The passing of Chadwick Boseman is truly a tragic loss. One thing is certain though, that not only his family and friends have suffered the loss, but the Marvel Cinematic Verse, Hollywood, fans all over the world, and a legendary worthwhile icon for the black community worldwide, especially for the children.
I am not a huge fan of the Black Panther, I am a Cpt America fan and I have with great effort tried and failed to get my 5-year-old son to like Cpt America as I do. He is a huge fan of Spiderman, like most kids his age; however, when he first saw the Black Panther he was absolutely crazy about him more than he ever was with Peter Parker, for reasons unbeknownst to me at the time.
It was when a black teen, Mile Morales was cast as Spiderman in the Sony Cinematic-Verse, it then became clear to me that my son was crazy about the Black Panther because he was seeing a black superhero for the first time, someone he can relate to. The Black Panther became an instant obsession and we watched the film and other series on Comicstorian about the Black Panther a thousand times and more.
The passing of Chadwick, takes hope from a black child, that they too can be a hero when they live in a world where the white man is portrayed hero all the time. An icon that offered an alternative image of a black man that every black child must-see and indulge in the realm of imagination and fathom possibilities that they may achieve.