Black Panther II should adapt this story (that isn’t even a Black Panther story)
I’ve said my piece about Chadwick Boseman’s death, but it bears repeating. It was horrible. I’m still in shock. I’ve also been there. Not as front and center as his family but I have known people who have died from cancer. They held the final visit, where family members and friends gathered to say their goodbyes. It’s a really terrible way to go. It is also a fact of life, one that movies and film shy away from depicting, especially in superhero movies.
Do superheroes even get cancer?
Yes, they do.
Jim Starlin wrote The Death of Captain Marvel. The story was part of the Marvel Graphic Novel series. These comic books were more mature than the bulk of the mainstream line, and this was the first issue. I have read many of them, but this one is easily the most memorable.
The story was touching, as Mar-Vell lives out his final days, reflecting on his life, and making peace with his friends, family…
…and even his enemies.
Unlike so many other comic book deaths this one stuck. Mar-Vell has quite literally never returned. I think this is because in real life, as we all know too well, when people die of cancer, they don’t get to come back. Superheroes always get dramatic heroe’s deaths; a car explosion, jettisonned to another dimension, being sucked into a time warp, or a valiant showdown with their ultimate villain. Despite all that none of those deaths ever reached the gut-wrenching drama displayed in this story penned by Starlin.
Just as in real life, Mar-Vell’s friends gathered as he passed.
Disney/Marvel’s MCU has done an excellent job mixing stories. Thor Ragnarok, for example was a mix of Simonson’s Thor, with Planet Hulk and a bit of Contest of Champions for good measure. Guardians of the Galaxy contained too many cosmic stories to list on one page. Captain America Civil War set up the stories of both Baron Zemo and, of course, Black Panther. They have an entire library at their disposal. When it came time to adapt Captain Marvel, however, they avoided this story because they instead passed the mantle to one Carol Danvers, and telling such a story would completely overshadow that character.
This is also a story Ryan Coogler is used to telling. In Creed he tackled the issue with Rocky Balboa, who was refusing treatment. Sylvester Stallone was nominated for an Oscar for that performance.
This story now belongs to Black Panther, because the man who played T’Challa, Chadwick Boseman, lived it. He lived it privately right in front of our eyes. That’s how this story is always lived. You pass these people on the street everyday completely unaware of the private Hell they are going through.
Superheroes far too frequently are portrayed as invulnerable. They shrug off the likes of Thanos and Ultron without flinching. Some of them are even depicted as Gods, or beings completely incapable of mortal harms like cancer. Among the Avengers, Captain America, Hulk and Thor are unable to succumb to diseases due to perfected biologies, healing factors or just being a God. Wolverine can heal from any wound, stave off any bacteria infection or virus. Peter Quill is part cosmic being. We are not. None of us are. Far too frequently superhero tales go down this road and avoid the very realities we face on a daily basis. That’s what made The Death of Captain Marvel such a seminal story. That’s what makes it such a rarity in the pages of comics. That’s why Disney should adapt it.
Comic books and comic book movies absolutely should inspire children, but they shouldn’t lie to them. Yes, you should stand up to bullies. Yes, you should fight for what is right and good. No, you should not be led to believe certain humans are just impervious to real world killers such as viruses or cancer. A very small percentage of us get to die heroically in battle and even that is not as glamorous as it is depicted on the comic page or on screen.
Marvel has gone out of it’s way to depict it’s heroes as humans. This is why they’ve made continuity a focus, and allowed the characters to age with the actors. Chadwick Boseman should be afforded that as well. He should be given the send off onscreen that one of the greatest actors of our generation deserves. His story should be told. This journey is an important journey for his fans and all of us to understand, because so many go through it on a daily basis. Of all the things we have seen the Marvel heroes do onscreen, what Chadwick Boseman did silently offscreen was the most heroic.