to repossess Helen`s Vibranium necklace for nine years. Achilles, we are told, “pulled people into this war to create a legend that would inspire future generations.” The mind, it must be said, boggles. This particular narrative motivation makes everything else, from the Achaeans scaling Troy`s walls via a ladder of swords in broad daylight to a war of mythological scale being depicted as a skirmish between five Greeks and a couple dozen Trojans, seem almost plausible. The episode culminates with Memnon abandoning Achilles to his fate to secure a mere trinket, proving that “patriotism” can indeed make a rat of a man. One ponders the myriad ways a highly advanced agent could have stolen a necklace without betraying and murdering his “friend.”
Episode 3: “The Dragon`s Tongue”
Perhaps my favorite episode, not because a miniature Chinese woman single-handedly outwits and out-fights elite Wakandan soldiers (though it`s a refreshing change of pace), but because it finally introduces a semblance of self-awareness. A Wakandan agent travels to China to pilfer a sacred dragon statue, its tongue made of Vibranium. His romantic interest turns out to be an Iron Fist, who pursues him to Wakanda, handily dispatches their guards, and eloquently dissects the hypocrisy of their organization. She plainly states that in their quest to “reclaim what`s theirs,” they are simply stealing other nations` artifacts. The episode concludes with her removing the Vibranium tongue and handing it over, a stark demonstration that solutions beyond outright theft do exist – a revelation that seemingly eluded the Wakandan agents until then. This episode, unlike its predecessors, offers a glimmer of humor and a welcome connection to the wider Marvel Universe.
Episode 4: “1894”
In 1894, Ethiopia, the sole African nation to successfully repel European colonial powers, finds itself embroiled in a brutal war against Italian invaders. What is Wakanda doing amidst this pivotal moment? They dispatch agents to discreetly pilfer from their besieged neighbor. A young prince and his mentor succeed in their mission, only to be ambushed by an even more advanced foe: Wakandans from the future! The future Black Panther engages the present-day heroes in combat over the “reclaimed” stolen axe before revealing her temporal displacement. In her timeline, aliens decimated humanity because the only nation capable of resisting them remained isolated. The solution? Ensure this specific axe remains stolen, allowing Killmonger to acquire it in the first Black Panther film, thus compelling T`Challa to open Wakanda to the world and save humanity. This convoluted explanation attempts to address Wakanda`s isolationism but raises more questions than it answers. If time travel is an option, why this circuitous route of ensuring a specific theft, rather than a more direct communication with past Wakandan monarchs?
The Visuals and the Void
Visually, Eyes of Wakanda boasts impressive static landscapes, though character design is subjective, eliciting both admiration and disdain. Animation is generally competent until action erupts. Fight sequences are dynamic and fast, yet they often lack a sense of mass or impact, rendering movements unnatural. Moreover, despite numerous fatalities, the conspicuous absence of blood feels strangely sanitized for the depicted violence.
Commendably, the writers avoided reducing the series to a simplistic racial struggle, an easy temptation given the context. The opportunity to depict centuries of European colonizers plundering Africa, enslaving its people, and shipping them like chattel to American plantations was there. And how Wakandans, the most advanced nation, bravely… stood by and watched. Perhaps this is why that particular narrative thread was left unpulled.
Final Verdict: A Glimpse, Not a Vision
Eyes of Wakanda ultimately lands in an unfortunate middle ground: not compelling enough to thoroughly enjoy, nor sufficiently dreadful to revel in its failures. It is, simply put, “nothing.” The anthology`s stories fail to captivate, and its characters are often clichéd archetypes, deliberately portrayed as unlikable figures: betrayers and thieves. While moments of visual splendor occasionally surface, they are insufficient to redeem the viewing experience. A series with such rich potential, ironically, leaves one feeling more robbed than entertained.
