Arg 1. Compelling Character Arcs
I will start off with the characters within Wakanda and their intriguing story arcs. One of the most crucial aspects of storytelling is the characters and showing the growth or arc of a character will make the audience actually care about what happens to them. Wakanda Forever does a great job with building off from where the protagonists left off in the first film and continuing their story by putting them in a tough situation that none of them were prepared for. The impact of T'Challa's death is felt through Shuri, Okoye, Ramonda, Nakia and Okoye, as well as the rest of Wakanda and the film addresses the topic of grief in a mature way through its characters. Wakanda Forever has compelling characters and well-written story arcs that further develop each individual. In contrast, other Phase Four entries have made attempts to write good character arcs, but they either fell apart or were difficult for the audience to empathize with.
Shuri is an example of a character with a well written story arc. She had the closest relationship to T'Challa out of all the characters besides Ramonda and Nakia, so naturally his death would affect her the most. The movie shows her going through the motions of her job as a scientist at the beginning, being depressed that her brother is gone, try to bargain with her ancestors to be more faithful when she tries to save her brother, and be filled with rage and a thirst for revenge once Namor takes her mother from her (by killing her. We witness Shuri's transformation from a cheerful, sassy girl to a somber but strong young woman. M'Baku said it best: she is no longer "a child who scoffs at tradition". Her story feels real because the loss of a loved one is something we've all experienced at some point in our lives, and grief has a way of changing you. In contrast, other Marvel entries have female protagonists who go through similarly tough times but are perceived as less sympathetic. One example that comes to mind is the Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff.
Wanda Maximoff is one of the most powerful characters in the MCU, but she also one of the most tragic. Her story starts and finishes with tragedy, and her story arc throughout her time in the MCU shows her grow in power as she suffers blow after blow to her sanity. In WandaVision, her story arc capped off with her finally facing her grief over the love of her life, Vision, release the people of Westview from the flase reality she created for herself, and remove the spell that kept her imaginary family alive. Wanda stood alone by the series' end, but she learned to accept her feelings of loss in order to start moving forward. The problems with her arc arise when you take into account her actions during the course of her rough briefing period. Even if it was subconsciously, Wanda forced innocent people to play a part in a fantasy that she created; she projected her feelings of pain and sadness onto them for weeks, and yet at the end of WandaVision Monica tell her : They'll never know what you've sacrificed for them. This line undermines Wanda's tragic hero arc by pacifying her actions and minimizing the consequences. It also shows that Wanda doesn't consider the impact of her selfish actions on others and will do anything for her own personal benefit regardless of who gets hurt. This is more pronounced in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, where Wanda completely goes over the deep end after she already came to terms with not getting her loved ones back. She is fully willing to disrupt the life of an alternate version of herself and her kids, as well as kill anyone who stands in her way all so she can be with her kids. Not only does it undo all of her character growth from the previous installment, but it portrays Wanda as an extreme two-dimensional villain instead of what she really is: a broken and grieving woman. Compared to her, Shuri also goes on a warpath driven by revenge and grief, but the consequences of her actuons are mafe clear. When she goes into the ancestral plane and meets Killmonger, she is given the option to be noble like her brother or finish the job and kill Namor. Initially, she choose the latter, but when she's given the opportunity to kill Major, she thinks about his kingdom and her kingdom and ultimately chooses not to. Shuri is shown think about how her actions impacts others, proving that she's become more mature and considerate of others.
In conclusion, one of Wakanda Forever's strengths is great writing for its characters and creating a story arc that is not only relatable, but showcases proper growth.
A shame Con forfeited the whole thing. Shang-Chi and No Way Home were obviously better.