Black Panther does all of its female characters justice
The movie might be called Black Panther, but it never forgets that power comes from a goddess rather than a god, and the women are just as strong.
Warning: Black Panther spoilers are below.
T’Challa is definitely not a woman — but he bears a mantle blessed by the goddess Bast. Without her role in the mythology surrounding the title of Black Panther, he wouldn’t be able to do the absolutely incredibly bonkers things he does throughout the film.
Without the distinct, three-dimensional women that surround him, the movie probably would have ended after about 10 minutes rather than after two-and-a-half hours. There’s something feminist about all of it, and it’s one of the most brilliant moves of Black Panther.
Ramonda, Shuri and T’Challa’s mother, isn’t passive, so I admit I disagree slightly with our reviewer Kristen Lopez here in terms of the role Ramonda has. M’Baku turns away from her sacred work — another invocation of Bast, by the way — and her being able to prepare the heart-shaped herb is what brings T’Challa back to fighting shape. She refuses to leave Wakanda along with Shuri. The two of them know that they may be needed, and indeed, Shuri is needed, and Ramonda ends up being right that M’Baku shouldn’t get the heart-shaped herb. It’s all about foresight.
Obviously, as we’ve already mentioned on this site, Shuri is probably the most prominent female role. The princess of Wakanda is unafraid to shoot her brother the bird but develops new suits to help keep him safe.
Capable of both healing and fighting when the situation calls for it, Shuri’s absolutely brilliant, and unafraid to hide it. Lopez praises this in her review as well, but it’s time to add another note of admiration. There’s no point in hiding when you’re the smartest person in the room. (Can you just imagine what will happen when she meets Tony Stark? Avengers: Infinity War, make this happen.)
That sort of confidence is absolutely important to see in a woman for once in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s no accident that we refer to Tony Stark above. That sort of confidence is his domain more than anyone else’s, but Shuri proves that it doesn’t have to be his sole domain anymore. However, it’s impossible to write Shuri off solely as “a female Tony Stark.” Her teasing isn’t to mask anything. That’s simply her having fun.
As for Okoye, she’s both the “best warrior” in Wakanda — and also has a love interest. Like Nakia, she could have just been one or the other. But she is both W’Kabi’s love, able to stop his charging rhino just by standing still, and more than happy to throw a wig in someone’s face before introducing them to her spear. (I strongly second Lopez when it comes to an Okoye solo movie, but am not sure Ryan Coogler makes the “stakes” she mentions as clear as they could be.)
The Dora Milaje are the “adored ones,” and Okoye is adored by someone (and will also beat him up if she has to). She makes her own choices and has conflicts with Nakia not about men but instead the right path for Wakanda. It feels like a big moment, but it shouldn’t (since it’s, you know, 2018).
“I’m not a Dora,” Nakia insists. However, in the same vein as Okoye having W’Kabi’s heart, it’s clear she’s more than capable of fitting in both in terms of combat strength and having someone who likes her so much that he’s “like an antelope in headlights” when she’s around.
In fact, Nakia and T’Challa don’t even kiss until the end of the movie. Nakia holds her own against Erik Killmonger in his own Black Panther suit, has the foresight to steal the heart-shaped herb, and generally uses her own espionage skills.
She has her own conflicts and plans. After all, when we first meet her, she’s infiltrating a group that smuggles women, and gets rather grumpy when T’Challa shows up to get her, because she has things to do. She saves the youngest of the men transporting the women because of his youth — and asks the women to make sure he’s returned to his family. Her contacts get them into the hidden South Korean casino. It’s clear that Nakia exists outside of T’Challa’s orbit and protection, just like Ramonda, Shuri and Okoye — in short, Lopez has it exactly right.
In that sense, T’Challa, too, shows he has complexity. The ladies shine because he’s unafraid to acknowledge their skills — and other men like M’Baku acknowledge them as well. It’s no surprise he brings Okoye and Nakia to South Korea and enlists Shuri’s help from Wakanda. As a king, he could have called in a massive entourage, but he knows that they will be more than enough.
From Ramonda’s invocation of the goddess Bast to Shuri’s technological brilliance to Nakia and Okoye’s balance between the men in their lives and their own skills, Black Panther has distinctive women with their own stories and conflicts.
Next: How Black Panther sets up Avengers: Infinity War
They stand together as some of the best characters in the MCU film — and that’s saying something considering how amazing the entire cast of Black Panther is. In that point, Lopez and I are in perfect agreement, and I’ll happily add that Black Panther has some strongly feminist qualities.