As the most advanced nation on Earth, Wakanda has defended its borders with its superior technology and one of the most formidable militaries in the Marvel Universe. The most elite fighting force within the Wakandan military is the Dora Milaje, a no-nonsense, all-female ensemble that serves as the African country's royal guard and had a breakout appearance in last year's Black Panther.
With a sequel to the universally acclaimed film in active development, here is a look at the three most prominent members of the tight-knit unit, from what's seen in the film to their comic book roots.
Okoye
Created by Christopher Priest and Mark Texeira in 1998's Black Panther #1, Okoye was part of the first wave of those trained to become the latest generation of the Dora Milaje. The unit had been inactive for some time and was restarted by Wakanda's King T'Challa as a way to bring down the civil unrest raging across the country at the time. Since then, Okoye has been a key member of the Dora Milaje and loyal confidante to T'Challa, directly supervising the country's espionage agency while the Black Panther leads the current iteration of the Avengers.
In the film, Okoye is portrayed by Danai Gurira and appears in Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. As the head of the Dora Milaje, Okoye is fiercely loyal to whomever sits on the throne of Wakanda, though is visibly conflicted when Erik Killmonger temporarily replaced T'Challa in the 2018 film.
Ultimately, Okoye's loyalty to T'Challa and Wakanda's best interests won out, putting her directly in conflict with her husband W'Kabi leading to a skirmish resulting in his defeat. Okoye later served as Wakanda's liaison to the Avengers in the wake of Thanos' initial victory at the end of Infinity War.
Xoliswa
Xoliswa plays a brief but heartbreaking role in Black Panther. Portrayed by Sydelle Noel (GLOW), the member of the Dora Milaje joins ranks with her comrades to stand against Killmonger when the villain orders his followers to kill T'Challa after his surprise return.
While the majority of the Dora Milaje charge to assist T'Challa, Xoliswa remains behind to join in Okoye's duel against Killmonger, with the villain now wearing his own version of Black Panther's vibranium suit. As the fight rages on, Xoliswa is disarmed by Killmonger and encourages Okoye to continue the battle with a last, defiant cry of "Wakanda, forever" before the villain slits her throat to Okoye's visible rage.
Ayo
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ayo is first seen in Captain America: Civil War, portrayed by Florence Kasumba. As a protective bodyguard to T'Challa, Ayo nearly challenges Black Widow to fight when she blocks her king's exit before T'Challa has her stand down. Ayo is later seen with the rest of the Dora Milaje throughout Black Panther, assisting Nakia in the fight against Killmonger's forces in the climax and escorting T'Challa to the United Nations during the film's mid-credits scene. In Infinity War, Ayo can be briefly seen fighting alongside the rest of the Dora Milaje against the Black Order and their extraterrestrial army.
Ayo was brought into the comic book Marvel Universe by Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort in 2016's Ultimates #1, Ayo was a renegade member of the Dora Milaje who rebelled after her lover and fellow member Aneka was sentenced to death. After breaking her out with advanced armor, Ayo and Aneka formed the Midnight Angels to lead an insurrection against T'Challa's rule. The Midnight Angels reluctantly assisted T'Challa in putting down a different faction threatening the throne at Shuri's urging, and their support led T'Challa to reform the Wakandan government as a constitutional monarchy after the throne was defended.
The Black Panther sequel is currently in development. Ryan Coogler is returning as writer and director with Chadwick Boseman, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira and Martin Freeman reprising their roles from the first movie. The film releases May 6, 2022.