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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuted with its first highly impressive trailer this past weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con. Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film will follow the nation of Wakanda as it grieves the death of T'Challa. Amidst that, a new threat rises as Namor takes his army and launches an attack on the nation.
With the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has a huge hurdle ahead of it. With no T'Challa in the story, the film will have to find a new Black Panther, and by the end of the trailer, it looks like Shuri (played by Letitia Wright) will be taking up that mantle.
So, let's explore how Shuri can receive the powers of Black Panther and how she took over the mantle in the comics as well.
Exploring theories to how Shuri will receive Black Panther powers in Wakanda Forever
As T'Challa is no longer around, there is a search for a new Black Panther, and every hint in the trailer points towards it being Shuri. Not to mention, the leaks have also reiterated this a lot. In the comics as well, Shuri becomes a successor to T'Challa's Black Panther.
In 2009, when Black Panther #1 came out, the comic saw T'Challa being incapacitated by Doctor Doom and then was out of action for quite a while. With the shoes of the Black Panther being empty, Shuri stood up to the challenge of filling them and becoming an Avatar of Bast, the Panther Goddess.
Yearning to be a Black Panther all her life, Shuri took part in the challenges necessary to reach the mountain where the heart-shaped herbs were present. Completing all of them, she finally ingested the Herb and was met with Bast. Deeming that she was unworthy, Shuri was sent back.
But soon she realized that the gods did see something in her because whenever someone is deemed unworthy, they are completely destroyed. With Wakanda under attack, Shuri finally donned the Black Panther suit and answered to the call of action.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it has been established that if you want to receive the powers of the Black Panther, then you will have to take a special herb that grants them to you. In the original Black Panther film, Killmonger destroyed the herb farm which basically meant that no one in the near future would be able to harness the powers of the Black Panther.
So, it's a bit confusing to decipher how Shuri might receive them in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, leaks for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have mentioned that Shuri will be able to reverse-engineer the development of the Herb and take them, which would lead her to become the Black Panther.
There can also be other factors at play here. If the leaks don't turn out to be true, then another theory is that maybe Shuri might develop a Panther suit that would have all the powers that the herb would grant an individual.
Whatever it may be, we will have to wait and see for ourselves when Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases in cinemas on November 11, 2022.
