Tribute to Black Panther / Chadwick Boseman.
In honor of the late Chadwick Boseman, I think it would be fitting to take a look at the moral and political economy issues raised by the "Black Panther" movie.
I should note that none of the flaws I note in the movie are Boseman's fault (I thought he did a great job in the lead role.) They can be chalked up to some combination of errors by the screenwriters and flaws in the design of the fictional universe they were adapting from the comic books.
That said, the movie was fun to watch, and notable for its critical stance on the evils of nationalism (though I fear some viewers may not have gotten the latter point.)
In real-world history Africa was conquered and plundered by Europeans (and sometimes others) in large part because of its relative technological backwardness and weak political organization. So I can understand the emotional satisfaction many people take from a fictional world where a black African nation (Wakanda) is secretly the most technologically advanced in the world - and has a form of government that seems to have functioned well for thousands of years.
The movie takes a strong stance against both imperialism and nationalism. Obviously, I am in sympathy with both themes. Though I recognize it is possible to interpret it as actually supporting black African nationalism (I think that view is undercut by various developments and statements in the last part of the movie, however).
The likely result of Killmonger's plan to simultaneously attack all the major powers of the world is not Wakandan world domination, but Wakanda getting nuked. Yes, they do have superior vibranium-based weapons. But they can't prevent nuclear weapons from exploding, and Wakandan superiority in "conventional" weapons will actually incentivize the US, China, Russia, etc., to resort to the nukes. Since Wakanda is relatively small, it would require only a few nukes to devastate it. Even if Killmonger is too stupid or too irrational to see this risk, it's a wonder that no one else points out this obvious scenario (including those Wakandans who oppose Killmonger).
The article linked below tries to make sense of the utterly nonsensical political economy of Wakanda. But I don't think it works, for reasons I will now take up. The Political Economy of Black Panther's Wakanda
Wakanda is almost totally isolated from international trade and completely dependent on a single resource. This is a recipe for poverty and stagnation, not stupendous development. The nation's small size is an additional obstacle to successful development without trade (a small, autarkic nation is severely limited in its ability to exploit division of labor and comparative advantage).
Wakanda has been an absolute monarchy for thousands of years, and the route to power is victory in single combat. This too is a recipe for terrible government. In addition to the usual risks of despotism, there is the fact there is no reason to believe that success in single combat is correlated with being a benevolent or wise ruler (quite possibly the opposite). The Black Panther suit confers enormous physical power, but there is no evidence it improves the wearer's judgment or character. Indeed, the contrary is likely, since great power tends to corrupt. It would be very surprising if the Wakandan system never produced a Nero or a Caligula for thousands of years, until Killmonger came along. And, given Wakanda's stock of powerful weapons and tech, such a person in power could do enormous damage.
Given how advanced Wakanda has been for a long time, it is not clear why its rulers didn't conquer all or at least most of the rest of Africa long before European colonizers came along. Most of Africa was not seized by the Europeans until well into the 19th century, by which time Wakanda (in the fictional universe) was already far more advanced than any other power on Earth.
Yes, I know, many of these questions are probably addressed in the comic books. I am not a comic book reader, however, so I have to assess the movie as a stand-alone product. I also suspect that the comic books do not really succeed in solving all these problems. But I admit I could be wrong!