Anybody notice how often characters in Black Panther will use each other’s titles or names? How Okoye consistently said “my princess, my king, my love” before addressing them? How T’Challa’s name was echoed during challenges, or the emphasis on asking who Killmonger really was when he revealed himself to the council? He did not pronounce that he was N’Jadaka, Son of Prince N’Jobu, until someone on the council directly asked him who he was. T’Challa purposefully tried to get him out of there before that could happen. The Wakandans consciously included names and titles into conversations because names give power (He Who Must Not Be Named, or any God/Goddess in Rick Riordan’s Mythology series anyone?). Every single supporting character in Black Panther had power. I don’t think I have ever seen a movie where there is not one wasted character. I had so much to say about these characters that I present to you a character profile of the cast of Black Panther, listed from favorite to most favorite (because all of the characters were amazing). If you haven’t figured it yet, this is SPOILER FILLED. So, go watch the movie about 2-3 times, and then come back if you haven’t seen it yet (but really, how have you not?????)
*Disclaimer: I did not go back through this post to check for typos because I am tired lol. Please excuse any you see (or just contact me if you see any and I will update)*
Zuri (Forest Whitaker & Denzel Whitaker)
Zuri is the advisor/mentor/elder and “keeper of secrets” of Wakanda. He discovers the betrayal committed by Prince N’Jobu and is fundamentally loyal to King T’Chaka and Wakanda. He guides T’Challa through his initial challenge and through the ancestral lands and back. He may be the closest thing to a trope character within the movie. However, it’s the work of the Whitakers (who are not related) who bring more to the role than just the typical elder. Denzel plays young Zuri/Uncle James completely with his eyes. Once we learn his true identity, he transforms instantly from Oakland hustler to Wakandan War Dog with just the look of pride (that word again lol) and purpose in his eyes. The older Whitaker also carries the weight of the secret he holds in his eyes. While his sacrifice to save T’Challa from Killmonger may have been sullied by a bad voice over, the pain you see in Forest’s eyes when he tells T’Chaka’s secret, and when he comes face-to-face with Killmonger, is heartbreaking.
Memorable Quote: *sorry if I don’t get the quotes exactly right*
“We had to maintain the lie”
King T’Chaka (John Kani & Atandwa Kani)
We see King T’Chaka only in flashbacks or in the Ancestral Lands. He may be the character that we know the least about because we really only see him from the perspectives of T’Challa and Zuri. With one action, he turns from the ultimate father figure/leader to a man whose legacy could be forever tarnished in the eyes of those he loves. Since we didn’t get much background on his life outside of those perspectives, I questioned whether or not it was necessary for him to kill his brother just for the sake of Zuri. You couldn't just knock him out or something? Now I want to know more about the brothers' relationship. The way John Kani carries royalty in his every word and look creates an aura around T’Chaka that makes that secret momentous (especially next to Boseman, Whitaker, Brown and Jordan’s reactions to it). So does Atandwa Kani (who IS John’s son). Both Kanis do a marvelous job staying regal whether showing pride for their family, teaching lessons to T'Challa, or having to go through any father’s biggest fear, being a failure to their children.
Memorable Quote:
“You are a good man, with a good heart. And it's hard for a good man to be king."
“Look me in the eye and tell me why you betrayed Wakanda”
Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman)
“Please don’t be a white savior, please don’t be a white savior!!!” As one of two non-black characters in the movie, this was a worry I consistently had when it came to Freeman’s character. In addition, I kept wondering whether he would betray the Wakandans since the lady next to me kept saying “I don’t trust him” every time T’Challa decided to bring him deeper into the fold. Luckily, Bilbo has experience knowing his place amongst a team. Hobbits know their place in the world, understand that they are important and have expertise to offer, but still don’t need the spotlight. So Ross had no problem using his piloting skill to save the outside world from the threat of an Wakandan arsenal in the wrong hands. He did it gladly with the supervision and help of the most intelligent person in the room. Martin Freeman is forever welcome to the barbecue. He was already there anyway since Bilbo and Watson are forever in the hearts of blerds everywhere.
Memorable Quotes:
“How long do I have… Put me back in"
“Well, you brought quite the entourage, do you have a mixtape coming out?”
“Please don’t make me listen to your music”
Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett)
When we first meet Ramonda, she does not have an ounce of sadness within her. Considering she just lost her husband, the strength and pride she displays in seeing her son rise to the throne is a testament to her character and Angela Bassett’s excellence. You can tell that even though she does not throw a punch, her grace and poise is what set the example that all of the other badass women in this movie look to and learn from. Bassett is everything in this role. Her adeptness as an actress, showing such depth and emotional range, is something you never thought you would see in an MCU film. The first moment in which her headdress comes off, you see the white dreads, and she releases the vulnerable sadness over T’Challa’s death completely takes your breath away. The strength she shows in scoffing at Killmonger’s perceived lies and the power pushed through her words to T’Challa to “show them who you are” are felt with the love and fear that only a mother can bring. You can’t help but sit up straighter and stand taller when Ramonda is on the screen.
Memorable Quotes:
“Show Them Who You Are”
“My Son. It is your time”
W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya)
Ok, so this man’s name was not originally W’Kabi. His name is Chris Washington and he just got through a most harrowing experience with white devils, a teacup, and a sunken place. He needed to leave from the presence of those who wronged him and find a place where he could be free of the cruelties and lies of the wypipo. He found his new home and his love, but still harbored that fear and worry from his traumatic past. The two moments in which I knew that W’Kabi was really Chris was 1, when he was at the Rhino pens and gave T’Challa that same “wtf am I witnessing right now” smile he gave throughout Get Out (you know, this one)
And second, when he gave T’Challa the “I’m done with these crazy sons a bitches” look after he was told Klaue had gotten away again (you know, this one)
He was hurt before and he would not let a devil like Klaue get him again. That second look must have triggered some PTSD and made him believe that the real T’Challa was stuck in the sunken place. So, when Killmonger arrived with Klaue in a body bag, he had to go with what he thought was right. He did not see the errors of his ways until he was shown the light by the only two beings on this earth who cannot be fooled by the devices of the wicked: Animals and Black Women.
Memorable Quotes:
“So, are you two going to work it out?”
“Would you kill me, my love?”
“The world is changing... soon there will only be the conquerors and the conquered. I would rather be the former”
Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis)
Smeagol done said "F it, I’m taking everything I ever wanted and no one will do anything to stop me". Did you not hear Klaue’s laugh the entire movie? That’s Gollum bruh. He just found a way to get his human form back and put on about 30 pounds of muscle on top of it . I swear Wakanda is where all the Black People in Lord of The Rings were hiding. This has got to be my absolute favorite Andy Serkis role. Ulysses Klaue is the most fun-loving evil sonofabish I have ever seen on screen. He needs and loves music in his life apparently, as he needs a soundtrack to his car chases, has his own SoundCloud link to his mixtape, and realized he could make it rain after blasting T’Challa with an arm cannon. He managed to avoid Wakandan capture for over 30 years and is the only person to learn the country’s secrets and make it out alive. I promise you that the Shirelings and Gollum are the only ones with the experience to get in and out of a land that fortified.
Memorable Quotes:
“Oh yea there is one, I’ll actually send you the SoundCloud link”
“What is Love???”
“I Made it Rain!”
N’Jobu (Sterling K. Brown)
If Sterling K. Brown makes everyone cry every week on This is Us like he did in this movie, I can’t understand how people aren’t walking puddles of emotion by now. N’Jobu does not have much screen time in Black Panther, but when he does, boy does he make it count. The strength of his conviction on the wrongs that Wakanda has been doing to the rest of the Black world is like a gut-punch. It may be even more convincing than Killmonger’s certitude. Yet, the beauty of Wakanda is never more apparent than when it is being described in his words, or through the words retold by his son. I didn’t even realize it was N’Jobu narrating the history of Wakanda until my 2nd viewing. I thought it was a Young T’Chaka speaking. That’s how much love N’Jobu has for his homeland. That one tear is going to rival Denzel’s Glory tear. Fight me.
Memorable Quotes (aside from everything he argues about Wakanda’s role in the world):
“No tears shed for me”
The entire history of Wakanda
“They won’t knock again”
King T’Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman)
Chadwick Boseman has or will play every single historical black figure in US history. Yet, T’Challa is the role in which it seems he has put the most heart and soul into. He was a standout in Civil War because of his powerful portrayal of Black Panther. But here, Boseman is no longer playing Black Panther. He is playing T’Challa, a man no longer weighed down by the vengeance that drove him in Civil War. Because that quest for vengeance is gone, we get to see what truly drives T’Challa. We got an honest portrayal of the emotions that Black men are too often scared to outwardly show. We see that he is a man who is frozen by the mere sight of the one he loves. I know I felt like I was a child again when he first said Nakia’s name in Nigeria (I almost wanted to clown him as if he was my boy, it was so bad). We see a man who loves and idolizes his father, and is scared to be without him. We see a man who can be hurt by those closest to him. We see a man who can show emotion but still show that he is NOT the one to mess with. He is not here to make deals, and he is not one afraid to tell all of his ancestors that they were utterly and absolutely wrong. He is your king now. This is by far Boseman’s best work to date, and I am ready for him to tell everyone to get this man a shield.
Memorable Quotes:
“I never yielded, and as you can see, I am not dead”
“I am your king now!”
“This never gets old”
Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o)
Nakia is one of the most levelheaded and adaptable characters in the entire movie. She is stealthy enough to be blend in with kidnapped Nigerian women, smart enough to make friends with the head of a Korean Gambling ring, and skilled enough to wear Dora Milaje armor without being one. She is the one who kept her head to get Ramonda and Shuri out after T’Challa fell. She was the one who knew to go get the heart-shaped herb to try to save Wakanda, AND knew well enough that she shouldn’t be the one to take it. She was the one that was so strikingly beautiful that the Black Panther froze like an antelope in headlights. A great spy knows their strengths, weaknesses, allies, and enemies, and Nakia knew it ALL. Lupita epitomized what would be called a “strong female character”. Except, that quote is antiquated because she is just a strong CHARACTER, no “female” needed. All eyes went to her anytime she was on screen, and that is because Lupita has the gravitas to carry any role she is given (Don’t EVER forget to put the “Oscar Winner” in front of her name).
Memorable Quotes:
“You get to decide what kind of king you are going to be”
““I would make a great queen because I am stubborn—if that’s what I wanted.”
“You can’t let your father’s mistakes define who you are”
Okoye (Danai Gurira)
From swords to chop off zombie heads, to staffs to whoop EVERYONE’s ass, Danai Gurira is not a woman to be trifled with. Okoye is just another example of her ability to be the most badass woman in the room, because Okoye is the most badass person in Wakanda. She unwaveringly leads a group of women who all could easily be leaders themselves, and does it while proving she could very well be the Queen of Wakanda and Black Panther without breaking a sweat. She is unquestionably loyal to the throne without blindly doing so. She has the clout to serve her King and worship her love while still being able to look at them as if they were crazy when they are doing something utterly stupid, as only men could. There is probably only one character that has more memorable lines than she does, AND she has the strength to stop a Rhino in its tracks. With just a look. Her fighting skill and training are impeccable, but it’s her intellect that makes her the best warrior that Wakanda has. That’s why she is right up front with Cap, Bucky, Banner, Romanoff and T’Challa in that parting scene in the Infinity War Trailer.
Memorable Quotes:
“Guns, so primitive”
“I can't wait to get this ridiculous thing off my head.”
“For Wakanda? Without question”
Any of the millions of looks that stop you from doing stupid shit
N’Jadaka/Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan & Seth Carr)
Erik “Killmonger” Stevens is utterly and wholly OAKLAND! He is the revolutionary. He is the gangster. He is Telegraph Avenue. He is that kid from DEEP EAST. He. Is. THE. TOWN. He is every kid I have ever taught that has gone through the pain and suffering of the ghetto, survived with anger and joy in their heart simultaneously, made it out to become better than the circumstances they were given, and became more intelligent than most professors in the halls of Sproul, Wheeler, and Haas (sorry to anyone who doesn’t get my references, but this was solely for the Bay Area). Oakland’s motto should officially be changed to “Hey Auntie”. It bares worth repeating that Ryan Coogler has used everyone one of his 3 films to continuously craft a love letter to his hometown, and Michael B. Jordan has been his muse in creating it. When I first heard Killmonger’s American accent in the trailers, I was worried that he would be out of place and corny amongst the Wakandans, but boy was I wrong. Every word out of his mouth that didn’t create harm was knowledge for everyone to store permanently in their brain. He had vision, passion, and reason behind every one of his actions, and that is why Loki is no longer Marvel’s top villain. At first, I thought that he was given criminally limited screen time (still do a bit), but the more I sit on it, the more I realize how much depth was put into his character. Everything he represents can be seen in his trip to the ancestral plane. I loved how his Oakland Apartment was the path back to his father. I loved how behind everything, he was still the little kid who gravely missed the man he revered the most. I LOVED how after young Erik states that “that’s just life around here”, Killmonger returns with the emotional realization that Wakanda was the ones who were lost. This scene and his pre-death dialogue with T’Challa is Michael B. Jordan at his finest. The mixture of pain, anger, and resolve is the most powerful work in the entire movie. Plus, he WHOOPED T’CHALLA’S BEHIND!!! (he shoulda known that he wasn’t dead however, seeing how that was the exact fall Aragorn took in Two Towers. There was always gonna be a Return of the King. Guess he didn’t know LOTR was part of the MCU). ALL HAIL KING KILLMONGER!
Memorable Quotes:
All of his lines
“Everybody dies, that’s just life around here”
“Can you believe that? A kid from Oakland walking around and believing in fairytales”
“I’m staying in your house, serving justice to a man who stole your vibranium and murdered your people, just as your king couldn't deliver.”
“That challenge shit is over. I’m the king now”
Before I reveal the final two, I had a tie for my favorite character of the movie right up until I wrote this sentence. So here it goes…
Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright)
Black Panther would not be half the movie it is without the performance of Letitia Wright as Princess Shuri. She is the heart of the entire movie. She is what we want our youth to be: joyful, curious, intelligent, and full of hope. The pride she takes in her intelligence, her family, her work, and her country is the driving force behind the thriving success of Wakanda. She brought levity to even the most serious of situations, but it never felt forced or unauthentic. She is the one who beats Okoye for the most memorable quotes in the movie (if I put all of them below, it would probably cover a whole page). She is so endearing that she took a long-overplayed line and brought it back with no hesitation. Shuri is now everyone’s little sister; the perfect amount of annoying, loving, supportive, and welcoming. Maybe a little too welcoming. I definitely gave Bucky the side eye there for a second for the looks between them. Not sure how I feel about that. But that’s the protective feeling you got while getting to know Shuri. She is the most intelligent character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I can’t wait for Tony and Bruce to grovel at her feet for her teachings. Without fight training, she went out ready to protect her family with all the skill she had. Shuri is the shining star in Wakanda. Wright is going to be getting ALL THE ROLES for the rest of her career.
Memorable Quotes:
“But the real question is WHAT ARE THOSE”
“Don’t scare me like that colonizer”
““This corset is really uncomfortable so can we all wrap this up and go home?”
M’Baku (Winston Duke)
I did not see this man coming. I just knew that his name in the comics was Man Ape, and that there would be riots in the streets if they still called him that. But from the first time you hear him, you are completely enthralled. At least a third of his dialogue isn’t English (or even words), but his voice cuts deep into your soul. When the Jabari first come through for the challenge, it’s his voice that resonates (I really want to figure out what he actually says in that scene). When he spoke, you listened. When he laughed, you smiled. When he made pronouncements, you shut the hell up. Every Que at every college will enter every stroll, party, or line crossing from here until eternity just like the Jabari entered that first challenge (so mad i can't find a gif/video of them walking in). Duke takes a role which could easily be confined to the stereotypical “savage” and “primitive” tropes of the less technologically savvy brute, and brings an elegance, eloquence, and regality. He somehow made grunting powerful, commanding, and dignified. M’Baku has one of the most complete arcs of any character in the film with a quarter of the time. He goes through defeat, resilience, admiration, and heroics. Nothing M’Baku did was without purpose, and none of his actions resulted in loss of respect. Duke’s ability to balance integrity, command, humor, and humility makes M’Baku absolutely steal every scene in which he appears. Just like Okoye, it is no wonder Marvel made it a point to have him visible in every Wakanda clip within the Infinity War trailer.
Memorable quotes:
“I will feed you to my children… just kidding, we’re vegetarians”
“Are you done… I mean, are you done?”
His entire challenge monologue
There it is. Bring on the conversations. @ me...
Oh right, there is of course one other great character
