Black Panther wax figure unveiled at Madame Tussauds

LONDON:

Marvel superhero Black Panther went on display at Madame Tussauds in London on Friday, the latest addition at the wax figure museum ahead of its re-opening next week.

The king of the fictional Wakanda is dressed in his distinctive Black Panther suit, with an inbuilt "vibranium effect" which makes the outfit light up in purple when visitors touch it. Vibranium is the metal mined in Wakanda in the Marvel comic.

The figure joins the "Marvel’s Hall of Heroes" at the attraction, which re-opens its doors on Monday as England eases into the next phase out of lockdown.

On Thursday, the museum said it has moved waxwork models of Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who left their royal duties last year and moved to Los Angeles, to its new Awards Party zone. The figures previously stood with other members of the royal family.

The new zone features figures of Hollywood royalty, including Angelina Jolie, George Clooney and Tom Hardy, where guests can walk down a red carpet among other things.

"There's been a number of new interactives which we've put into this space. We've got a new stage area which guests can join on and collect an award," Tim Waters, general manager of Madame Tussauds London, told Reuters.

"We've got a telephone box traditionally-themed .. in London red and which they can go into and they can call up some of their celebrity friends along with a push to party button where they'll get a bit of a surprise."