Black Panther ditches 'racist' name Man-Ape for baddie

From Digital Spy

Marvel Studios has made a big decision about the use of classic comics villain Man-Ape in Black Panther.

The first-ever MCU movie with a black lead explores the power struggle in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, and subsequently the motivations of those grabbing for King T'Challa's throne (Chadwick Boseman).

One key figure will be Winston Duke's character M'Baku, an intriguing cult-like leader whose sect worships the White Gorilla and are fervently opposed to Wakanda having relations with the outside world.

The problem is that, at least in the pages of Marvel Comics, the animal-human hybrid M'Baku went by the moniker Man-Ape and wore a gorilla costume that played into the crude racial stereotypes of the late 1960s.

In trying to make a progressive film for the modern era, Black Panther director Ryan Coogler and his producers decided that using the Man-Ape name would be insensitive and out of touch.

"We don't call him Man-Ape. We do call him M'Baku," executive producer Nate Moore told Entertainment Weekly.

Moore went on to explain: "Having a black character dress up as an ape, I think there's a lot of racial implications that don't sit well, if done wrong.

"But the idea that they worship the gorilla gods is interesting because it's a movie about the Black Panther who, himself, is a sort of deity in his own right."

Moore stressed that along with the change in name, he felt it was important to evolve M'Baku's character beyond simply a cookie cutter comics villain.

"In M'Baku's worldview, T'Chaka made a huge mistake going to the UN [in Captain America: Civil War]," the actor explained. "We should never engage with the outside world. That's a terrible mistake. And if his son is anything like his father, I don't support him being on the throne."

M'Baku will prove not only to be a key figure in Marvel's Black Panther, he'll also be brought back by directors Anthony and Joe Russo for the MCU-spanning Avengers: Infinity War.

Black Panther will be released on February 9, 2018 in the UK and February 16, 2018 in the US. Watch a trailer below:

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