Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda ForeverBlack Pather: Wakanda Foreveris undoubtedly one of the MCU’s most momentous films to date. Not only was it responsible for bringing Phase 4 to a close, but it also carried the weight of honoring the lateChadwick Boseman.Those involved with the production had to walk a fine line to respect both Boseman and T’Challa’s legacies while passing on the torch to those who loved them onscreen and off. The team did so masterfully by having Shuri, played byLetitia Wright, grapple with her evolving perspective on tradition and change on her path to becoming the new Black Panther.
Throughout the film, her point of view is challenged and supported by a nuanced cast of new and returning characters, each of whom showcases the merits and drawbacks of respecting tradition and embracing change. Each of their points of view is informed by differing outlooks on the past, present, and future, which gives brand new meaning to the titleWakanda Forever.In the end, Shuri is able to find balance by recognizing the value of all viewpoints and using them to form a stance of her own.
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Embracing Change
InBlack Panther(2018), viewers quickly learn that Shuri is not one to follow tradition for tradition’s sake. Between cracking jokes at T’Challa’s coronation ceremony to updating his suit with new technology, the young princess clearly doesn’t share the values of more traditional Wakandans. Although a teenage rebellious streak is par for the course, her distaste for cultural customs is largely due to the fact that at her core, Shuri isn’t a political figure— she’s an innovator.
Prior toWakanda Forever, Shuri relied solely on her scientific prowess to shape the world around her. She was able to help her brother defeatKillmonger(Michael B. Jordan) by using electromagnetism to deactivate their suits and healed Everett Ross' (Martin Freeman) life-threatening wound using vibranium technology. However, this time, the film opens with Shuri failing to create a synthetic version of the heart-shaped herb needed to save T’Challa’s life from an undisclosed illness.
This is the first of many problems that Shuri can’t overcome with her intellect alone. At first, she believes that if she simply works harder, science will ultimately prevail. The film acknowledges that to some extent, she’s right. By the final act, it’s clear that Wakanda wouldn’t have stood a chance againstNamor’s army without the help ofRiri Williams(Dominique Thorne), who helps her realize that Namor needs water to fuel his superpowers. However, Riri also proves to Shuri that advancement isn’t always good, as her creation of the vibranium detector is the catalyst for the film’s central conflict.
Riri reflects the best and worst of Shuri. Although their technology is often helpful, it also holds the potential to be harmful. Riri’s mistake shows Shuri that she needs to slow down and think about what she should do instead of what she can do. Additionally, she teaches her that two heads are better than one by assisting her in her lab, which is a lesson she needed to learn to accept the validity of others' ideas.
Upholding Tradition
Throughout the film, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) encourages Shuri to lean on the wisdom of her elders to work through her emotions. Once again, the film acknowledges that this approach works in some ways and doesn’t in others. She is able to cope with T’Challa’s death better than her daughter by engaging in traditional rituals and values, such as burning funeral robes and believing that although her son is physically gone, he lives on spiritually and in their hearts.
She also uses tradition to inform her politics. When meeting with members of the United Nations, she confirms that she plans to continue Wakanda’s long history of keeping vibranium within its borders. This is partially because of the religious belief that Wakanda was blessed with vibranium, but is mostly motivated by the knowledge that other countries will likely use vibranium to gain power. Unlike Shuri, Ramonda is acutely aware of the risk vibranium technology poses.
However, her decision is challenged when she learns that there is already another hidden nation that has an abundance of vibranium. Ramonda struggles to accept that Namor’s (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) plan to wage war to protect his people and vibranium will put Wakanda in a situation that her ancestors don’t have a solution for. Her unwillingness to accept this new reality is demonstrated when she fires Okoye (Danai Gurira) for failing to protect Shuri from inhuman warriors with vibranium weapons. Ramonda can’t understand Okoye losing because historically, Wakandan warriors were never outmatched.
In her final moments, Ramonda sees for herself that Namor can’t be defeated by the way Wakandans traditionally fight, so she saves Riri’s life in hopes that she can help defeat him next time. Her death is the breaking point that forces Shuri to evaluate not only the strengths and weaknesses of her mother’s leadership but what kind of legacy she wants to create for herself.
Honoring Both Change and Tradition
In the final act, Shuri is able to use tradition and change in tandem to protect Wakanda. She combines her scientific knowledge with information passed down through history about the heart-shaped herb to create a synthetic version of it. She undergoes the ritual to become the new Black Panther in her lab, which is a modern twist on performing the ceremony where the herb grows. She’s guided by Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), who gave T’Challa the last remaining organic herb inBlack Panther, and Riri, who is the first non-Wakandan to witness the creation of a Black Panther. Together, they represent the old and the new.
When Shuri goes to the ancestral plane, she’s greeted by her cousin, Killmonger, who became a Black Panther to avenge his murdered parent and bring change to Wakanda using vibranium technology. With their clear similarities, it at first appears that Shuri is going to take up his mantel by wearing a suit with gold accents like him. In better lighting, it’s revealed that Shuri’s suit has both gold and silver accents, representing the traits she shares with both Killmonger and T’Challa. Like the former, she indulges her rage against Namor for killing Ramonda, but like the latter, she recognizes that an eye for an eye won’t make things right.
The film ends with Shuri updating her mother’s mourning ritual by partaking in it on non-Wakandan soil. In the post-credits scene, she learns that Nakia and T’Challa embraced tradition and change as well by having a son with two names; Toussaint, to represent his Haitian upbringing, and T’Challa, to honor his father and Wakandan roots.Wakanda Forevercame full circle by reminding viewers that they can honor Boseman’s past and embrace a new T’Challa who will always be a part of him.
