Marvel’s Black Panther hits theaters on February 16th, and if you searched the internet, you can see everyone is increasing their hype to match what we’ll see on that big screen. The trailers have us salivating for more, but unless you’re a big fan of the Black Panther comic books, you may not know much about the characters. In this post, we’ll focus on the women of Marvel’s Black Panther, and why they will be essential to the storyline of this soon-to-be blockbuster film.
Okoye – Danai Gurira
Ramonda – Angela Bassett
Nakia – Lupita Nyong’o
Shuri – Letitia Wright
Okoye
Okoye is the leader of the Dora Milaje, King T’Challa’s all-female bodyguards. Okoye is the epitome of a loyal and strong woman. Played by Danai Gurira, Okoye challenges her king and country, while continuing to fiercely guard both to ensure her king’s safety.
Ramonda
Ramonda, played by the incomparable Angela Bassett, is T’Challa’s stepmother. As a fan of the comic books, I was surprised to see Ramona as part of the film. T’Challa and Ramonda had an interesting relationship in the comics, since he thought she abandoned him and his Father, T’Chaka. Ramonda was actually kidnapped by villain Anton Pretorius, which created a great storyline for Christopher Priest to work with in the 90s revival of the comic. Placing Angela in this role ensures we will see some heartwarming and/or heartwrenching scenes between T’Challa and Ramonda.
Nakia
Nakia, played by Lupita Nyong’o, is a Wakandan spy and member of the Dora Milaje. Her addition to the cast is very exciting, because Nakia is well-known for having a sometimes volatile relationship with T’Challa. Within this action-packed movie, we can only hope there will be a bit of a love story. As a spy, Nakia is known for her hand-to-hand combat and information seeking skills. I’m sure we’ll see her side by side with Okoye and T’Challa in these awesome fight scenes.
Shuri
Shuri, played by Letitia Wright is sister to T’Challa. She is also the head of the Wakandan Design Group, and is the creator of the tech used by Black Panther and the Dora Milaje. With Vibranium being available in vast amounts on Wakanda’s Great Mound, Shuri is able to invent almost anything she can think of.
Want to learn even more about Black Panther? This informative post by Choya of Just A Splash of Diva will fill your brain with awesomeness: Black Panther 101
If these women of Marvel’s Black Panther don’t get you pumped about this film, I don’t know what will. Maybe the trailers will help? Here they are, for your viewing pleasure:
I’m so excited for this!! Thanks for the primer.
Expected more footage but the action is too awesome
Wow such beautiful actresses that are known for playing smart and dangerous women. I cannot wait for this movie to come out. Saving my Christmas movie tickets for this movie.
It’s going to be an amazing film!
Is there a web site that sells the all female t-shirts together?
I haven’t seen one!