Black Panther Book Titled 'The Wakanda Files' Unveiled

The lore of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is extremely in-depth and far-reaching. From comics, to films, to video games, and more, Marvel has created a world that feels as real as our own, and continues to put out content that enriches the mythos of its stories. With 23 MCU films having already been released and at least 14 more announced and in development, the MCU provides plenty of material to explore beyond the films.

The newest addition to MCU lore is The Wakanda Files, an in-universe book compiled at the request of Black Panther's sister, Shuri. Marvel.com describes the book like this:

"An in-world book from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Wakanda Files—compiled by request of Shuri—is a collection of papers, articles, blueprints, and notes amassed throughout history by Wakanda’s War Dogs."

The Wakanda Files focuses specifically on the "stories, personalities, and technology that are the fabric of the MCU," centering around Shuri's research on these topics:

"Wakanda has been on the forefront of what is technologically possible. Their ability to stay ahead of the rest of the world is second only to their ability to keep themselves hidden. As the architect behind many of Wakanda’s great advancements, Shuri is constantly seeking ways to improve what has come before. To aid in her search, she researches the past for context, reference, and inspiration by compiling The Wakanda Files."

Marvel's announcement provided a sneak peek at several pages from the book. The first transcribes a voice recording from Shuri, introducing why she has decided to compile the book and what her intentions for it are.

The following pages display schematics War Machine's armor provided by Stark Industries, as well as information about Hank Pym's quantum technology.

The book is available for pre-order now and will release officially on October 20th.

According to the Amazon listing, the book also features UV ink and a UV light that provides additional, secret information.

"In a nod to Wakandan technology, the pages of the book have a printed layer of UV ink with content that is visible only under the accompanying Kimoyo bead–shaped UV light."

The release of a book like this is exciting, especially during the first year since 2009 without an MCU film release. While we are not able to watch movies like Black Widow or Eternals yet, we have time to invest in other areas of Marvel, like books, comics, and more. This book, in particular, is exciting because it is in-universe and feels like an artifact pulled straight out of a film.

It comes in the wake of the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, the actor who played the MCU's Black Panther. Shuri, Black Panther's sister, already a fan-favorite character, is favored by many fans to be T'Challa's successor in the MCU. Shuri would be a perfect pick to take up the mantle, and while she would be stepping into the Black Panther role, in a way she would be filling Tony Stark's role, too, given her technological prowess. This book opens the doorway to explore more of her scientific prowess, and she could very easily fill the void Tony has left, given the Wakandan technology to which she has access.

We are looking forward to this book release, and we hope it will open the door for more books like this, too. While there are plenty of comics and behind-the-scenes books about the MCU, it seems as if there is a lack of in-universe books, at least those that dive as deeply as this one. With all sorts of MCU history to explore, it would be incredible to see more material along these lines, and hopefully Marvel fans agree!

Written By Alex Cherry

Syndicated From Culture Slate