T’Challa who? Black Panther’s techy little sister Shuri is now getting her own comic book series, according to an exclusive report from Bustle.
Marvel’s new comic, titled Shuri, hits shelves in October and comes from Eisner-nominated artist Leonardo Romero and acclaimed Afrofuturism author Nnedi Okorafor. The plot will see our favorite genius yanked from her lab to take over the throne of Wakanda after her brother is lost during a mission to space. (Potentially unrelated, but Ta-Nehisi Coates' Panther reboot earlier this year took us to the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda.)
According to the official Marvel synopsis, "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."
Okorafor previously wrote Black Panther: Long Live the King and is currently penning an intriguing series that started last month with Amazing Spider-Man: Wakanda Forever #1 and will next jump to X-Men: Wakanda Forever #1, reportedly concluding with Avengers: Wakanda Forever #1. One of the award-winning Nigerian-American writer's most popular novels, Who Fears Death, is turning into an HBO series with George R.R. Martin serving as an executive producer.
"[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," Okorafor told Bustle. "She's a character in the Marvel Universe who really sings to me."
The covers will come from Illustrator Sam Spratt, who's done album art for Logic, Ty Dolla Sign, Janelle Monáe, and tons more:
British actor Letitia Wright brought Shuri into the mainstream spotlight with her fantastic performance as T’Challa’s brainiac little sister in Ryan Coogler's Black Panther, followed quickly by Avengers: Infinity War. This could be the first sign Shuri is taking over for the Avengers’ first tech wiz, Tony Stark, will save the crew in Avengers 4, and maybe even get her own major motion picture. We can dream, can’t we?
