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Using Psychoanalytic Theory to Analyze Killmonger’s Character in Black Panther

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Introduction

Black Panther is a superhero film by Marvel studio that follows the life of about T'Challa

who gained power over the Wakanda kingdom following the demise of his father. He is the

film's protagonist and receives the audience's primary focus. On the flip side, Killmonger is

depicted as an antagonist who is always against T'Challa and his leadership. He intends to kill

and replace him as revenge for his father, who T'Chilla's father murdered. Revenge is the central

theme of this movie. While the director attempts to create a sense of sympathy from the audience

towards Killmonger, his character is subject to analysis since it bears many differences from the

others. According to Freud, the human personality has more than one aspect, which is structured

into the id, ego, and superego. Using the psychoanalytic characterization theory, Killmonger's

character can be analyzed using the three elements responsible for his maladaptive behaviors.

According to Freud, an individual's character and personality are influenced by childhood

events. Psychoanalysis aims at helping people resolve psychological problems by focusing on

the destructive behaviors they exhibit daily. This is because the repetition of destructive

behaviors forms patterns that reveal the existence of psychological difficulty that has been

affecting them without any recognition. In this regard, Freud relies on the concept of the

unconscious, the part of the mind that strongly influences an individual's actions. Tyson (2023)

mentions that the cold appears when an individual used to experience repression or unfortunate

psychological events. Freud offers the three personality structures under the psychoanalytic

theory: id, ego, and superego.

Killmonger’s Id
Killmonger portrays the id aspect through his desire to avenge his father's death by

killing T'Challa. The death of his father deprives the sense of love that he needs. While fighting
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with T'Challa, Killmonger laments, "The world took everything away from me! Everything I

ever loved" (Black Panther 1:50:44). This is an expression of anger and disappointment for the

lack of love. In this case, "everything" refers to his father and the affection that he would have

received if he had been alive. Freud states that the id is the primary component of personality,

and the unorganized part contains those instinctual drives. Further, it is the source of human

bodily needs, wants, and desires. Killmonger lost his family and the right to be part of the royal

family. He emphasizes that T'Challa is why he grew up without the love of his family. This

shows how essential love from family, especially a father, is. It indicates the instinctual drive of

a son who cannot obtain love from the Wakanda family.

In addition, his id is driven by the need for justice. This is rooted in the unconscious mind

that contains the unpleasant memories of his uncle, T'Challa's father, being unfair to him after

killing his father. He argues that he should not have been left alone after his father's death since

he was still an innocent child. He would have been part of the royal family if his father did not

abandon him. Alternatively, Killmonger may identify with the black maltreated by the white.

This is evident when he states, "How do you think your ancestors got these? You think they paid

for a fair price? Or did they take it, like they took everything else." This is an expression of anger

towards the whites, who he considers to be acting unrighteous towards the black. The id awakens

the ego that makes him arm the black people with vibranium. He intends to seek justice by

helping the black break the domination of the white.

The Element of Ego

Similarly, Killmonger is now an adult, and his ego seems to actualize the id. Freud argues

that the desire for the id causes the ego to exist in humans. The ego ensures that the wishes of the

id are actualized in acceptable ways in the real world. Since Killmonger could not get immediate
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love from his father, he sought affection from the Wakanda family through recognition. He

strives to be recognized and considered an insider after being an outsider his entire life. The

aspect of ego is evidenced by his request to Klaw, one of his partners. He says, "Oh, I aint

worried about the money, bro. I know you are good for it. On our way back, just drop us off in

Wakanda." Klaw responds by telling him, "You don't have to go there, boy." And he replies,

"Yeah, I do." (Black Panther 1:02:22). Killmonger has never been to Wakanda since his father's

death, and although Klaw warns him, he insists he is going back.

Moreover, the desire for love drives his ego to be the king of Wakanda. If he was going

to be king, it meant that he would receive love in honor, obedience, and service from the people.

His ego is evident when he speaks to T'Challa. When asked why he returned, he says, "I want the

throne. Y'all sitting up here comfortably. Must feel good." (Black Panther 1:14:16). He feels that

being on the throne translates to enjoying the privileges of a king. It means that T'Challa wants

all the submissions of the people. While fighting T'Challa, he shouts, "Your reign is over! You

sat up here, safe and protected." (Black Panther 1:50:28). He is trying to argue that, while

T'Challa is enjoying all the protection from Wakanda, he was left to suffer outside as a kid. He

believes that he needed protection and affection that was taken from him when his father died.

He knows that if T'Challa gives him the position, all the privileges will belong to him.

The Superego

However, His superego warns him that he may not be welcomed in Wakanda. According

to Freud, the superego is what we get from our parents. It works according to moral principles

and enables individuals to internalize cultural rules. His father warns him that he will not be

received in Wakanda. He says, "But I fear you still may not be welcomed." This is because of

what his father had done. His father had betrayed Wakanda by helping Klaw steal Vibranium, a
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valuable mineral in Wakanda. This means he would not get any effects, and the superego guided

this. It contradicts the id's desires and, as a result, causes one to act in a socially and morally

acceptable way.

Conversely, Killmonger's superego aspect contradicts his id; thus, the ego has to mediate

between the two. He chooses to ignore the superego, is more conscious, and encourages himself

to return to Wakanda. He ignores Klaw's request to stay. Also, his ego justifies all the means he

uses to make sure that Wakanda has to accept him. He does this by killing Klaw, an enemy of

Wakanda, in an attempt to gain the trust of the Wakanda people. However, Klaw was a wily

enemy who could not die quickly. He could use his deceit and trickery to escape the authorities

as he has done for more than thirty years.

Moreover, there is tension between Killmonger's id and superego. As a result, he is

experiencing anxiety since his ego listens to his id. For instance, when he ignores the superego

that Wakanda may reject, his ego attempts to fulfill the id without considering cultural principles.

When the ego fails to bring harmony between the id and superego, it results in anxiety (Siegfried,

2014). Anxiety plays a critical part in revealing a person's core issues which consist of the

negative feelings that stay in their lives unless they are addressed.

Typically, they take the forms of intimacy, fear, abandonment, or sometimes betrayal,

like in the case of Killmonger, who feels betrayed by T'Challa's father. Anxiety revealed his fear

of abandonment. According to Tyson (2023), emotional abandonment is the fear that one gets to

acknowledge that friends may not care about them. He repressed the painful experience of being

abandoned, and it resurfaces when he feels ignored by the Wakanda people. Repression is

considered the most well-known defense mechanism that pushes unwanted thoughts, feelings, or

memories to the unconscious mind, which cannot be accessed consciously.

Defense Mechanism; Displacement

Another psychoanalytic aspect portrayed by Killmonger is the defense mechanism. Verry

well mind defines a defense mechanism as an unconscious strategy people use to cope with

unacceptable feelings. Killmonger uses displacement to redirect the negative emotions from the

source to the heart-shaped herb keeper, the less threatening recipient. According to Sigmund, a

defense mechanism is a way of coping with unconscious conflicts. He believes they operate

unconsciously and can distort reality or block out uncomfortable emotions and memories.

Killmonger's id is stronger than the superego such that his ego makes him do anything that could

realize his id. His anxiety and core issues are overwhelming him, so he is willing to kill or harm

anyone that would prevent him from realizing his id. His destructive behavior has hurt several

people, including Klaw and the heart-shaped herb keeper who was choked.

Alternatively, Killmonger's anger and frustration towards the injustice against the black

people may have been redirected to T'Challa since he considers his isolationist policies and

refusal to help the black people to be the reason for their suffering. He blames T'Challa and

Wakanda for the oppression of black people. However, his frustrations and anger are a means of

displacement that he uses to address his childhood traumatic experiences. It displaces his

unconscious desires and impulses towards the less threatening target. He wants revenge against

those who wronged him, and T'Challa represents this system.

In sum, using Freud's psychoanalytic analysis of the id, ego, superego, and defense

mechanism reveals that Killmonger listens more to his id. This has influenced his characteristics

as he ignores the superego and engages in immoral practices like deceiving and killing to satisfy

his id. The fear of abandonment and anxiety created by the conflict between his id and superego

forces him to kill Klaw and the enemy of Wakanda to be recognized as a Wakanda. Furthermore,
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he overthrows T'Challa to become a king so that he would enjoy love and attention through

obedience and honor from Wakanda. Using Freudian psychoanalytic analysis, Killmonger's

character can be categorized as ambitious and cunning but, to some extent, a logical person. The

theory aims to bring unconscious conflicts so that the audience can understand them. Therefore,

we can interpret Killmonger's actions as a way of coping with the traumatic childhood

experience and the need for recognition.

References
Black Panther. (2018). [film] Directed by R. Coogler. Marvel Studios.

Friedman, H. S., & Schustack, M. W. (1999). Personality: Classic theories and modern research

(p. 576). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

McLeod, S. A. (2023). “Id, Ego and Superego” Person centered therapy. Simply Psychology.

https://simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

Mcleod, S.(2023)Theories of Personality: These Are the Main Perspectives. Simply Psychology

https://simplypsychology.org/personality-theories.html

Siegfried, W. (2014). The Formation and structure of the Human Psyche. Athene Noctua:

Undergraduate Philosophy Journal, 2(2), 2-4.

Tyson, L. (2023). Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. Taylor & Francis.