![]() On a personal level, Shuri has every justification for wishing to see the light fade out of Namor’s eyes. A bit ironic for a man with justly dim views on colonization. The glorified merman then threatens existential genocide against Shuri’s people unless they submit to his conquest. His response to that death? Murdering dozens (maybe hundreds?) of innocent Wakandan civilians and intentionally assassinating Queen Ramonda, Shuri’s mother. In other words, it was a single tragic death brought about by Namor’s own violent notions of realpolitik negotiations. But this was after Namor’s men already acted in aggression against Wakanda and attempted to kill Okoye (Danai Gurira), and later threatened Ramonda with the idea that Shuri was a hostage. Yes, Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) killed one of the guards that Namor (Tenoch Huerta) assigned to imprison the princess in the kingdom beneath the waves. Shuri has every reason to feel the same way after the death of Ramonda. Given how Marvel Studios has rather glibly returned to Brühl’s admittedly entertaining performance in Disney+ shows and upcoming movies since then, preventing the character from facing true consequences for his evil deeds, perhaps Killmonger has a point. T’Challa had a naturally diplomatic disposition he sought to build bridges between the outside world and Wakanda, and when he had the opportunity to execute the man who murdered his father, he chose justice instead of vengeance by allowing Zemo (Daniel Brühl) to stand trial. Killmonger doesn’t defend his actions he merely points to the reasons he’s here: Erik represents everything T’Challa chose not to be, and everything that Shuri could yet become. Why should he be allowed to greet her now? Killmonger stole T’Challa’s throne and murdered her brother, and even after they were able to bring T’Challa back, Killmonger’s actions indirectly allowed the previous Black Panther to die again. If Erik had not burned all the organic Heart-Shaped Herbs after his own afterlife rendezvous, Shuri would’ve had the resources to save T’Challa’s life (in the MCU, anyway). Worse still, she has good reason to blame Killmonger for the death of T’Challa. Shuri is of course horrified and outraged to see the man who attempted to murder her brother as the spirit that greets her on the other side. ![]() On the other hand, it works at something much more poignant and provocative that writer-director Ryan Coogler is going for in Wakanda Forever. On a certain level, it’s the typical Marvel Studios cameo in which an old familiar face returns to take a brief bow and likely receive a round of applause from audiences. Jordan), the wayward cousin who briefly visited the Ancestral Plane before joining it permanently. ![]() … And yet, it turned out to be Erik Killmonger ( Michael B. As Shuri approaches the throne, she even sees long hair from over the back of the chair, suggesting her mother has returned to her. As Shuri arrives in a purple encrusted version of the Wakandan throne room, a space where she saw her brother ascend to the role of leader of Wakanda (and where her mother died), most of us thought we’d get that tearful farewell to Ramonda. Thankfully, it was something else altogether.
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