Does Black Panther (movie) rip-off the Wheel of Time?

[Guest SovinNigel]

Obviously Black Panther and the society of Wakanda were well established before the movie came out, but I think the way it is portrayed in said movie is strikingly similar to the Aiel. Of course, this could just be because both are the 'tribal outsider society' trope in their respective universes, but these are the points that I feel are too similar to just be coincidence:

 

• Far Dareis Mai  and the Dora Milaje - Both are a society of warrior women, shaved nearly bald, that fight with spears exclusively and are responsible for protecting  the leader of their people.
• Rhuidean and the Heart-Shaped herb - The heart-shaped herb in Black Panther is a sort of physical test a man must go through before he becomes the king of Wakanda, in which the Herb is consumed, and the man enters another world where he meets his ancestors. This is of course strikingly similar to what happened to Rand and any other hopeful Clan Chiefs/Wise Ones in Rhuidean.
• Killmonger and Couladin - both of these men try to overthrow the true leader of their people, albeit Killmonger actually does go through with the test he is required to go through, unlike Couladin. Hell, they even both proclaim themselves in front of a gathering of almost their entire people. The one difference here is that Killmonger is the outsider as opposed to Rand.
• The Shaido and The Border Tribe - Both groups decide to follow the usurper, consequently dividing the people.
• The Jabari and the Tuatha'an - they are not completely similar, however when the meteor containing Vibranium originally landed in Wakanda, it was the Jabari who shunned its usage, wanting instead to adhere to their customs and being shunned to the mountains for those beliefs. This is kinda sorta a lot like how the Aiel dislike the Tuatha'an for their following of the Way of the Leaf, despite the fact that they too originally followed it. 

 

These are just a few that I noticed. And outside of Wakanda, the Doctor Strange magic in the MCU is super similar to Saidin in particular, especially the surrendering to gain control.

[TheSociopath]

First, the maidens don't always protect the leader. Usually the society that the clan chief was in previously provides the protection. Rand's case was special. 

 

Second, the heart-shaped herb doesn't seem to be an actual test, per se, more of a ritual. I mean, all three times we see someone go through it, they have a nice jaunt to the ancestral plane, and then hop on  back.

 

Third, the usurper to the the throne, (killmonger) is an extraordinarly common plot thread. Also, "Hell, they even both proclaim themselves in front of a gathering of almost their entire people." where else are they supposed to do it? In fact, Killmonger didn't proclaim himself in front of most of the population. He just did it in front of the heads of state. Most of the peasants probably didn't even know that Killmonger existed until after he was dead.

 

Fourth, of course the usurper is going to have supporters. If you're going to go with the false king storythread, of course they're going to have an army. Otherwise, they don't pose any threat.

 

Fifth, so... because both have a shcism, the MCU is a rip-off? Shcisms happen all the time. In real life and fiction.

 

Also, the comics for Black Panther probably existed before the Wheel of Time, so if anything, it would be WoT that's the rip-off. Even though the only real similarites are: "group of warrior women. upstart to the throne plot. a schism."

 

And for your final paragraph, it would be Saidar, not Saidin. I can't really remember any of the rules for how the Doctor Strange magic works, so I can't really argue here other than to say that that mechanic is also rather common, and the doctor strange almost certainly existed before WoT, too.

[Turin Turambar]

Black Panther debuts in the late 60's/early 70's. Dr. Strange is much earlier than that. So if anything it is Jordan taking the concepts from the comics. 

 

It is historically accurate for the African warriors to use spears.

 

The test is a long standing fantasy staple, think Dune. In fact you could argue that the entire Aiel are an homage to the Fremen.