After a record-breaking long gap between its theatrical release and its streaming premiere, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has now finally made its Disney Plus debut. While you’d think that would be nothing but a cause for celebration for Marvel fans everywhere, unfortunately the acclaimed awards magnet being easier to watch than ever before has only increased criticism of the film, from its frustratingly murky lightning to lingering resentment over one of the franchise’s biggest failures.
Wakanda Forever might’ve brought back Michael B. Jordan as everyone’s favorite villain Killmonger, but folks over on the Marvel subreddit are still resentful that it didn’t find room for the secondary antagonist of 2018’s Black Panther. Namely, Ulysses Klaue, the one-armed arms dealer memorably played by Andy Serkis. As the OP noted, it’s Klaue who is Black Panther’s main enemy in the comics, not Erik Stevens, so it hurts that the MCU made so little use of him.
Klaue was introduced in Avengers: Age of Ultron, which established his vibranium interests and saw the evil robot decapitate his arm. While Serkis still managed two Marvel appearances, then, it seems a chunk of the fandom remains sore over the fact his death in Black Panther appears to be permanent. An ingenious theory from one user in the comments to this Reddit thread offers a way that could explain his comeback, though.
Given that Klaue becomes a being of pure sonic energy in the comics, it’s conceivable that this idea could be picked up in the MCU at some point, especially as this would allow Serkis to play the part as a purely CGI creation, something the Planet of the Apes/Lord of the Rings/King Kong actor has a looot of experience doing.
But, hey, until that happens at least he’s still Alfred over in DC’s The Batman series. Plus, he’s remained in the extended Disney family through Andor, which you can stream on Disney Plus alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
