Most people associate the hero Black Panther with T'Challa, who's been the Black Panther throughout most of Marvel's comics and the first Black Panther movie. However, T'Challa isn't the only person who's been the hero of Wakanda. Since prehistoric times, the Black Panther has protected the Earth, and most of Wakanda's rulers the rulers have worn its mantle over the millennia.
In recent years, T'Challa's sister Shuri has taken on the role of Black Panther. In the comics, T'Challa was incapacitated or absent on a number of occasions, and Shuri stepped up both to rule Wakanda and defend it as the Black Panther. Whether she was wearing the panther costume or not, however, Shuri has engaged in several epic fights while protecting her home, family, and allies.
10 Shuri Killed Radioactive Man With The Ebony Blade
Shuri wanted to challenge her uncle for the mantle of the Black Panther, but unfortunately for her, T’Challa beat her to it. After the contest, sound-based villain and Black Panther nemesis Klaw attacked Wakanda, using Radioactive Man to sabotage the vibranium mine.
Shuri was in the vibranium mine testing a scientific theory about a recent earthquake. When she saw Radioactive Man attempting to take down the mine, she distracted him, but had to run because his touch was deadly. Luckily, she found the Ebony Blade and used it to cut him in half, saving Wakanda from Klaw’s deadly plans.
9 Shuri Killed Killmonger's Minions While He Tried To Conquer Wakanda
After Civil War, Black Panther and Storm briefly joined The Fantastic Four while Reed and Sue Richards took a vacation. While they were gone, Erik Killmonger approached Wakanda with a fleet of battleships. Shuri and her advisors decided to sneak onto Killmonger's ships to defend Wakanda.
Shuri and her team were captured, and she demanded to fight Killmonger, but he felt Shuri was beneath him and refused. Killmonger sent a team of his men to finish Shuri off, but she defeated them easily, then retreated back to Wakanda to regroup with her brother.
8 Shuri Led Wakanda's Armies Against The Skrull In Secret Invasion
During the Secret Invasion crossover event, the shapeshifting Skrulls attempted to infiltrate and conquer Wakanda, along with the rest of the Earth. To defend their country, T'Challa and Storm returned from their time with The Fantastic Four, where they'd also recently encountered Skrulls.
While the Black Panther and Storm fought the Skrull leaders, Shuri and her uncle S'yan led the Wakandan army to counter the main Skrull forces on the battlefield. The Wakandans’ fierce defense of their country obliterated the Skrull forces and sent the remaining troops fleeing. They left a message for the Skrull in blood with their slaughtered forces: "This is what happens when you invade Wakanda."
7 Shuri Faced Morlun Even Though She Lacked The Black Panther's Powers
After T'Challa refused to join his Cabal, Doctor Doom attacked T’Challa and left him near death. At the same time, a cult in Africa was reviving a fearsome foe — Morlun, Devourer of Totems. Morlun killed M'Baku, the Man-Ape, then turned his attention to Wakanda. With T'Challa incapacitated, Shuri attempted to pass the trials to acquire the power of the Black Panther, but the panther god rejected her because of her pride.
Even though she lacked its mystical powers, Shuri still donned the Black Panther costume and faced Morlun. After an epic fight, Shuri and her allies defeated him using Wakandan magic. Many who watched Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have wondered whether Shuri becomes the Black Panther in the comics. She eventually did, but it proved a long journey.
6 Shuri Fought Namor Then They Went To War
Believing Namor to be responsible for her brother’s near-fatal injuries, Shuri left Wakanda and tracked Namor down on a small rocky island. Unhappy with Namor's typical arrogance and evasiveness, Shuri engaged the Atlantean prince in combat while wearing a superpowered Black Panther suit.
Shuri and Namor traded many powerful blows during the course of their fight. Shuri nearly defeated him after blowing dehydrating powder into Namor's face, which deprived him of his powers. Namor made his way to the water, however, and with his powers restored, he gained the upper hand. Before either combatant could win the fight, The Fantastic Four arrived and separated the two. Shuri declared war on Atlantis shortly after their battle.
5 Shuri Fought Countless Doombots When Doctor Doom Infiltrated Wakanda
During the Doomwar Marvel event and limited series, Doctor Doom infected everyone in the Wakandan palace with nanobots except T’Challa and Shuri. Doom then helped a revolutionary group take over the country and expel its former leaders. T’Challa and Shuri turned to the X-Men for help.
Nightcrawler teleported Shuri into the palace where she killed the council that was leading the coup. After learning of Doctor Doom’s involvement, she then led a team to find and destroy Doom’s Doombot production facilities. Eventually, when the heroes confronted Doctor Doom at the height of the event, she was part of the team that defeated the sorcerer, but it cost them Wakanda’s vibranium.
4 Shuri Teamed Up With Other Heroes To Defeat Klaw In The Savage Lands
Wakanda lost its vibranium supply after the events of Doomwar, so Shuri traveled to the Savage Land to try to negotiate for some of their supply. After she arrived, she was attacked by the native dinosaurs and discovered that A.I.M. had infiltrated the Savage Land and had taken its leader and many of its people captive.
Shuri teamed up with several other heroes, including Wolverine, Spider-Man, and Black Widow, to fight against the forces of A.I.M. They discovered Klaw was behind the invasion, and they fought against him several times. Ultimately, Shuri and her allies foiled Klaw’s scheme, but he escaped.
3 Shuri Fought Proxima Midnight But Lost Her Life
In the lead-up to Secret Wars, Thanos invaded the Earth looking for Infinity Stones. His forces attacked and nearly destroyed Wakanda, leaving a huge Necropolis vessel amid the ruins of the city. T’Challa and Shuri infiltrated Thanos’ Necropolis while trying to find his supply of world-destroying bombs.
T’Challa teleported out of the Necropolis to find allies to help them, but Shuri remained behind to fight Thanos’ servant Proxima Midnight. The comics never showed the outcome of the fight. However, Shuri’s appearance on the spiritual plane afterwards revealed she'd been killed. Luckily, T’Challa was later able to resurrect her.
2 Shuri Helped Put Down Another Rebellion In Wakanda
After the death of his sister, T’Challa worked with the Mutant hero Manifold to bring her back. Shuri was on the spiritual plane, being taught by a spirit who took the form of her mother. After her revival, Shuri became imbued with the power of the Griot spirits from the spiritual plane, making her even more powerful.
Meanwhile, a group of revolutionaries led by a Wakandan called Tetu, who controlled the powers of nature, attempted to take over Wakanda. Shuri, Black Panther, Manifold, and the Dora Milaje worked together and defeated Tetu in order to restore control of Wakanda to its ruling council, which Shuri then joined.
1 Shuri Saved Wakanda Yet Again In Her Own Miniseries
After the success of the first Black Panther movie, Shuri received her own limited comic book series, written by afro-futurist author Nnedi Okorafor and illustrated by Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire. In that series, T’Challa disappeared on a mission in deep space, and Shuri was tasked with defending Wakanda in his absence.
An alien’s departure left a small black hole in the desert in Mali. Shuri and Iron Man teamed up to rescue people and try to close the singularity, but they were attacked by Magnum, a weapons dealer with seismic powers. By combining both their physical and intellectual powers, Shuri and Iron Man threw Magnum into the singularity, then closed it, saving the people of Mali.