Alt. ‘verse Black Panther (2018 film) scenario: Before Zuri can explain to Erik Killmonger that he lied to him about what happened to his father, the latter man kills the current king of Wakanda, T'Challa in a very quick fashion. Thus, making him the BRAND NEW king of Wakanda. What would happen if Erik had actually killed T'Challa and was running his home nation? And who do you think would be able to stop Killmonger before things get worse?
Hm. You know what, this is a very interesting, awesome question. Thanks so much for asking!
I have SEVERAL opinions on how things played out in the movie (and several opinions about the world-building and writing in general), but I’ll try to keep my answer kind of focused and straight to the point.
What would’ve happened if T’Challa was killed?
I think Erik would’ve undoubtedly carried out his plan to declare war on the world. Of course, Marvel would never entertain the thought of him becoming an Avenger’s level villain, but if I’m imagining it, this is where the I think the story would go.
In terms of how Wakanda would be affected: I could see a full-blown Civil War breaking out between Wakandan Imperialists and Wakandan Isolationists. On another note, I believe Killmonger would’ve eventually overturned Wakandan traditions completely, starting with the destruction of the Dora Milaje. I think he would naturally distrust from the beginning and feel that they will either hinder his plans or serve no purpose in his new world order. I also think it would be interesting to see a conflict stirring from within the Dora Milaje sisterhood. A schism would form between Throne Loyalists and Silent Revolutionaries.
Who do I think would be able to stop Killmonger?
My hopes would probably fall on Shuri, who already displayed how much of a formidable genius she is in her own right, but she would need support. The reason I don’t place full confidence in Okoye (who should naturally be my first choice) is because she’s so grounded in her Dora Milaje principles and her duty to the Throne. Hopefully, she would bend and start leading a secret plot to overthrow him, but she’d have to be ultra sneaky about it because of Killmonger’s paranoia/distrust.
But like I said earlier, if all else failed, I think the conflict would probably end up being contained by the Avengers. It would probably pan out in a similar way that Ultron and his robot revolt panned out.
I think ultimately though, Killmonger’s coup exposed how fundamentally flawed Wakanda’s governmental structure was. Typically, that’s the same lesson we learn from any monarchy though.
