Entertainment Weekly has given us our best look yet at Chadwick Boseman‘s Black Panther, who will hit our screens next year in the eagerly-awaited Captain America: Civil War. Check out the chain-wearing, claw-equipped, cat-like superhero below.

First Look At Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther

In the upcoming flick, as seen in a trailer released last week, Chris Evan‘s Captain America and Robert Downey Jnr‘s Iron Man take opposing sides when an international incident prompts government officials to form a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to call in the Avengers. Captain America opposes the motion, while Iron Man supports it, leading the two to come to blows.

Black Panther’s allegiance in the conflict will fluctuate, EW reports, in a detailed piece on the character’s comic book origins and journey to the big screen. Black Panther was one of the first black comic book heroes and has since become an icon of the genre.

“He’s definitely not the life of the party in this instance,” Boseman said. “I think this is something true of the comic book character and the movie. You never quite know where he stands. There’s always a bit of concealing and mystery. So I think mysterious is more his boat. Not to say there’s not charm and he can’t be a ladies’ man and all that. It’s more like if there is humor, it’s more like James Bond.”

Black Panther’s real name is T’Challa, a prince from the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Executive producer Nate Moore shed some light on his role in the upcoming film: “He’s someone who hasn’t necessarily made up his mind about either side and whose agenda isn’t exactly what Cap’s agenda or what Tony’s agenda is.  And I think that brings him into conflict weirdly with both characters at different times in the film. He is the prince of an African nation that has so far stayed very much sort of in the shadows. And eventually the film will draw him and his father out of the shadows.”

Captain America: Civil War is due out May 6, 2016.

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