Fortnite’s Marvel event may be over, but that doesn’t mean that players will stop seeing content from Marvel characters coming to the game in the future.Fortnite’s Season 4 Marvel crossover eventmay have started with Thor and Galactus, but plenty of other heroes and villains joined the fray throughout the season.
Unfortunately, there were a handful of heroes who didn’t quite make the cut inFortnite’s Season 4 event, like Marvel’s Black Panther. Though Epic Games still has plans to add a Black Panther skin intoFortnite,fans are getting a brand new “Wakanda Salute” emote before the highly anticipated hero finally joins the ranks of Marvel characters inFortnite.
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Perhaps one of the reasons that Epic Games has held off on releasing a Black Panther skin relates to the unexpected tragedy that occurred earlier this year. At the end of August, people were shocked to learn that American actor andBlack Pantherstar Chadwick Boseman diedafter a long battle with colon cancer. The news came as a surprise to everyone, considering that Boseman, nor anyone close with him, ever revealed his diagnosis to the public. The news of his passing coincided with the start ofFortnite’s Season 4 Marvel crossover event, with many players expressing interest in some form of tribute being added to the game.
Epic Games obliged these requests with anin-game Black Panther monument, with powerups for Black Panther’s armor coming to the game, as well. Now,Fortniteis getting a brand new free emote called the “Wakanda Salute” that mimics the iconic salute that Boseman performed in the MCUBlack Pantherfilms. Players will need to complete the new “Wakanda Forever Quests” to earn the emote, which involved simply playing matches. Specifically, players will need to play 10 matches, outlast 500 opponents, and play 5 duo or squad matches.
The quest name being titled Wakanda Forever is a clear tribute to Boseman and his portrayal of the Black Panther character in the MCU. The Wakanda salute gesture, which involves crossing one’s right arm over their left across their chest, is a gesture that has now taking on an entirely new meaning since Boseman’s passing.Fortnitefans have known thata Black Panther skin is comingto the game for quite some time, as it was found through leaks and datamines all the way back in Season 4. Now,Fortniteis teasing Black Panther’s long-awaited inclusion through the Marvel Royalty & Warriors pack coming to the game sometimes soon.
It’s very possible that Epic Games decided to hold off on including the Black Panther skin due to Boseman’s sudden passing, but whether that is true or not remains uncertain. While it may have served as a nice tribute for the actor,the Black Panther monument inFortniteserved as a much more subtle and respectful nod in the long run. However, soon players will be able to perform the Wakanda Salute as Black Panther himself, paying tribute to Boseman’s legacy as the iconic king of Wakanda.
Fortniteis free-to-play for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
