Eyes of Wakanda: A Too Brief Animated History of Wakanda Through the Ages

By John Kirk              

Rating: B

Eyes of Wakanda is a four-episode animated series that looks at the secret history of the formerly isolationist and technologically advanced nation of Black Panther fame, one that, in the Marvel Universe, has remained hidden from the rest of the world for its own protection.

It follows the adventures of brave Wakandan warriors, known as the Hatut Zaraze throughout history. In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry-out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts hidden in different societies throughout the eras.

It’s simple, straightforward and adds to the tapestry of Marvel-Universe Wakandan lore in showing an early sense of responsibility for their advanced tech. Starting from the Ancient Greeks, the Wakandans are shown to have always maintained and kept the existence of vibranium away from the “outside world”.

It’s a fun series, but a truncated one. Puzzlingly, we only get four episodes of approximate 30 minutes in length each.

This is my main criticism of the show and makes me wonder why they didn’t hold out until they had a few more to add to the season? It’s pretty much established that Ryan Coogler can do no wrong. He’s an extremely talented storyteller who has his thumb on the pulse of fantastical fiction. It just seems odd that there should be such a limited number of stories to tell.

The first two are set in classical times, looking at the ages of Mediterranean expansion with figures of Greek history and mythology. The third is a romp through medieval China (and as one of the posters has already alluded to, we meet one of the incarnations of the Iron Fist) and the fourth takes us to late 19th Century Ethiopia and the Italian invasions. Definitely an obscure selection of historical eras for the Hatut Zaraze (or “War Dogs”) to visit, but again, that’s just a function of the small number of episodes.

But what is missed about this show is the added value it could have provided to the Wakandan nation. Wakanda has been a staple story source of the Marvel Universe that has brought immense enjoyment to many Marvel characters in comic history. It has served as a base of operations for the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. It has interacted with groups like the X-Men (in one storyline, the X-Men’s Storm became the Queen of Wakanda by marrying T’Challa, the Black Panther), the Defenders and other characters. It’s a place that deserves more recognition in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to match what it has received in the Marvel 616 Universe.

Four episodes just doesn’t cut it. There’s a lot of room for more stories about this secret service of the Wakandan nation. It’s cool to see that the Wakandans had primitive radio technology during the Trojan Wars but little snippets like this don’t do well in portraying the full range of Wakandan capabilities throughout history. Of course, with only four 30-minute episodes, what can one expect? In fact, I’d say that producing so little actually diminishes the story somewhat.

The third episode is probably the best of the lot. It’s not enough to see Wakanda interacting with the mundane world throughout history, we want to see it interact with preambles to the Marvel storyline we know today. That’s exactly what Episode Three delivers. We see an early ancestor of the Iron Fist legacy that adds to the Marvel one. Why couldn’t we see The Ancient One interact with a Wakandan agent? Or an ancestor to the throne of Latveria? If Wakanda is going to travel through the ages, it would be entertaining to make it more Marvel relevant.

Of course, as I said before, the stories are fairly simple and fairly predictable. And while they definitely provide some fan service to a setting that needs more recognition, the stories don’t really do it justice.

Hopefully this is an experiment to see if there if there is an interest. But the lack of commitment on display also risks it being ignored.

Hey, it’s Wakanda Forever, not Wakanda Four Episodes.

Eyes of Wakanda. Directed by Todd Harris. Producers: Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian, Kalia King, Brad Winderbaum, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito and Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt.

Cast: Winnie Harlow, Cress Williams, Winnie Harlow, Patricia Belcher, Larry Herron, Adam Gold, Lynn Whitfield, Jacques Colimon, Jona Xiao, Isaac Robinson-Smith, Gary Anthony Williams, Zeke Alton, Steve Toussaint and Anika Noni Rose

All 4 episodes of Marvel Animation’s The Eyes of Wakanda launch on Disney+ on August 1, 2025.