HEROES IN LOST AFRICAN WORLD

WITH uncanny timing, Marvel takes its superheroes into a domain they’ve never inhabited before and is all the better for it in Black Panther.

There’s no mistaking you’re still in the Marvel universe here, but this entry sweeps you off to a part of it you’ve never seen: a hidden lost world in Africa defined by royal traditions and technological wonders that open up refreshing new dramatic, visual and casting possibilities.

Getting it right where other studios and franchises – they know who they are – get it wrong, Marvel and Disney have another commercial leviathan here, although it will be interesting to see how it plays in certain overseas markets, where industry traditionalists say black-dominated fare sometimes under performs.

Thinking way ahead, producer Kevin Feige and the Marvel brain trust introduced Black Panther into their superhero mix in 2016’s all-star Captain America: Civil War, with the intention of building yet another franchise.

This seems like a natural idea now, but back in July 1966, when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby birthed the character in Fantastic Four No 52, he was the first African superhero to appear in American comics. Although director and co-writer Ryan Coogler ( Fruitvale Station, Creed) sets his framing action in Oakland, California, the film’s heart lies in Africa.