The Real Story Behind Erik Killmonger's Unknown Mother Revealed

Black Panther has incredible characters with great storylines. One of the characters who fans want to learn more about is antagonist Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan). 

The "bad guy" of the film had millions of Black Panther's viewers debating about whether or not they rooted for him and his bold ideas. The son of N'Jobu (portrayed by Sterling K. Brown) -- who's the brother of the previous king of Wakanda and T'Challa's father, T’Chaka -- Killmonger would grow up on the streets of Oakland, California after T'Chaka killed his dad, and then left him to fend for himself. The soon-to-be "villain" also didn't have his mother in his life. We didn't know why before. But now, we do.

Before T'Chaka murdered his brother, N'Jobu met and fell in love with a woman, who would later give birth to Killmonger. However, by the time the movie started, she was locked up in prison. Black Panther director Ryan Coogler gives details into Killmonger's unknown mother on the commentary track of the movie's Blu-ray. 

"The idea was when you see those guys talking over the paperwork in the beginning of the film, they're talking about a way to break her out of jail," Coogler explains. "The idea was they never got her out, and she passed away in prison, so Killmonger didn't come up with a mom, either." 

And so, Killmonger had to raise himself. He would later grow up to seek vengeance for his dad's death and attempt to dethrone T'Challa, making himself the new Black Panther. 

Black Panther will be available on digital Tuesday (May 8) and on disk the following Tuesday, May 15.

Photo: Getty Images