Even though I grew up reading about Black Panther in my dad’s old Avengers comic books, his little sister, Shuri, was a character I had never heard of until she appeared in the Black Panther movie. She instantly became one of my favorite parts of the movie. Her character was so fun, smart, and Letitia Wright was the best part of every scene she was in. While Shuri hasn’t been around for as long as her older brother has, the character first appeared in Black Panther #2 vol. 4, in 2005, she has quickly become one of my favorite characters in the Marvel universe.
Likely driven by her newfound popularity from the Black Panther and Infinity War movies, Marvel launched a series focusing on Shuri. I’ve been out of Marvel comics for some time, so I found myself stumbling through the provided backstory a bit. T’Challa abandoned the Black Panther mantle to Shuri? Shuri died defending Wakanda? T’Challa brought her back to life when he returned as Black Panther? I clearly have some catching up to do.
The story in the first issue of Shuri, luckily, was easy to ease into. Shuri #1 begins with the titular heroine preparing to send her brother, T’Challa, into space alongside her love interest, a mutant named Manifold (Eden Fesi). This is kind of a big deal as it’s the first time Wakanda has launched humans into space. Shortly into the issue, the trio say their goodbyes and Shuri watches as her brother and Manifold launch into space. Things, as expected, don’t go as planned.
I’m not going to ruin what happens but I will say that the issue ends with an interesting development for Shuri and her overall role in Wakandan politics. I’m eager to see how Shuri’s new role and her feisty personality blend in the coming issues.
One aspect of this issue that really surprised me was Shuri’s ability to transform into a flock of crows. This totally caught me off guard since the movies never hinted at this ability at all, yet it’s been canon since Shuri returned to life. Seeing Shuri disintegrate into a flock of crows all of a sudden was a very surprising and confusing moment for me. I feel like this is a really neat aspect of Shuri that certainly elevates her above the playful-Tony-Stark vibe that she had in the movie. She, as the comics go, isn’t just a smart person with cool gadgets. I’m so on board with that.
It’s hard to get a sense of the story from the first issue, so I expect to have more of an opinion on that as more issues are released. I will say that the few developments that took place in this opening issue were rather predictable, but I was okay with that because I’d rather the story arc start steady than falter by forcing in a plot twist right from the start. In the meantime, let’s have a frank talk about the art.
Now I know art styles appeal to different people, and one person’s opinion on what looks good isn’t going to mirror someone else’s. With that said, I firmly believe that Leonardo Romero’s art is going to be a bit disappointing for anyone who was initially drawn in by Sam Spratt’s beautiful cover design. To be fair, that cover art is damn amazing, and any artist would have a hard time following it up, but still, I feel like Shuri’s art was a real let down and will likely turn some potential readers away.
I found the art too simplistic, and too one-dimensional. Wakanda is a beautiful city full of earthy culture and high-tech constructions, and the art just wasn’t as impressive as I’d have liked it to be. Partway through the issue there is a flashback scene where the art style is unfortunately simplified even further. By the end of the issue I was used to the flat, simple sketches, but I’m hopeful that future issues avoid the painfully plain flashback designs exhibited in issue one.
Overall, I’m very excited for this series. It’s always a bit exciting to get in on a story arc right from the start, so I urge you that if you can look past the plain art, give Shuri a chance. I’d like to see her become a staple in the Marvel lineup, as she’s just such a fun character to spend some time with.
See you next month (November 21) for Shuri #2. For a sneak peek at the cover art for issue 2 and 3, check out Sam Spratt’s recent tweet where he revealed the covers for the first trio of issues. Things certainly look like they’re about to get interesting for the young princess of Wakanda.
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