In Black Panther, Shuri is portrayed as T'Challa's 18-year-old sister who designs new technology for her country of Wakanda. Letitia Wright described Shuri as innovative of spirit and mind, wanting to take Wakanda to "a new place", and felt she was a good role model for young black girls.
The daughter of Wakanda's Black Panther T'Chaka and his second wife Ramonda, Shuri is descended from the royal line along with her brother T'Challa. She is close with high-ranking officials Zuri and W'Kabi, as well as her uncle S'Yan. Shuri also takes a shine to her sister-in-law Storm while she was wed to T'Challa.
In the comics, she is T'Challa's half-sister – the movie could make them full siblings. Shuri is the only daughter of King T'Chaka and his third wife, Ramonda. Being the only Princess in the family never stopped her from pursuing her goals.
Ignoring Bast, Shuri put on her panther suit in BLACK PANTHER (2009) #5 and defeated Morlun, the Devourer of Totems, in the following issue. Because she fought on behalf of the greater good—for her brother and for Wakanda—Shuri was officially accepted as the Black Panther.
She probably doesn't want to rule the country due to her other duties as Wakanda's greatest hero. She also likely never wanted to be the leader of a nation and instead put her focus on her scientific research. She doesn't seem to mind letting M'Baku take that position instead.
Nakia comes up to her and says that there's something she hasn't been told. Something that nobody besides Ramonda knows – that she gave birth to a child conceived with T'Challa. While Shuri has assumed the title of Black Panther, the kid is the true heir to the throne.
The younger sister of T'Challa, the Black Panther, Shuri astounds with her brilliant inventions, often providing key components to her brother's battles.
Shuri is also single in the comics currently, but there's always the possibility of introducing a great, interesting new character for either of these mediums.
When Wakanda is attacked by the Cabal during the "Time Runs Out" storyline, Shuri sacrifices herself by staying behind to hold off Proxima Midnight so T'Challa can escape. Her death is later confirmed when her spirit is seen among those of the past Black Panthers.
The MCU has had great couples in the past, and they've told love stories within superhero films before. But ultimately, while there was clear chemistry between Shuri and Namor, it was for the best that Marvel Studios decided to do without their potential love line.
A weighted calculation between Michael B. Jordan's age and Seth Carr's (the young actor who plays young Killmonger), puts Killmonger's date birth at around June 1983, and with the end of Black Panther being set in early July 2016, you would have a 33 year old Killmonger at the time of his death.
Killmonger sees the quality of nobility as a weakness and that the moral compass should be bypassed whenever there is something that jeopardizes the progress of an individual's plans, something that he mocked his cousin T'Challa in front of his cousin Shuri in the Astral Dimension.
However, based on comic book canon, this is not the first time Shuri has taken on the mantle of Black Panther, nor is it the first time a Black woman has worn the suit. In comics, there have been four women who took on the mantle of Black Panther.
In 2018, Nakia, pregnant with her son, was kept away when the battle with aliens occurred. She and her son then survived the Snap. After learning that T'Challa and Shuri had disappeared, she and her son, without telling anyone, moved to Haiti.
Boseman's T'Challa disappeared for five years during "The Blip," the time after Thanos' snap, so we can presume this child was conceived before that. But it's explained that T'Challa wanted to keep him hidden so he could grow up without the pressures of the throne, and he prepared Nakia and his son for his death.
In Ms. Marvel, Nakia's character is half-white while in the comics, she is entirely Turkish. But by and large, seeing Nakia (and Tyesha) wear their hijabs with pride in the show was a win for many people online. We're eager to see more of the show and see even more moments of representation.
While an early version of the film may have featured a romance between Namor and Shuri, Huerta himself has shot down the idea that there is anything romantic between the characters.
Why the secrecy? Shuri has been an auntie for years and never knew. But Nakia tells Shuri that she and T'Challa decided to raise the child in secret in Haiti so that the burden of the Wakandan throne didn't disrupt his childhood.
In the end, Shuri's interaction with Killmonger acts as more than just a highly-anticipated cameo. Finding Killmonger on the throne and hearing his violent point of view gives her the chance to confront her own emotions, no matter how dark they are.
