Eyes of Wakanda Review | Marvel Animation

0:00 Hey friends, I'm Derek. That's Noah, and you're tuning into a bite of. On today's episode, we're talking about Eyes of Wakanda. Yeah, Oh, I'm so excited to talk about this. We're going to promote it because it feels like Marvel is not promoting it, but you know, you should watch it. Spoiler head for MCU Black Panther, Wakanda Forever and as a Wakanda. But before we get into everything, make sure you follow us, comment below, do the subscribe, do all those amazing things. But yeah, let's get into it. Let us officially take a bite of Eyes of Wakanda, directed by John Fang and Todd Harris and written by Geoffrey Thorne and Mike Bernadin. Follow different generations of Wakandan heroes as they risk their lives to retrieve stolen artifacts throughout history in order to protect and keep the secrets of their homeland. So this was a four part, I guess we can call it miniseries, right?

1:00 Yeah, it's like an anthology miniseries. Yeah. Because they all do end up connecting at the end. So with this 4 parter, these quick 22 to 30 minute episodes, what did you think? I really enjoyed it. First I want to say whoever did the intro music animation banger, the intro is so, so good. I was really surprised by this because I feel like again, Marvel didn't really push it too much. Like we knew about it and it kind of snuck up on us that oh, it's coming out so soon. We watched it all the way through. We sat down, couldn't stop watching it. I was really surprised by I think the stories were fantastic. Each one of these episodes almost feels like a mini movie that they could have just expanded more if they wanted to. But I love these little vignettes we got. But it did make me want more, right? I think 4 episodes is interesting. It's an interesting amount, but I liked how it all connected in the end and it gave more weight to what Wakanda Forever actually means.

2:01 More than just a phrase, right? But I really, really, really enjoyed it. Yeah, I enjoyed it as well. You know what, these quick run times with it only being 4 episodes, it really felt like watching a feature length film, right? Because these stories which seem very separate, these first 3, going into the last one, you realize that they are all connected and you are watching one huge story that spans throughout history. I thought it was really clever that there are pieces of history that we see in this very much like the Trojan Horse. There were some from from Wakanda that was paired up with Achilles throughout that like I thought that was really clever. And then in the other three episodes, one of the things that I love so much it just in general, in pop culture but also within Wakanda, is the strength of women, right?

2:46 We have in 1/3 and four, a really strong woman, whether she's from Wakanda or somewhere else, who takes charge, who's really powerful, who's really cool, slick, a fighter, intelligent, and I just always love that that's a piece of Wakanda. Yeah, I had loved that they, you know, we've gotten the Midnight Angels, we got them Wakanda Forever, and we know the Dora Melaje, we know all of those. But I love that they're expanding a little bit on the War dogs. And it's like a secret separate group from these, you know, Dora Melaje that are trained to be kind of solo, but look for these artifacts and make sure Wakanda is protected and all that. And I thought that was so cool.

3:28 Do you have a particular episode that you like, really liked that stood out to you? I really liked #3 Lost and Found, so the strong female protagonist in this one is actually Iron Fist. I made me so happy, so so happy that Iron Fist was in this and done so well and so cool. And, you know, one of the things that this really brought to light to me about Wakanda is, you know, as we're hundreds and hundreds of years in the past, we see how technologically advanced Wakanda always has been, right? And so this one takes place solidly in Wakanda because she's a stowaway on a ship retrieving her own artifact from her culture. And there's, of course, this, like, really sweet fight scene where they're falling from, for lack of a better term, trains. And I love it.

4:24 It's like Tron meets, you know, in Wakanda with the lights. And so I really love that whole set piece. I thought that was really fun. It was almost like one of my biggest critiques with Black Panther. The movie was kind of the end fight scene and there's a particular, it doesn't look great. It's just not great between T'challa and Killmonger and there's trains that are kind of involved, so we get to see them in the Black Panther and it just doesn't look great. I liked that that episode almost just did it a little better and the fight scene was a little better. So that was a cool little. I don't know if it was intentional or not, but I liked that. It was like, I like that one over that one it. Felt like they were maybe in a way doing justice to the trains in Wakanda. How about you?

5:07 Well, I, well, I love that episode. I think the introduction of this Iron Fist was really cool, and I know that we're expecting Iron Fist to be in the MCU at some point with Jessica Jones being confirmed to come back in Born Again Season 2, Daredevil Born Again season 2. I think we're all like, are the Defenders going to be back? What's going to happen? I hope it's not Danny Rand, like let's get away from that, but I really like that one. I want to say I loved all of the episodes. I know that's a kind of a cop out, but I really, really enjoyed the second one and 4th one. It's kind of tied for me. I just loved the one with Achilles. I thought it was super interesting to show, I don't know, something that we all know, like the George and horse and stuff, but then adding that extra layer of a Wakanda secret warrior from the War Dogs being in it. I like that.

5:55 And I think the relationship between Memmon, I think that was his name, and Achilles was really interesting. I almost was like, are they going to kiss? Yeah, they didn't, but. We wanted this to be Song of Achilles adjacent, basically. Yeah, but I, I really like showing the relationship between these war dogs, right? Because I think he was stationed for nine years with them. And what does that mean for somebody that is so separated from the community that they're trying to protect, but being so enveloped into another family and unit and everything? And how do you separate that? Right? And he just cuts it off and is like, this is my mission, I'm so sorry. And ends up killing Achilles.

6:35 I thought that was like super powerful and great writing. And then the 4th one, I'm just going to make it quick but last. Black Panther, amazing. The story, amazing how it connects, amazing. But adding the horde which we haven't seen in the MCU yet, Very cool. They were very scary if it gave me World War of the World's vibes, just how they came in, you know, not to not mention the first one. I think the first one did a good job of setting all of this up right Because, correct me if I'm wrong, it actually felt like Noni, who was our character that was leading this. She was supposed to be a Dora Milaje for whatever reason. Didn't work out almost because she was so solo, but it was because of her that the war dogs actually began. Well, I they did exist ish.

7:23 But I do think that she made it more important because I think that was one of the first times that somebody from Wakanda left and took some of these artifacts. And then it was like, OK, we need to make sure this doesn't happen. Because that's the thing with Cobot Conda, right? As they've been so advanced and the rest of the world isn't keeping up with them because they have access to vibranium and stuff like that, which I like that. Again, that was a theme through this entire thing. But yeah, I I would say yeah, I guess so. Yeah, I think it existed, but it wasn't like a thing. I think that this is maybe the first time that they saw that it could work right and that you don't have to be Dwar Milaje. You could actually have a you could still fight for Wakanda and protect Wakanda in another way. And just as a note, Noni was actually voiced by Winnie Harlow, who is a supermodel slash actor slash, I guess voice actor as well.

8:11 So I thought that was really fantastic. And just some of the other voice cast in this. I also wanted to mention that the last Panther is actually played by Anika Noni Rose. Yeah, From also, I'm just saying like kind of just Disney royalty and voicing many characters as well. So just. Amazing. Yeah, not only is she Tiana, but she's now also a Black Panther, which is pretty baller, I believe. They were in Mufasa as well. Really. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. So they they're very good voice acting, obviously. And I just love the last Black Panther. Fantastic. So yeah, I mean, I guess those are our favorites, right? I do agree. I think the first one was good. It didn't hook me as much as I wanted it to. I enjoyed it, but I think as we got to the second episode, it was like, oh, I see what they're doing, right?

8:56 I see what they're doing. And then it just connected. So let's get to like, kind of what, like does this connect to the MCU? Like what is not the point, but like, how does it impact the greater? And it does in a very surprising way. And it connects to Killmonger, which I think is arguably one of the best villains that the MCU has ever had. So much so that they brought him back in Wakanda forever. They keep coming back in like what if and in an animation. But I just love that. Like the whole point of the connection was they had to put the artifact back so that way Wakanda found it in the British Museum. That led him to Wakanda to then let T'challa open up Wakanda to the rest of the world instead of being isolated.

9:40 So that way in the future they could defeat the Horde because they helped the planet with the technology. I thought that was so cool. Yeah, I thought that was really cool too, because basically in this last episode they weren't open up to the world. And that's actually what ended up not only for the Horde defeating Wakanda, but basically destroying Earth, right, was because they never opened up. And so I thought it was really clever that in this last episode, the eyes of Wakanda, at least in my opinion, is this last Panther traveling through time, trying to find the one choice that's being made that changes all of that. And so we actually see her looking, watching very much the watcher esque but watching the first 3 episodes.

10:25 I wanted to I, I think when I first started I was like, oh, let me see if I see the watcher in the background. So if the actual watcher was in it, because I know they like to throw them in there with the animation. If you guys saw the watcher, let us know because I didn't catch it. But I do like that interpretation of like what the eyes of Wakanda means, right, because I think that's a literal interpretation. It could be like we're just seeing history through these people in Wakanda. But I like that the in the end it was like she met up with all of her characters and she was like, where did this deviate? Like. That a lot. And it turns out it was that axe, right? And so something that I found interesting. Again, correct me if I'm wrong because you are our human encyclopedia of Marvel knowledge, but it seemed like so.

11:08 In the fourth episode, we meet Tafari, who is a Prince of Wakanda and he is out with CUDA and they are looking for this axe, right? But it almost seemed like a Black Panther didn't exist in that time yet. This is where it is interesting because I mean once the heart-shaped herb is like used to create back Panthers. I'm not too sure on the how far back Black Panthers exist, but also remember the war dogs are separate from Black Panther and royalty. So like Black Panther exists, but I they're not the ones that are going to go out and find these artifacts because they're supposed to be covert. They're supposed to blend in and everything. So having a Black Panther run around it might tie it to Wakanda. So I think that's the reasoning why we didn't see a Black Panther because Black Panther and best set and all of that it that's all of their lineage.

11:58 So like Black Panther exists. I just think that they wanted to almost separate it and show more of Wakanda than a black. Panther I I just thought it seemed to me that Tafari and CUDA didn't recognize what a Black Panther was well. Remember it's some of the future so she looked like completely alien to them. Even with them being so advanced like her, her outfit and armor was a lot more futurist. That's true. She was so cool though. I felt like she was really tall and and royal and sleek and just took control of the situation and fought like a bad. Ass I loved the hood that she had. It's so good. OK, so final thoughts watch it.

12:39 It's amazing. We didn't go too deep into it because I feel like 1 they're they're a little short, but also like go watch it. I think it's really fun experience to see all of this connect and some of the characters from one episode being the next one, but like decades later, So I very much enjoyed it. I I can't wait for what Marvel Animation is going to do. Yeah. I think absolutely agree. Go watch it. The animation is really cool. It has a style all of its own, which I think is awesome. I really love seeing the juxtaposition of these ancient civilizations, but with these Wakandan warriors who have just really cool either tools or fighting techniques or whatever it is. And I also think that just getting to know more of these warriors is great.

13:26 Expanding on Wakanda. So just kind of taking Wakanda and seeing how it's existed and how it has protected itself, but knowing that it ultimately does need to become part of the world in order to survive is is something that I don't think I ever thought of. Yeah, well, good thing they did do that. I do know that there was talks of Ryan Coogler, who's going to be doing the third Black Panther, that apparently Marvel Studios is very excited for what he has submitted so far. And I'm very excited that they're excited. So more Black Panther, more Wakanda, I think is never a bad thing. Agreed. Agreed. Now I'm thinking like oh are they going to do a time jump is I mean super spoiler. Is T'challa's son going to be old enough and be training to be a Black Panther?

14:08 What's going to happen? Let's all remember, again, this is a conversation. A greater conversation that we're going to be having as we get closer to Doomsday and Secret Wars is that the MCU is resetting. To what extent, I don't know, but we'll see if any of the stuff carries over. What they're going to pick and choose is Cherie's still going to be the Black Panther going forward that will eventually train to Charla's son or a time jump? I don't. I hope they don't do a time jump. I think Cherie should be the Black Panther going forward, at least until Secret Wars, because I feel like we're kind of forever was very much her coming into Black Panther and dealing with the loss of her brother. I think if they took that away, it would one give those toxic people the win.

14:52 And also like I need more. I want I want to know more, you know? So that's my thought on Black Panther 3. So. We'll have to wait and see. Yeah, All right, go watch it. Let us know what you think. Until next time. Bye.