Erik Killmonger: What Makes a Great Villain?

From The Past: This article has been imported from one of my past blog sites, written in 2018.

If you were to ask anyone, “What’s the biggest problem facing the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe)?” 8 out of 10 times, you’ll get an answer along the lines of ‘the weak/forgettable Villains.’ Out of all 18 films, I could probably name just about five (at a push) that I really enjoyed. Saying that, though, it’s not really a problem isolated within the MCU; it seems to be a common problem that has rooted itself amongst most superhero flicks. Even last year’s excellent Wonder Woman was brought down thanks to awfully bland and forgettable villains. So what’s causing this problem?

One of the major drawbacks villains have is the limited screen time, especially in origin stories. So they need to make an impact in almost every scene they're in, before they’re pushed aside for more time to focus on the hero. This short-changing can leave the villains with unclear motives, or simply settling for the ‘I’m evil because the plot demands it’ routine, with an uninteresting backstory or personal agenda you just accept. Never mind the endless sequels that seem to throw out new villains like fresh speed bumps along a bigger journey.

This is where Black Panther’s Erik Killmonger comes in, as he’s without a doubt one of the MCU’s best villains to date, comfortably sitting alongside Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Loki in Avengers: Assemble. In honour of Killmonger and the excellent performance by Michael B. Jordan, I thought I’d break down what makes Killmonger such a great villain and how Black Panther made it happen.

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Show Don’t Tell

One of the more persistent issues that presents itself when creating a menacing villain is showcasing their abilities and power. Yet more often than not, you’ll hear other characters reel off exposition about all the terrible things they’ve done, yet throughout the entire film, you won’t see anything remotely resembling the menace that was promised. I mean, it’s not a problem to tell people a villain's back story by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re going to drop that sort of info, you need to be prepared to back it up by showing us that ruthlessness. That’s exactly what Coogler does in Black Panther. We hear Agent Ross talking about all his elite training and kill count, only to be backed up by us watching him shut down T’Challa’s attempts to stop him, or the brutality he shows when executing his supposed love interest, as well as Klaue. He's calculated and precise, with no remorse, which not only showcases to the audience why he’s a threat but also establishes the reasons why we need to worry for T’Challa.

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Understanding The Motive

Another thing Black Panther gets right is giving Killmonger a clear and perhaps more importantly, an understandable motive. Yes, it’s twisted in a war-mongering way, but the baseline is still clear for all to see. The thing is, Killmonger and T’Challa’s love interest Nakia both share the same desire, to help the outside world, and that is against the Wakandan way of life. As W’Kabi tells T’Challa early on in the film, “If you open the border to outsiders, they bring all their problems with them.” The idea is that Nakia wants to help provide foreign aid and share their technological advancements to better the world. Whereas Killmonger has grown up on the streets and has been exposed to a different side of the world, he wants to arm everyone oppressed and give them the tools for liberation. Too often can villains feel like they're bad just because that’s who they are, not because they believe in something so wholeheartedly, and shaped by their experiences.

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Great Design

This one probably isn’t as integral as the rest, but when done right, it can go a long way in making up for a lot of a villain's shortcomings. The best comparison for this is last year's Wonder Woman and how dull the villains were. Especially in the case of Ares, the god of war, his outfit was just some mashed-up metal that looked like they stuck him in a beat-up trash can. The thing about Killmonger’s ‘outfits’ is that they fit in line with the world established, but also provide a history to his character. the bumps represent each kill, showcasing not only his menace but also his threat, and the military style uniform highlights his special forces training, not forgetting the cheeky nod to his comic history when he picks up the tribal war mask from the museum. It’s by no means a revolutionary design choice, but it's intimidating, and his chosen Panther costume looks royal and fierce, as well as helping the audience to distinguish who’s who when the two brawl in the film’s conclusion.

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Product Of His Father’s Error/Crucial Development

This is one of the more integral ideas in Black Panther, not only in the way it sets up the back story of how these two characters are intertwined, but how T’Chaka and Wakandan tradition are the creators of their biggest threat. We learn throughout the film that T’Chaka murdered his brother and left the child behind, as he wasn’t deemed a true Wakandan. This changes how T’Challa feels towards his kingdom and his father. It’s a nice beat, and inevitably, T’Challa comes out better for it, as he understands his enemy's motivation but can’t back his execution of it. Leading to an enjoyable battle. The thing the story makes clear is the way we leave T’Challa and the kingdom of Wakanda, finally joining the rest of the world as the hero hopes to learn from the errors of Wakanda’s past.

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The Ancestral Plane

Not every villain gets a moment like this, but then again, it's kind of hard to give the villain a moment of levity that takes a step back to see him mirrored against the hero in such a way. Earlier on, we see T’Challa journey to the Ancestral plane where he meets his deceased father and chats to him about ruling before crying about letting him die. Later on, we see Erik Killmonger arrive at his ancestral plane, although this time it's not a mystical African plane, but his childhood apartment, where he meets his father. We see him revert to a child briefly as he talks to his father. “What, no tears?” Killmonger simply responds, “Everybody dies. It’s just the way it is around here.” You could argue that it’s a little on the nose, but they become ‘the lost’ and remain on the ancestral plane, separated from home. Although Killmonger’s discovered purpose leads him to be certain that they are found and it’s Wakanda that’s lost. He feels his pursuit is more righteous than before, even if the uncertainty in his father’s eyes conveys a sense of doubt and regret for the path his son is embarking on. Nevertheless, it's a heartfelt moment, and for a villain to get that is remarkable, as it provides us with something that helps us understand clearly why he's set on this path.

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What did you think of Michael B Jordan’s Killmonger? Was he one of the MCU’s greatest villains? Let me know your favourite villains in the comments below.