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Black Panther’s Wakanda is a transportation utopia with a dash of reality

Wakanda, the fictional African nation at the heart of Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, is a dazzling, technological utopia chock-full of science fiction gadgets and gizmos to make gearheads go gaga. What I didn’t expect, though, when settling into the seat of my Brooklyn theater last Saturday, was for the transportation-nerd parts of my brain to be so thoroughly tickled. Black Panther is a transit buff’s dream come true, with an array of cool planes, trains, and cars — and just a dash of reality to ensure these Afrofuturist dreams maintain some believability. (Spoilers ahead.)

Our first glance at the Golden City, Wakanda’s capital, is when King T’Challa’s airship pushes past the holographic camouflage that keeps the nation hidden from prying outsiders. High-rise skyscrapers, dotted with aerial gardens and parks, loom over low-slung commercial corridors where street life bustles. Vibranium-powered streetcars hover through the trendy neighborhood of Steptown, as a magnetic-levitation train is seen in the distance, zipping along an elevated track. Mind you, this isn’t a hyperloop, as it lacks a vacuum-sealed tube through which to travel. But the city’s transit system is faster than most conventional trains, thanks to some very real-world technology.


Source :- theverge

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