Black Panther, the latest standalone superhero movie from the Marvel cinematic universe, roared to a record-shattering $218 million U.S. debut over this past Presidents’ Day weekend, making it the highest debut ever for a February film and fifth highest opening of all time.

Further positive word of mouth reviews are sure to continue to make this movie the first must-see movie event of the year, and for good reason: Black Panther is a vibrant and exciting film that has re-energized the superhero genre and feels vital to these times.

For those who have been keeping up with the entirety of these Marvel movies, Prince T’Challa aka Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) was first seen in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War when he witnessed the passing of his father at his feet. Black Panther sees T’Challa returning home after the events of Civil War to the African nation of Wakanda to succeed the throne as king and rule over his people as the Black Panther. Holding court over his inner circle of royals are W’kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) and a group of strong women, including mother Ramonda (Angela Basset), Wakandan guard Okoye (Danai Gurira) and sister Shuri (Letitia Wright), who give council to an untested T’Challa in which he finds himself with the new responsibility of governing over the people in this new position.

T’Challa finds that it’s also up to him to keep his country flourishing, which it has done for generations by staying hidden away from the rest of the world while mining a rare resource called vibranium, an element stronger than steel that the Wakandans put into everything from their buildings to their clothes, and what his sister Shuri makes the Black Panther costume and gadgets out of. But little does T’Challa know that vibranium is also being coveted by enemies abroad, including Klaue (Andy Serkis) and the American Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). It’s Killmonger who we learn has more than a bone to pick with T’Challa who, when he makes a dramatic crash landing into Wakanda, challenges T’Challa for the throne and for control of how to lead the nation forward– in which less then peaceful results loom large.

Seeing people of color in major roles like this only serve to further empower audiences of all kinds who have been underrepresented until now. And this might be ‘Black Panther‘s’ greatest superhuman feat.

While Black Panther is the latest superhero flick sandwiched between the rest of the Marvel catalog, it’s not your traditional superhero movie. First of all, there’s a new visual identity that director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) injects into the movie that keeps the whole thing lively and excitable. And largely, there is a mythos to Black Panther that makes it feel even weightier next to its contemporaries. Scenes of T’Challa connecting with his ancestors for wisdom and guidance while he searches for his place and destiny is a drama more akin to Shakespeare than Superman.

And while it’s all still pop entertainment escapism, it’s undeniable that there is a political and sociological relevancy given the times that we’re living in. Scenes in which King T’Challa is confronted with how to rule over Wakanda – whether to provide the knowledge and technology of his country with the rest of the world or hold onto them for his country’s own stability – is a discourse especially prescient to today’s national conversation.

Black Panther is also the face of a new kind of hero that’s largely been missing from superhero movies for quite some time. Having embodied some of history’s most important African American figures, such as Jackie Robinson and Thurgood Marshall, Boseman gives an effortless grace and presence to his King-in-making Black Panther. Michael B. Jordan is a mad dog off the leash here, and other stand-out performances include Lupita N’yongo as T’Challa’s love Nakia and Forest Whitaker as Zuri, who aids T’Challa. Seeing people of color in major roles like this only serve to further empower audiences of all kinds who have been underrepresented until now. And this might be Black Panther‘s greatest superhuman feat.

134 minutes. ‘Black Panther’ is rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of action violence, and a brief rude gesture. Now playing.