Dominique Thorne debuted as Riri Williams in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which dropped on Disney Plus on Wednesday, introduced a new armored hero to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) is, officially, Iron Man's replacement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and she already repeated an Iron Man mistake with her first armor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Wakanda Forever is an emotional superhero epic that follows the story of Princess Shuri (Letitia Wright) of the Kingdom of Wakanda as the whole nation is captured by grief in the wake of King T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman) passing.
The end of the movie finds Shuri visiting Nakia in Haiti where she performs an intimate ceremony on a beach, coming to peace with the death of T'Challa. In the credit scene, Nakia introduces Shuri to Toussaint and explains that she and T'Challa decided to raise him in Haiti away from the pressures of the throne.
' Here's her comics backstory. Dominique Thorne makes her MCU debut as Riri Williams in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” The Marvel Cinematic Universe is continuing to expand its roster of next-generation heroes.
Wakanda Forever Prosthetics, Costumes, and Makeup Chaos
Was the girl in Wakanda Forever Ironheart?
Dominique Thorne made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever as Riri Williams (a.k.a. Ironheart), a young genius from Chicago's South Side who builds her own flying armor, but she seems to have always been destined to be part of the franchise.
Who is the girl with purple hair in Wakanda Forever?
Val is a new character in Phase Four, played by “Veep” and “Seinfeld” star (and Emmys record-setter) Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She's sassy and sarcastic, and boasts an incredible stripe of purple in her hair.
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.
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. Making the move and grieving the losses wasn't an easy feat for her.
Marvel Confirms Namor's Ankle Wings Can Grow Back In The MCU - IMDb. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced Namor in all his glory to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the character's signature ankle wings — which were slashed by Shuri in the movie's final battle but can apparently grow back.
6 interview with Vogue, Coel talked about her character Aneka, a captain and combat instructor in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and revealed she decided to play the fearless warrior after learning her character was queer. “That sold me on the role, the fact that my character's queer,” Coel said.
Someone who refuses to be soothed in Wakanda Forever is Queen Ramonda's daughter, Shuri (Letitia Wright). She has already endured the death of her brother, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), from an illness when her mother is killed by Namor (Tenoch Huerta), setting her on a path of revenge.
The Ironheart suit in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was impressive, but it's likely the last Riri will see of it for a while. Shuri couldn't allow Riri to take it home with her to the States because of the sheer amount of vibranium in it, meaning Riri will have to start from scratch with her next Ironheart suit.
Providing a less-than-serious reply, Namor said that "It means I'm going to feed your sorry Asgardian hide to the biggest sharks I can find!" While there's never really been an exact explanation as to what Namor's iconic battle cry truly means, it does sound pretty cool (which is ultimately the point).
Young Toussaint was kept hidden in Haiti to protect him from the pressures of the Wakandan throne -- explaining why Nakia didn't attend T'Challa's funeral -- but mentions Queen Ramonda got to meet him before she died.
Nakia confides to Shuri that yes, her son is indeed the son of T'Challa: a true heir to the Wakandan throne. She also reveals that she wasn't at T'Challa's funeral because he wasn't ready for his son to be revealed. Shuri asks if her mother had had a chance to see the child, to which Nakia says yes. Why the secrecy?
The film shows that Okoye is very much Ramonda's "daughter" as her blood-relations. Okoye's dismissal was a betrayal. There's no other way to say it. Ramonda seemed to want to inflict upon Okoye what she felt when Okoye would not abandon her position as head of the Dora Milaje to help her and Shuri flee.
Shuri had to physically and emotionally distance herself from the throne to begin grieving her brother and mother's passing. Only after she finally did so was Shuri ready to look towards a brighter future.
You may leave the theater wondering what Ramonda was going to tell Shuri. When you watch the movie a second time, it's evident Ramonda was likely trying to tell Shuri about T'Challa's secret son with Nakia, Prince T'Challa, who is finally introduced in the film's mid-credits scene.
After the Snap's victims were resurrected in 2023, M'Baku was enlisted by the Masters of the Mystic Arts to aid the Avengers and participate in the Battle of Earth. After T'Challa passed away, Wakanda was under the threat of the Talokanil, led by Namor, M'Baku called for swift action against them.
In the scene, Aneka kisses Ayo on the forehead. Ayo replies, “Thank you, my love,” making it clear the pair are romantically linked. The scene lasts just a few seconds (par for the course with Marvel and its tepid LGBTQ+ representation record), but was apparently still too much for the Kuwaiti censors.
During a subsequent duel with T'Challa, Killmonger is killed by Monica Rambeau, whom he had previously captured and imprisoned. Killmonger's young son is last seen swearing vengeance against Black Panther, much like N'Jadaka had done years earlier after the death of his own father.
