Erik Killmonger (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

"I lived my entire life waiting for this moment. I trained, I lied, I killed just to get here. I killed in America, Afghanistan, Iraq... I took life from my own brother and sisters right here on this continent! And all this death just so I could kill you!"

- Erik Killmonger to T'Challa.

Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, (born as N’Jadaka)  is the main antagonist of 2018 superhero film Black Panther. He is an African-American black ops operative turned violent revolutionary putting on the Killmonger alias. The son of N’Jobu and cousin of T'Challa, he planned to overthrow the Wakanda kingdom so he can sell the vibranium worldwide and avenge the death of his father N'Jobu.

He was portrayed by Michael B. Jordan on his first villainous role.

Personality
A power-hungry individual obsessed with overthrowing the titular hero Black Panther; he is considered careless as he shown no care to even his allies, ultimately even leaving Ulysses Klaw to die at a destroyed junkyard. He displays a great sense of sadism when he brutally kills Zuri just for the sake of the throne. At the end of the film, he is shown to be suicidal. This is because he is actually showing remorse, showing that behind the monster, Erik is just a normal guy who was transformed into a monster.

Beginnings
N’Jadaka started off as the son of Prince N'Jobu, being raised in America. N'Jobu promised to N’Jadaka that he would visit their homeland Wakanda, claiming that the sunsets there were the most beautiful in the world. Needless to say, N’Jadaka was unaware that his father was conspiring a global revolution and is illegally selling vibranium to Ulysses Klaue. Eventually, T'Chaka (the King of Wakanda) learned about N'Jobu's intentions and forced himself to kill N'Jobu to save his closest friend Zuri. At the same time, N’Jadaka was playing basketball until he found his father's body, which left him in tears, just as T'Chaka and Zuri returned back to Wakanda. Feeling betrayed by his family, N’Jadaka angrily vowed to avenge his father's death and continue on with his plot.

Seeking Revenge
Taking on the name Erik Stevens, he grew up to be a U.S. Navy Seal officer and black ops mercenary, and his well-known methods of killing earned him the name "Killmonger". Several days following the death of T'Chaka at the hands of Helmut Zemo, Erik is first seen visiting a museum of national weapons of offense and defense. He joins the conversation with an arriving Klaw and informs him to join their side, where their next plan is to sell a Wakandan artifact in Busan where it takes place in an underground casino. The conversation was interrupted when Klaw was captured and brought into a high security prison by the Wakandans.

Despite the setback, Erik managed to formulate a plan to rescue Klaw from custody, which forced T'Challa to the scene, eventually learning about his true relation with Erik after noticing the Wakandan Royal Ring that Erik's using on a necklace chain. Erik manages to free Klaw, only to kill him for a purpose to get into Wakanda. He uses Klaw’s body in order to sneak inside for the throne, with the help from T'Challa's treacherous best friend W'Kabi, who is disappointed over T'Challa's failed attempted to bring Klaw to justice (since Klaw was responsible for the death of W'Baki's parents). With the opportunity finally in his hand, Erck challenged T'Challa to a duel for the throne of Wakanda and won (as T'Challa was forced to strip his powers to make the duel fair). A trimuphant Erik then proceeded to kill Zuri with a gunshot before throwing a a defeated a T'Challa to his seemingly demise.

Final Battle
With all of Wakanda finally under his fist, Erik proceeded to prepare shipments of Wakandan weapons to be distributed to operatives around the world to finish up what his father started. Fortunately, T'Challa was rescued by by the Jabari Tribe (led by M'Baku, who was indebted towards T'Challa for sparing his life), and healed with a powerful herb. As such, T'Challa and the Jabari Tribe conspired to overthrow Erik and stop the shipments. As the Dora Milaje engages into a battle against W'Kabi and his army, Killmonger dons his new battle suit to engage into a another battle against T'Challa inside Wakanda's vibranium mine. However, T'Challa defeats Erik by disrupting his battle suit and fatally stabbing him just as W'Kabi and his remaining men are forced to surrender. Being transported to the breathtaking view of the capital during sunset, Erik chooses to die rather than getting cured and imprisoned in disgrace for his crimes.

Reception
Michael B. Jordan's portrayal of Killmonger has been praised by audiences and critics alike. The main reason for the praise is how believable and even realistic Killmonger is in the movie, even more so when comparing him to other MCU villains. Chris Stuckmann has stated that "Beyond the fact that Michael B. Jordan gives a charismatic performance that's one of my favorite Marvel villains thus far and the best since Loki, the reason his villain is so good is because; just like all great movie villains, their appearance in the film is what causes the heroes to look within themselves and realize their weaknesses".

Another reason for Erik Killmonger's reception is how similar he is to his comic counterpart. Villains like Hela may have the same name and appearance, but other than that, they are almost two completely different characters. Killmonger shares a similar motivation as well as personality in the film when comparing it to his comic counterpart.