Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: The Courage to Dream is a story book based on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Synopsis[]
The Courage to Dream tells the story of Assata, a young Wakandan who hopes to become one of the Dora Milaje, the warriors who protect Wakanda. But because of Assata's disability, she lets go of her dream.
Assata's light shows through all the same, introducing her to surprising friends: the princess Shuri, the warrior Okoye, and the powerful M'Baku. But only Assata can give herself what she's missing: the courage to dream.[1]
Plot[]
Assata explores the Amanzi Kwakhona Umlambo while reflecting on a choice she needs to make. In a flashback, Ayo takes Assata to watch Okoye and the Dora Milaje train with King T'Challa. Assata, who wants to join the Dora Milaje like Ayo and their grandmother, Ala, gave up on her dream due to her disability. Okoye offers to accommodate Assata's disability by creating new training styles for her, but Assata refuses. She instead chooses focus on helping her tribe, the Mining Tribe, using her skills in science. At ten years old, Assata gets accepted into Wakanda University.
Assata takes a class taught by guest professor Shuri and creates a method to make mining easier for her tribe. She presents to the class, and Shuri is so impressed that she asks Assata to be her assistant in the Wakandan Design Group. The Mining Tribe celebrates, but Assata remains unsure of whether she wants to accept the role. She reflects on her admiration of Shuri's devotion to improving the lives of Wakanda's people through technology, including Assata's Vibranium Hoverchair, but continues to dream about fighting alongside the Dora Milaje.
Assata decides to ask her classmates about what she should do. Aphiwe tells Assata that she cannot join the Dora Milaje, and Nobomi and Uuka join in laughing at Assata. Upset, Assata goes to the Amanzi Kwakhona Umlambo to reflect. At her favorite part, near the Jabari Land border, she decides to accept Shuri's offer. However, she is approached by M'Baku, who asks why she is sad while looking at the view of the river. Assata tells M'Baku that joining the Dora Milaje feels impossible, so M'Baku explains that impossible simply means that Assata needs to find another way to make her dream possible. He reminds Assata that Wakanda is special not because of Vibranium, but because of its people's willingness to dream. He further notes that many people believe Wakanda's nature as a technologically advanced country in Africa to be impossible, but that they are wrong.
Assata realizes that M'Baku is right, so she approaches Shuri the following day and explains her desire to join the Dora Milaje. Shuri shares wisdom with Assata about following her dreams. Assata approaches Okoye and asks to be trained for the Dora Milaje, prompting Okoye to ask about her change of heart. Assata explains that being disabled should not prevent her from following her dreams. Okoye expresses pride and notes that Ala would be proud of her for her courage to do what appears impossible. Weeks later, Shuri and Queen Ramonda approach Assata while she is training. Ramonda greets Assata and commends her for having the courage to dream and not giving up.
Characters[]
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- Wakanda
- Amanzi Kwakhona Umlambo
- Golden City
- Wakanda University
- Jabari Land
- Mount Bashenga (mentioned)
- Great Mound (mentioned)
Items[]
Vehicles[]
Creatures[]
- Panthers (statue)
Organizations[]
Mentioned[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Continuity[]
Released on November 1, 2022, the kids book tells a standalone story within the Marvel Cinematic Universe that is set before the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. While the author Frederick Joseph confirmed it was a tie-in to the film approved by Disney Books and Marvel Studios,[2] the canonicity of its content has never been addressed by Marvel themselves. Therefore, per our canon policy, the events portrayed in this book are considered to hold an unconfirmed canon status within the MCU franchise.
