Miners
The narrative component of the comic book literally begins with imagery of vibranium miners as the ruler of the country looks over them and refers to them as “the heart of my country.” This, of course, is merely political posturing, but beneath Black Panther’s empty metaphor is genuine symbolism of the significance of the vibranium to the mythology of Wakanda. Take it away from their economy and it is Burundi or Malawi: another African country that is difficult to place. The king is ultimately right: mining is the heart of Wakanda which pumps the life blood of economic independence through it.
Zenzi
But those actual people comprising the heart of the country are not happy. In fact, they are angry, filled with a seething hatred capable of making their eyes glow. They have green eyes, so help me god, green eyes. And how did they get those green eyes? Zenzi, an empath with tremendous—some might even say super—powers to plumb the depths of subconscious repressed desires of others and bring them forth. Symbolically speaking, this power has another name in the world of American politics: populism.
The Midnight Angels
In the backstory of Aneka which is conveyed early in the story is foreshadowing of the coming of the Midnight Angels. They are group of powerful women hellbent on destroying the patriarchy, though this goal will become complicated as the story plays out. The Midnight Angels represent the real-world counterpart of the rise of radical black feminism.
The Resurrection of Shuri
A vital element in the story is the resurrection of Black Panther’s sister—the former queen—from a state that is not quite dead, but certainly a long away from the living. Her temporary occupation of this middle-ground between the past and the future is not coincidental. She is the symbolic embodiment of the desire to retain traditions of the past even as Wakanda becomes more and more technologically advanced. She personifies the concept of moderates within the political spectrum.
Violent Revolution
Tetu at first seems an unlikely candidate to take the extreme of radical violent revolution. His introduction is couched in pantheistic imagery implicates him as a mystic figure. That imagery take a sudden violent turn at the end as his mysticism is transformed in the blink of an eye into talk of chopping sticks and fire launchers. His is the agenda behind the exploitation of Zenzi’s populist intrusion into the minds of the miners.
