This text accommodates spoilers for “Eyes of Wakanda.”
Everybody is aware of that Achilles is homosexual. It is 2025. I do not care what Brad Pitt instructed you again in 2004, however we dwell in a special world now — a world the place, while you see Achilles in a factor, it’s best to know to instantly begin searching for the queer rep. In order that’s precisely what I did after I noticed the well-known Greek hero pop up in episode two of Marvel’s new “Eyes of Wakanda” animated collection.
Now, I do know what you are considering. Achilles and queer storylines go hand in hand. However the MCU? Type of the alternative. Sure, all of us beloved “Agatha All Alongside,” which might be probably the most specific, canonical, attention-grabbing queer illustration within the franchise to this point. However apart from that, Joe Russo’s cringy cameo in “Avengers: Endgame,” and some pleasure pins that you must squint to see? It is slim pickings.
At this level, most queer followers like myself know that huge Disney properties are probably by no means going to be the place to search for actual illustration or attention-grabbing queer tales. It takes an actual Dana Terrace to eke homosexual blood from that individual stone. However I am nothing if not a glutton for punishment, which implies that on this specific context, I’ll nonetheless make the leap to connect with dots for a shred of progressive storytelling.
“Eyes of Wakanda” episode provides extra dots to attach than we sometimes get. The story takes place throughout the literal Trojan Conflict and stars Achilles (Adam Gold) and his shut buddy Memnon (Larry Herron), referred to as B’kai in his native Wakanda. Historians will say they had been simply roommates, however we all know higher.
Eyes of Wakanda episode 2 is extraordinarily queer-coded
In most methods, “Eyes of Wakanda” episode 2 recreates the usual beats of the Trojan Conflict fairly precisely. Odysseus schemes, Priam hides, and the Greeks fail time and again of their makes an attempt to breach town. Their biggest weapon is an elite squad led by Achilles and Memnon, who’s secretly an agent of Wakanda despatched to recuperate a vibranium artifact held by Helen of Troy. His camaraderie with Achilles, nevertheless, is deeply actual.
There isn’t a Patroclus on this story. The writers conveniently cleared the runway of another probably love pursuits. And whereas we do not get a kiss or a declaration of affection between the 2 males, we do get hundreds of realizing seems to be, charged exchanges, and lovely photographs. “Thanks for being right here,” Achilles says after a very emotional dialog. Later, he insists Memnon take a pendant he acquired from his mom — a token of his, uh, friendship, absolutely. “For every thing you’ve got executed,” he says when Memnon says it is an excessive amount of. “For every thing we have been by way of.”
In fact, B’kai’s true mission and loyalty to Wakanda lead him to betray Achilles — or not less than, that is how the Greek sees it. They battle, and when Achilles refuses handy over the vibranium artifact, Memnon strikes him useless, holding his limp physique tenderly within the aftermath. “Was every thing a lie?” Achilles asks together with his final breath? And we all know what he actually means. “Not every thing,” Memnon replies, tears in his eyes.
Marvel’s wink-and-nod strategy to queerness would not reduce it any extra
tragic story, and naturally, one thing very Greek too. Solely a lover could make you are feeling so betrayed. It is so apparent, watching the story as a queer fan, what the writers and performers are going for right here. Once more, that is Achilles. He is mainly the patron saint of literary gayness at this level. You do not select that character for this type of story calmly. You do it due to what it means.
And what this implies, sadly, continues to be fairly lackluster. To be clear, I do not suppose this specific story wanted a chaste kiss or specific declarations of affection. The subtlety is sweet. However it’s the information that the creators would have needed to battle tooth and nail for both of these issues that provides me pause. When your franchise rarely options canonical queerness, subtlety solely ever helps that suppression — even when it’d executed nicely. At this level, I am uninterested in filling within the gaps myself, and I believe a number of queer followers really feel the identical. You possibly can solely push queer like to the margins a lot earlier than that marginalization turns into the illustration itself. For those who solely ever conceal these relationships, then you definitely’re saying implicitly that they’re issues to be hidden.
I do know that Wakanda, as an idea, is an inherently political concept. In these repressive occasions, I am not asking Black creators to go to bat for each sort of variety without delay. On the similar time, it is unlucky to comprehend that implied queerness stands out as the solely norm we ever get from the Disney machine. “Agatha All Alongside” would not appear to have been the door-kicker some might have hoped for.
