Wakanda () is a fictional country appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the country first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). Wakanda has been depicted as being in East Africa. It is located in sub-Saharan Africa and is home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda has appeared in comics and various media adaptations, such as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where it is depicted as the most technologically advanced nation on the planet. Location Some sources place Wakanda just north of Tanzania and exactly at Rwanda, while others such as Marvel Atlas #2 show it at the north end of Lake Turkana, in between South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia (and surrounded by fictional countries like Azania, Canaan, and Narobia). Director Ryan Coogler stated that his depiction of Wakanda in the 2018 film Black Panther was inspired by the Southern African Kingdom of Lesotho. In recent stories by writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, Wakanda is located on Lake Victoria, near fellow fictional nations Mohannda, Canaan, Azania, and Niganda. This places these nations mostly in what in real life is the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Birnin Zana is located within Wakanda. It is considered by some to be a smart city. In Birnin Zana, pedestrians walk along commerce-filled streets that are car-free except for the occasional appearance of (buslike) shuttles. The whole is quite similar to the woonerf concept, an approach to public space design which started in the Netherlands in the 1970s. Maglev trains are seen zipping above and around the city. The Wakandan buildings incorporate some traditional African elements (i.e. thatched roofs and hanging gardens) on some of the tallest structures. History Before the emergence of the Wakandan nation, mystic beings known as Originators lived in the region. Originators were diverse races: Anansi (spider-like), Vanyan (ape-like), Creeping Doom (insectoid), Ibeji (two-headed humanoids) and Children of Olokun (sea-creatures). The Originators were expelled from the region by the humans and the Orisha, the pantheon of Wakanda consisting of Thoth, Ptah, Mujaji, Kokou and Bast, the Panther Goddess. In the distant past, a massive meteorite made up of the element vibranium crashed in Wakanda. The meteorite was named Mena Ngai. It was unearthed a generation before the events of the present day. T'Challa, the previous Black Panther and brother to the current Black Panther, Shuri, is the son