| “ | Make ready your armies, general... Wakanda is going to war. | „ |
| ~ Shuri. |
| “ | It's a "mantle", not a catsuit, thank you very much. | „ |
| ~ Shuri to Shanna the She-Devil. |
Shuri, also known as the Black Panther and Aja-Adanna, is a fictional character in Marvel Comics. Originally appearing in a supporting capacity as the younger sister of T'Challa, the character went on to adopt the Black Panther identity and star in the series of the same name. Following her heroic sacrifice, Shuri was resurrected and later developed powers from the Djalia.
Along with her role in the comics, Shuri has made appearances in related television series and video games, such as in the in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, being portrayed by Letitia Wright.
She was created by Ben Dunn, Reginald Hudlin, Klaus Janson and John Romita Jr., and first appeared in Marvel Mangaverse (Vol. 1) #3 in August of 2002, and then in Black Panther (Vol. 4) #2 in March of 2005.
History[]
Background[]
Shuri was born in the kingdom of Wakanda to T'Chaka and Ramonda, the king's third wife, and is the half-sister to T'Challa and Jakarra. During her youth, she was overshadowed by the men in her family, and developed a resentment towards T'Challa due to him being next in line for the title of Black Panther. Wanting to claim the title for herself, Shuri traveled to the arena to fight her uncle S'Yan for it, but T'Challa claimed after beating him. Despite the setback, Shuri went on to study in the field of physics as T'Challa became Wakanda's new king.
When noticing something was wrong at the great mound, Shuri disobeyed her half-brother and traveled there, discovering that Klaw was planning an insurrection. Encountering Radioactive Man, Shuri battled him until she killed him with the Ebony Blade, much to her shock. Following the attack, the princess was left traumatized from committing murder, but was able to cope with T'Challa's help in teaching her martial arts. T'Chlla intended to teach Shuri in combat for the chance she could one day take on the mantle of Black Panther and lead Wakanda, and Shuri managed to learn from her half-brother.
After becoming queen, Shuri spoke with the mutant Namor peace treaties between the two nations, but rejected it alongside T'Challa. She then sent her forces to attack Atlantis while Namor celebrated the false treaty, and later returned home to find it in ruins.
Becoming Black Panther[]
After T'Challa was wounded by Doctor Doom after being rejected for the Cabal, Storm was positioned as queen, but wanted Shuri to become the next Black Panther. Speaking to the Panther God, it rejected Shuri due to her arrogance and jealousy towards T'Challa, believing she wasn't fit to take on the mantle. Despite this, Shuri donned the panther habit to fight against Morlun, thus proving herself worthy. During her debut as the Black Panther, she worked with numerous heroes, such as the Fantastic Four to stop Doctor Doom's plans to attack Wakanda. She later left Wakanda to stop Klaw from obtaining vibranium across the globe, teaming up with Wolverine, Spider-Man, Black Widow and Shanna the She-Devil.
At some point, T'Challa received the mantle of Black Panther once again, but instead of being the protector of Wakanda, become the champion of the city of the dead. This allowed Shuri to maintain the mantle, as she had to focus on several threats happening, such as the Avengers' war against the X-Men and the Cabal performing an incursion. During the siege of Wakanda, the Cabal managed to take over and started to kill civilians. Shuri worked with T'Challa to stop them, but the former sacrificed herself to allow T'Challa to escape.
Resurrection[]
Following her death, Shuri was brought to the realm of the Djalia, where she learned of her ancestor's plane of memories and her culture's history and music. However, she was resurrected by the combine efforts of T'Challa and Manifold, thus developing powers from the plane. After helping T'Challa reform the Dora Milaje, she participated in stopping Tetu's rebellions and was given a seat at the Wakandan council.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Djalia Enhancements: Shuri returned from her stay at the Djalia changed, having been imbued with supernatural powers from the teachings of a griot.
- Animorphism: Shuri is capable of transforming her body into either a flock of black birds, or a single enormous one.
- Enhanced Durability: Shuri has demonstrated the ability to recover from blasts of energy with surprising speed.
- Stone Form: Shuri can turn her body and clothes into a flexible rock-like material which can be barely dented by gunfire.
Abilities[]
- Genius-level Intellect: Alongside her half-brother, Shuri is highly intelligent, showing experience in the fields of physics and engineering.
- Master Martial Artist: Trained by T'Challa and the Dora Milaje, she is a capable combatant, which is further utilized with her enhancements from the Heart-Shaped Herb and the Djalia.
Paraphernalia[]
- Black Panther suit: Shuri donned the panther suit after T'Challa was injured.
- Vibranium claws
Portrayals[]
Films[]
- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she is portrayed by Letitia Wright, who also voiced Nooshy in Sing 2.
Television[]
- In the Black Panther animated series, she was voiced by Kerry Washington, who also portrayed Alicia Masters in the 2000s Fantastic Four films and Olivia Pope in Scandal.
- In Avengers Assemble, she was voiced by Kimberly Brooks, who also voiced Oracle and young Bruce Wayne in the Batman: Arkham series, Buena Girl in ¡Mucha Lucha!, Tally the Cheetah in The Wild Thornberrys Movie, and Bumblebee in 2019s DC Super Hero Girls.
- In Lego Marvel Super Heroes - Black Panther: Trouble in Wakanda, she was voiced by Daisy Lightfoot.
- Lightfoot reprised her voice for the character in Marvel Rising: Operation Shuri.
- In What If...?, she was voiced by Ozioma Akagha.
Video Games[]
- In Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2, she was voiced by Susan Wokoma.
- In Marvel's Avengers, voiced by Erica Luttrell, who also voiced Keesha Franklin in The Magic School Bus, Candy in Dave the Barbarian, Sapphire in Steven Universe, and Erica Wang in The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- She is vegan.
- Ranked 34th on The A.V. Club's "100 best Marvel characters" list.
- Ranked 9th on Daily Mirror's "Best female superheroes of all time" list.
- Ranked 39th on ComicBook.com's "50 Most Important Superheroes Ever" list.
- Ranked 8th on CBR.comc's "10 Smartest Heroes in the Marvel Universe" and "Marvel: 10 Smartest Female Characters" list.
