Marvel's been criticized for the fact that The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange all follow the exact same basic plot formula as Iron Man.
So how did Marvel seek to remedy that? Why, by making Black Panther's first solo run...*drum roll*...follow the exact same basic plot formula as Iron Man 2!
See? Marvel can move on from Iron Man after all! It's now remaking Iron Man 2 instead!
I'm not saying it's bad, per se. If anything, this is Iron Man 2 done right! But it still felt like a rerun!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
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I've decided to map out the similarities and count them to 24, the way Couch Tomato does on YouTube.
I'm not going to talk about how SJWs across the entire spectrum are shamelessly trying to exploit the film, and only proving Psalm 57:6B to have been written about their ilk in the process. PJW has already taken care of that, if you're interested (trigger warning to safe space dwellers, you've been warned!):
Instead, I'm going to talk about the thing that bothered me most watching it: how incredibly familiar the story seemed!
I've counted to 24, because I wanted this to be as much like a CouchTomato video as I could make it.
So, without further adieu, here are:
24 Reasons that Black Panther and Iron Man 2 are basically the same movie:
1. Hero comes back after some successes in the outside world, assumes control of an empire of sorts, is cocky.
2. Female assistant scolds hero about being cocky, though he's too arrogant to heed her warnings.
3. Hero gets some suit upgrades. Sensible, since two years have gone by since the previous movie they were in and the previous movie's suit is So Last Season.
4. Unknown rival blames hero's father for unjust death of his own father.
5. Rival Is the one guy in a billion who is able to match the hero at what he can do, and can do one thing the hero can't.
6. Jealous rival got his training on the streets, not through the hero's "proper" rituals.
7. Rival shows up in hero's world at random and without invitation, and turns hero's world upside-down by proving he can do the one thing the hero couldn't do.
8. Rival uses some vehicles and property damage to publicly embarrass the hero.
9. Rival reminds hero of their fathers and the history they shared, and explains the revenge-by-proxy plan to the hero, who seems to blindly accept this outlandish justification for senseless bloodshed.
The only difference that matters here is that Killmonger doesn't know about Hell. Therefore, he assumes that death is better than being captured. (Ghost Rider could set him straight!)
So Killmonger will do anything to avoid going to prison. But Whiplash worked imprisonment into his dastardly plans. (And got lucky that it fit with Hammer's plans too!) Otherwise, Killmonger and Whiplash are basically the same guy!
10. Rival is able to cripple the hero while the hero is dealing with a health issue that nearly kills him.
11. Rival joins forces with a shady arms dealer who knows the hero's dirty little secrets, and is tired of the hero's BS.
12. Rival eventually betrays the shady arms dealer when he outlives his usefulness.
13. Hero acquires an opposite-color sidekick who is far less interesting than the hero himself. In Tony's case, it was War Machine. In T'Challa's case, it was Everett Ross. Palette swap, but the same basic idea.
14. Hero and his love interest have a constant will-they-or-won't-they dynamic.
15. A third party with questionable intentions saves the hero's life when he's on the brink of death.
16. Something from the hero's house enables him to find a magic cure for his illness. He immediately gets better, and tries to win back control of his empire.
17. Rival is now using tech stolen from the hero to terrorize everything the hero cares about.
18. Hero can't quite win back control without the help of a really smart woman.
19. When he is about to lose the moral high ground, the rival basically commits suicide.
20. Ironically, by committing suicide, the rival spares the hero from doing the one thing that would make the hero just as bad as his father before him was - thus completely defeating the rival's entire moral argument!
21. Hero and love interest finally find a way to work out their differences and be together.
22. Hero decides that his father was too much of a selfish douche, and that opening up to outside interaction will keep him from being just as selfish.
23. At some point, the hero impresses himself on a small child, in the hopes that this will atone for the demons his father created.
24. Insert necessary tease for an upcoming Avengers film.
And those are 24 reasons that Black Panther and Iron Man 2 are basically the same movie. Did I miss a few? Did these bother any of you? Let me know in the comments below, and thanks for taking the time to read this review!
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