Marvel's Black Panther Villain M'Baku Will Not Use 'Man-Ape' Name
Marvel's Black Panther has shot to the top echelon of most-anticipated upcoming comic book movies, thanks in large part to a slick and stylish first trailer, which has opened up the nation of Wakanda to a world of viewers who may never have experienced it before.
Thanks to a recent magazine feature, we are learning (and seeing) more and more of what director Ryan Coogler has done with Black Panther - and now we know a bit more about one of the several Marvel Comics villains that appear in the film!
According to EW's feature, Marvel fans hoping to see the character of "Man-Ape" onscreen in the live-action film, need to re-align their expectations. The character of M'Baku (played by Person of Interest star Winston Duke) will NOT be going by his colorful (read: silly) comic book alter-ego name in the film.
According to Black Panther executive producer Nate Moore, "We don't call him Man-Ape, We do call him M'Baku."
As with everything surrounding Black Panther (even the hero's name / the movie's title), there is a cultural sensitivity component that must be considered. As Moore acknowledges:
“Having a black character dress up as an ape, I think there’s a lot of racial implications that don’t sit well, if done wrong."
This is not the first time that Marvel has had to circumvent this type of problem: Iron Man 3 had to find a way to do a version of The Mandarin that wouldn't offend as a horrible Asian stereotype; and Doctor Strange caught flack for changing "The Ancient One" to avoid a similarly loaded stereotype.
It just goes to show: for all the great creative ideas and characters Marvel has put out, a lot of them date back to a time when cultural awareness and sensitivity was not nearly as prevalent as it is today.
As for how M'Baku fits into Black Panther's storyline? Moore says:
“You learn that M’Baku is essentially the head of the religious minority in Wakanda and we thought that was interesting. Wakanda is not a monolithic place. They have a lot of different factions...the idea that they [M'Baku's mountain tribe] worship the gorilla gods is interesting because it’s a movie about the Black Panther who, himself, is a sort of deity in his own right.
In M’Baku’s worldview, T’Chaka made a huge mistake going to the U.N. 'We should never engage with the outside world. That’s a terrible mistake. And if his son is anything like his father, I don’t support him being on the throne.'”
http://comicbook.com/movies/2017/07/13/jmarvel-black-panther-mbaku-man-apen-name/