Chadwick Boseman’s legacy of revolutionary characters

Celebrated actor Chadwick Boseman passed away at 43 on August 28, 2020, at his home. Essentially as shocking as the news of his demise was the revelation that the actor was battling colon cancer for the last four years.

The timeline proves that he was diagnosed in 2016 – the year that he debuted as King T'Challa in Marvel's Captain America: The Civil War. After his diagnosis, Boseman filmed and appeared in Marshall, Black Panther, two more Avengers movies, 21 Bridges, Da 5 Bloods and an upcoming adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. This is an immense run that seems all the more miraculous in light of the knowledge that Boseman pulled it off while quietly undergoing several surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy.

Many fellow actors and celebrities paid tribute to Boseman via social media following the announcement of his death, including a number of his co-stars from Black Panther and the Avengers series. Chris Evans posted a message sharing that he was "absolutely devastated", calling Boseman a "true original". Chris Hemsworth called his death "absolutely heartbreaking", adding, that Boseman was "One of the kindest most genuine people [he'd] met". Marvel Studios president and CCO Kevin Feige similarly called Boseman's death "absolutely devastating", writing, "Each time he stepped on set, he radiated charisma and joy, and each time he appeared on screen, he created something truly indelible...He was as smart and kind and powerful and strong as any person he portrayed. Now he takes his place alongside them as an icon for the ages."

Born in Anderson, South Carolina, Boseman was a graduate of Howard University and the British American Drama Academy. He mostly appeared in minor roles on television until he was cast as baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the 2013 biopic, 42. The film, directed by Brian Helgeland, deals with Robinson's struggle to control his anger as he's subject to racist abuse by fans and players, and Boseman's performance shimmers with excellence. He was further cast in two more biopics, playing two other Black Americans of historical importance – James Brown in Get on Up (2014) and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall (2017). As James Brown, Boseman captured all of the singer's on-stage energy, doing all of his dancing and some of his singing.

 Black Panther (King T'Challa), the king of the fictional African nation Wakanda, was the first African superhero in American comics, a milestone figure created in the 1960s. King T'Challa is a sensitive and just warrior, who struggles courageously with the burden of leading an entire nation, and Boseman brought an innate humanity to the role. His performance in four Marvel movies earned the character total global celebrity. Black Panther was a staggering cultural phenomenon when it released in 2018, the fourth highest-grossing movie in domestic box-office history. The movie scored three Oscars in 2019, the first Academy Awards ever for Marvel Studios, including Best Costume Design, Best Production Design and Best Original Score, making it the most-awarded superhero movie in the history of the Oscars.

In Da 5 Bloods, directed by Spike Lee, Boseman played the heroic Stormin' Norman, a Black soldier who died in the Vietnam War. Throughout his career, the actor played a number of revolutionary characters that made both Hollywood and American history.