T'Challa is officially crowned King of Wakanda after his father's death. As the Wakandan monarch, he also inherits the mantle of the Black Panther.

Millions of years ago a meteorite made of vibranium, the strongest substance in the universe struck the continent of Africa, affecting the plant life around it, and when the time of men came five tribes settled on it and called it Wakanda.

The tribes lived in constant war with each other until a warrior shaman received a vision from the Panther goddess Bast who led him to the heart-shaped herb, a plant that granted him super human strength, speed, and instincts. The warrior became King and the first Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda.

He and Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje regiment, extract T'Challa's ex-lover Nakia from an undercover assignment. She is annoyed that he has ruined her mission until she learns that King T'Chaka has died and that T'Challa is to be crowned the new king.

Shuri is the Princess of Wakanda and the leader of the Wakandan Design Group. Due to her genius-level intellect, she has been tasked with creating much of Wakanda's modern technology, including T'Challa's latest Black Panther suit.

Killmonger and his accomplice, Ulysses Klaue, steal a vibranium axe, which Klaue plans to sell to a buyer in South Korea. Killmonger also steals a ceremonial mask, but it isn't made of vibranium--he's just "feelin' it."

M'Baku, the leader of the mountain-dwelling Jabari Tribe, claims that T'Challa is not worthy of being king. The two engage in ritual combat, but even without his strength, which has been stripped away by a potion, T'Challa manages to best M'Baku and spares his life.

T'Challa is crowned the new King and drinks a fluid derived from the heart-shaped herb. As his body digests the herb T'Challa goes into a deep sleep where he visits the Ancestral Plane and reunites with a vision of his father who advises him he is a good man but also warns that he has hard times ahead and should surround himself with people he trusts.

According to Shuri, nanites in the suit absorb kinetic energy (the energy an object has because of its motion) and hold it in place for redistribution.

When he meets Everett Ross at the Jagalchi Market Casino, Klaue unzips his pants and removes the axe head, wrapped in a brown paper bag. "I was gonna buy myself a fancy suitcase," he says, "but I thought I'd save myself some money."