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Black Panther’s Sister Shuri Is Getting Her Own Spin Off Marvel Comic Series

Shuri, Black Panther’s little sister, is finally getting her time to shine in her own spin-off comic book series! On July 17th Bustle announced that the Marvel Universe Comic world would be releasing a new standalone series that is based entirely on Shuri’s interesting escapades and adventures.

If you’re one of the few people who haven’t seen Black Panther yet (seriously, what are you doing?), Shuri is the daughter of King T’Chaka and Queen Ramonda and the half sister of T’Challa, the Black Panther. She’s also a technology guru and a total genius! In the movie adaptation, her character is played by the gorgeous Guyanese-British actress Letitia Wright who also stars in Avengers: Infinity War and Ready Player One.

According to Bustle, the new series will debut in October 2018 and will concentrate on “Shuri’s journey in the face of a tragic event: Black Panther is lost in a mission in space, leaving Wakandans asking questions about who should lead in his absence”. Spoiler alert: the answer is Shuri, who is the next in line for the Wakandan throne as the little sister of Black Panther. The official synopsis of the comic reads, “Shuri is happiest in a lab, surrounded by gadgets of her own creation. She’d rather be testing gauntlets than throwing them. But a nation without a leader is a vulnerable one — and Shuri may have to choose between Wakanda’s welfare and her own.”

Nnedi Okorafor, the author of Black Panther: Long Live the King for Marvel, will be working with talented artist Leonardo Romero to create the comic. When asked about the new project, Okorafor stated, “[Shuri is] an African young woman of genius level intelligence who is obsessed with technology and has traveled spiritually so far into the past that she’s seen Wakanda before it was Wakanda. The Ancestors call her Ancient Future. And she’s super ambitious. What do I love about her? Alllll that and more.”

Excited yet? If not, let’s talk about the implications of this new comic book series!

Despite Hollywood’s hit-and-miss portrayal of black women, the news that Shuri is getting her own spin-off is still worth rejoicing in. One of the coolest aspects of Shuri is her witty, sophisticated humor, her sarcasm and her crazy level of intelligence! We need better representation of darker-skinned black women and girls in the media and having a Shuri-focused comic book series will give young, black girls a beautiful, badass heroine to look up to.

Black women are often typecast as the sidekick or the best friend, so it’s refreshing to see the promotion of a narrative where the black woman is the lead and the main attraction. The increased portrayal of invaluably competent black women will boost the self-image of black women collectively and encourage us to promote ourselves in a better light, whether simply through smaller black-owned entertainment companies or in the long-established world of Hollywood.

“Grace is a freelance writer and blogger from Canada. Her work has been featured on HerCampus, 21Ninety, Read Unwritten. She is a voracious reader, a dog-lover and a self-professed pop culture junkie. Her other hobbies include watching sappy romantic comedies, consuming too many strawberry-filled doughnuts and people-watching. Grace currently attends university, where she is working towards a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Pre-Law.”