Why the Black Panther 2 siren scene is giving fans goosebumps

Black Panther 2 is finally out. While it's packed with a lot of powerful scenes, the siren scene is especially giving fans goosebumps. Namor made his overall Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with the film, and he's likely here to stay. Tenoch Huerta portrays the Marvel anti-hero, and he does justice to the character.

Namor the Sub-Mariner has a lot of abilities in Black Panther 2. While he seems to have the ability to fly, breathe underwater, and possess super strength, there's an ability that some of the Talokan people have. They can induce trance through their singing, which leads bystanders to do their bidding.

Talokan citizens showcase this ability a number of times to get what they want. They are seen as strong and menacing, and the film wastes no time in establishing that.

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The siren scene from Black Panther 2 evokes a major sense of horror

Namor in Black Panther 2 (Image via Marvel)

A United States freighter has discovered Vibranium in the middle of the ocean. They call Dr. Graham to verify their findings. Dr. Graham leads a team of scientists who descend the watery depths in submersible suits. Suddenly, mysterious figures appear, and instead of attacking, they start to sing.

As their song starts to become more and more overwhelming, those aboard the freighter enter a sort of trance and jump into the sinister depths of the ocean, seemingly to their deaths. While Dr. Graham wears earplugs to avoid trance and wields a sidearm, the Seal Commander leading her to safety gets impaled by a spear. However, she escapes in a chopper, and everyone finally takes a deep breath, thinking the nightmare is over, a Talokanian man flies and gets a hold of the chopper.

A still from Black Panther 2 (Image via Marvel)

While Black Panther 2 is otherwise an action-packed emotional journey, the scene evokes a major sense of horror. It establishes the forces of Talokan and especially Namor as terrifying and powerful at the same time. Many fans took to Twitter upon watching the film and expressed how spooky it was to see a scene like that, which they weren't expecting at all.

The rest of Black Panther 2 might not have been scary, but the scene certainly was. Talokanians used their harmonizing powers once more, this time to attack Wakanda. The same thing happens, as their hypnotic singing induces a state of trance in some Wakandans and leads them to their demise as they plunge into the depths of the ocean.

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The Greek myth of sirens

Ancient Greek mythology reveals that sirens are terrifying sea creatures who sing sweet songs to draw out sailors and jump to their doom. The most common reference to such creatures in Ancient Greek mythos comes from "The Odyssey," where Odysseus' ship encounters them, but they survive as Circe mitigates the situation.

Circe suggests that everyone fill their ears with wax, so they miss any sound entirely. Odysseus says that he wants to listen to their songs and gets tied to the mast so he might not walk off the edge of the ship.

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The Sirens are officially MCU canon

The sirens are part of the Greek mythos, which makes them quite an odd addition to the otherwise Mesoamerican Talokanians. While Homer wrote The Odyssey in the 8th or 7th century B.C.E., the citizens of Talokan received the herb and the ability to breathe underwater in the 1500s.

It can be explained as simply cultural influence flowing from one region to another. The fact that Talokanians are capable of breathing underwater makes the myth well-suited to them. While Talokan is here to stay, we are likely to see more of their abilities well up as time goes on.