Will We Ever Be Seeing Ulysses Klaue Again?

SPOILERS FOR BLACK PANTHER AHEAD

 

One of, if not the, biggest mistakes made in Black Panther relate to the usage of Ulysses Klaue. I myself thought he was an unnecessary feature of the movie, and I think most comic book readers would agree that the character was under-utilized to the nth. That said, the most painful mistake the film made was the killing off of Klaue. Naturally, after seeing the movie, I couldn’t help but try to think of ways to remedy that situation, given how important Klaue is to the mythos. Andy Serkis hasn’t provided any insight as to whether he’ll be returning as the character, but rather than take that as confirmation of the permanence of his death, let’s assume instead that we might be seeing Klaue again down the line.

In the comics, Klaue is not just a long-standing Black Panther villain, but just an overall necessity in the Marvel Rogues Gallery. A Marvel Universe without Klaue is just missing that special something, especially if he’s played by Andy Serkis. However, there is a chance for Klaue to come back. In the comics, Klaue doesn’t last very long as a normal human being, but instead becomes a being of pure sound thanks to an encounter with some Vibranium and his sonic cannon. I think something similar to that situation is entirely possible within the MCU.

Klaue’s body is brought to Wakanda by Killmonger, sonic cannon still intact. We see nothing of the body after this (I was expecting a post-credit sequence) but I believe the precedent is there for Klaue to be brought back to life, purely by virtue of being buried in Wakanda. The soil in Wakanda all contains trace amounts of Vibranium, as per one of my other theories, I believe Vibranium is capable of absorbing much more than just energy. I think there’s a chance that Klaue’s very consciousness could be absorbed by the Vibranium in Wakanda’s soil, along with the energy from his sonic cannon.

Klaue’s death in Black Panther need not be permanent, and given the character’s fairly limited pantheon of villains, bringing Klaue back to life wouldn’t be detrimental to the franchise in any way. In fact, it’d be all for the better. Let’s also not forget that Serkis is the king of motion capture, and a sound-being Klaue would more than suit his acting capabilities.