Aside from dealing with the death of T'Challa, it has been continuously teased that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be about the war between the nation and the Talocan, led by Namor, but how did it start in the first place?
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Read at your own risk!
How Did The War With The Talocan Start in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?
At the start of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, no one ever knew about the existence of the Talocan but when the US government had a search for vibranium, they stumbled upon a huge chunk of it somewhere in the middle of the ocean, all thanks to the machine that Riri Williams made.
The Talocans attacked the ship and killed off a lot of agents. Namor personally went to Wakanda himself to meet Queen Ramonda and Shuri asking for help to bring Riri Williams to them, at the same time, keep the existence of the Talocans a secret.
Well, that didn't exactly go as planned. See, Wakanda thought they are the only nation that had vibranium. Also, they didn't want the Talocans to harm Riri so they took her under their wing with the help of Everett Ross. That is, until, the government followed them, again.
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Because of the government intervention, the Talocan got Shuri and Riri, where Shuri was taken by Namor to see the whole Talocan, even gifted her a mesoamerican bracelet with traces of vibranium. This got Okoye stripped off of her Dora Milaje position and Nakia going undercover to save Shuri.
However, Namor wanted more: he wanted to wage war against everyone on the surface with the help of Wakanda and that didn't sit well with Shuri nor anyone in Wakanda. Nakia arrived, bringing Shuri and Riri back to Wakanda, and, in the process, killed a Talocan.
Shuri knew this would be war, not agreeing with Namor and having a Talocan killed. Namor goes for revenge in Wakanda and flooded the streets, giving the Wakandans a warning that if they don't decide within a week, he'll bring more of his people to war.
This included Namor flooding the throne room where Queen Ramonda and Riri were. Riri was drowning and Queen Ramonda knew she had to save the young genius, however, for her, it was the last heroic act she could do. Queen Ramonda died in the process and Shuri when really mad.
Shuri worked for days trying to figure out how to defeat Namor, at the same time, she synthesized a new heart-shaped herb and the bracelet from Namor helped. Finally, she takes on the herb and becomes the new Black Panther.
In the end, they both found a truce. Shuri might've been consumed by anger and revenge but she chose what is right -- stop the war and have an agreement with Namor for the betterment of everyone.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now showing in theaters worldwide.