(CNN) Black superheroes have reached the screen before, but seeing the collective weight of Marvel/Disney thrown behind a blockbuster like "Black Panther" still feels like a cultural watershed, one that the movie exuberantly embraces. Boasting perhaps the strongest supporting characters yet among Marvel titles, director Ryan Coogler's visually dynamic film should transform a lesser-known comic-book hero into a household name. Although they hail from rival companies, there are several parallels to DC's best movie, "Wonder Woman," beyond an under-represented group belatedly receiving its super-heroic due. In both instances, the title character is presented in a stand-alone origin story, after having been rather hastily introduced elsewhere -- in this case, among the dozen combatants in "Captain America: Civil War." Like Wonder Woman, moreover, the Black Panther/T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), the leader of the fictional African nation Wakanda, is not only super, but royalty, about to ascend the throne that he has inherited from his father.

Source: CNN February 06, 2018 17:04 UTC