Black Panther was a groundbreaking masterpiece! There were many things that worked excellently in the movies and one of the reasons why the movie stands out and shines brightly is how amazingly, all the characters have been incorporated in the movies. One group of characters that played a big part in the movie’s success were T’Challa’s own personal royal guards, the Dora Milaje. Still, the movie did not give us every detail about this group of elite African Women soldiers. Here is a list of things you did not know about Dora Milaje.
Black Panther’s original guards were both Men and Women
Black Panther debuted in the comics in 1966. At that point in time, he did not have the Dora Milaje as his royal guards; instead, he was guarded by both male and female warriors for some time. The Dora Milaje showed up in the comics in 1998, and it was only then the readers were made aware about the all-female guard.
Their Establishment was a political move
Different tribes had men compete tirelessly for the title of the Black Panther, because not only did the title holder lead the Panther tribe, but they also ruled over the other tribes in the country. This competitiveness many times went out of control and this is why the Dora Milaje was formed. Dora Milaje had 18 selected women from all the rival tribes and this was done in order to present them as a symbol of the unification of all tribes to form a unified nation.
They Serve as “Wives in training”
The Dora Milaje were the best women selected from all the rival tribes in the country. They are extremely well trained and skilled in the art of combat and weaponry and traveled everywhere the Black Panther went. They were known as “Wives in training”, as they were the best of their tribes, each of them had the potential to become the next queen of Wakanda.
T’Challa removed the Wifely duty requirement
In the past, the women in the Dora Milaje were expected to fulfill the wishes of their king and know of all the responsibilities of a wife. T’Challa was the one who changed their duties and started treating them more as daughters, than as potential wives.
Okoye introduced a secret language among the Dora Milaje
Over the years, Okoye, who was from the J’Kuwali tribe of Wakanda, turned out to be the leader of this group, and served in the most traditional sense in the Dora Milaje. Okoye became more of a sister to T’Challa and chose to speak only in the Hausa dialect when addressing Black Panther. This Dialect then became the standard for members of the Dora Milaje and was used only to talk to the king or other members of the Dora Milaje.
Nakia’s obsession with Black Panther made her a villain
In the comics, Naika is a loyal member of the Dora Milaje and is obsessed with T’Challa. But, after an accident, T’Challaby mistake left her abandoned and on the verge of death. Then came in Killmonger, who used arcane magic to revive Nakia giving her new strength and abilities. She then took up the name Malice and becomes an ally of Erik Killmonger and yet another foe to King T’Challa.
Black Panther once Attacked Divine Justice
Queen Divine Justice eventually took a spot in the coveted Dora Milaje for both her protection and the reestablishment of her people in Wakanda as she was a part of the outcast Jabari tribe. She, later on, fell in love with Vibraxas while serving as the King’s Bodyguard. She did not reveal the fact to Vibraxas that she is, in fact, a part of Dora Milaje. In a fight between, Black Panther and Vibraxas, Man-Ape then ended up destroying the future Black Panther who was being held in a cryogenic state. T’Challa then hallucinated and attempted to Kill Queen Divine as he thought she was in fact Magneto.
They helped Deadpool takedown Doctor Doom
Some of the Dora Milaje were formally removed from the group, and these women then formed their own group called the Midnight Angels. Despite being a separate group, they remained to be an ally of Wakanda and Black Panther. Once Black Panther hired mercenaries to takedown Doctor Doom, so Deadpool was called upon. These Angels were also hired to assist Deadpool (the scene between Deadpool and some angry and hot angels is something we need to see in a movie!).
They Left T’Challa for Queen Shuri
As we saw in the movie, the Dora Milaje live to serve the King of Wakanda, no matter who is on the throne. In the New Avengers Storyline, Black Panther was involved in a secret mission with the Illuminati, which is why he did not assist in a battle at Wakanda. The Dora Milaje questioned him for this and they broke their spears in defiance of their king. T’Challa’s sister, Queen Shuri, then Banished him from Wakanda and the Dora Milaje started serving her instead.
Ayo and Okoye’s relationship was deleted from the movie
Okoye and Ayo are the top two known members of the Dora Milaje. We found out towards the end of the movie that Okoye had a relationship with W’Kabi. But a deleted scene that was reported about the movie described Okoye flirtatiously complementing Ayo for the outfit she was wearing. This was yet another LGBT scene in the MCU that was deleted from the movie. The last one was deleted from Thor: Ragnarok. It was good that this scene was deleted because it would only have confused the audiences.
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