Character Highlight: Everett Ross (Black Panther)

*A few Ross-related spoilers.*

I’m waiting for Secret Invasion to end before I review it, but in the meantime, it reminded me that I haven’t written about Everett Ross yet. He’s popped up in several MCU projects, but he’s best known for being one of the few Tolkien white guys in Black Panther (pun totally intended.)

Ross, to put it mildly does not make a great showing in his first MCU appearance, which is Civil War. It’s meant to be karmic at the end of the film when he prepares to throw Zemo down a whole and gleefully tells him about all the pain that will be inflicted on him every time he moves an inch out of line, and the civil liberties violations aren’t a great look. This is the same dude who laughed in Captain America’s face when he asked about the possibility of Bucky getting a lawyer. Everything about Ross in Civil War screams, A-Hole American Fed Who Throws His Weight Around with Impunity, which is unfortunate, given my affection for Martin Freeman.

It surprised me, then, to find out I enjoyed Ross when Black Panther came around. He enters that sphere coincidentally, as the Wakandans crash the meetup he’s scheduled with Ulysses Klaue. Ross attempts to maintain his authority in the situation, but when T’Challa and co. are forced to reveal more about Wakanda’s capabilities than they intended to, Ross starts to realize just how out of his depth he is.

Over the course of the ensuing fracas, Ross is shot, and T’Challa insists on bringing him back to Wakanda, where Shuri can treat him. And there, Ross gets his biggest eyeful. One of the few outsiders to ever see past the curtain of the illusion Wakanda shows the rest of the world, he gets a load of their immense wealth of resources and technological innovation.

In this situation, Ross could do what has been his more usual M.O. so far, stick to the job and look out for U.S. interests above all else. But he’s grateful to the Wakandans for saving, not just his life, but his mobility, and he recognizes that the threat Killmonger poses outweighs anything else going on. So he adapts to the issue at hand: sharing information with the Wakandans, standing with the royal family when Killmonger unseats T’Challa, and even providing key assistance during the climactic battle.

I appreciate this, that Ross’s views aren’t always black and white and that he does have a moral compass beyond rote duty. Wakanda Forever finds him pretty conflicted, because the Wakandans are asking for favors that could jeopardize his position. But, exasperated as he is, he trusts them when they insist that they can’t reveal everything they know, and he still holds enough gratitude for Shuri to want to help when she’s in trouble. He displays some quick thinking in this movie, searching for ways to get messages to the Wakandans while he’s being watched by his boss/ex-wife.

Much of the relationship between Ross and Wakanda is fairly tit for tat, so I’m glad to see Okoye come to bail him out at the end of Wakanda Forever when he’s in a bad spot. He’s their “favorite colonizer,” so they’re happy to do him a solid!

Character Highlight: Ramonda (Black Panther)

*Wakanda Forever spoilers.*

Hail to the queen! Given that Angela Bassett has been the actor to finally break the MCU into the acting categories during awards season, not just getting nominated but winning both a Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice Award in recent days, it’s only fitting that we give it up for this strong, regal character. (Side note: while I’m happy to see both Bassett and the MCU recognized in this way, it’s still a little bittersweet for me, because I really wanted Tony Leung Chiu-wai to be the first one to break in. But that’s entirely about me and has nothing to do with Bassett’s well-deserved recognition.)

A lot of Marvel characters have been marked by loss, but Ramonda in particular has grieved for a lot. We first meet her as she’s mourning the sudden and tragic death of her husband. Despite her heartbreak, however, she loves and supports T’Challa as he rises to the throne, offering both maternal encouragement and practical council.

She keeps her head held high in her sorrow, but grief isn’t done with her yet. When Killmonger throws T’Challa off Warrior Falls, Ramonda’s scream is visceral and heartrending. Discovering that he’s still clinging to life, she takes immediate action to save her son. Then comes the Blip, where T’Challa and Shuri are both among the countless lives dissolving into dust after Thanos’s Snap. Five long years where she’s the only living member of her family, ruling Wakanda alone because her children are gone. When they’re returned to her, her happiness is short-lived—all too soon, T’Challa succumbs to an illness that even the technologically-advanced Wakanda cannot heal.

Once again, Ramonda ascends a throne she does not want, power thrust into her hands after her son is torn out of them. These compounding griefs weigh heavily on her, but still she does what is asked of her. Still she serves Wakanda as its queen, as the nation’s mother. She’s ferocious in dealing with the UN’s expectations of Wakanda, which has only recently revealed the extent of its technological riches to the world. She’s calculated in addressing the highly fraught situation with Namor, who threatens Wakanda if she won’t meet his demands. She’s gentle and loving in her handling of Shuri, who’s thrown herself deep into work and hasn’t let herself truly feel T’Challa’s death. And even at the end, when Namor and Talokan’s warriors attack Wakanda and Ramonda is placed in mortal peril, she stands in front of Riri to try and shield her from harm.

A character who leaves us too soon, Ramonda is chiefly characterized by her strength amid the losses she’s suffered. She won’t put up with colonizers’ foolishness and greed, and she keeps pressing ahead as everyone she loves is taken from her. But threaded in with her heartbreak and badassery, we don’t just see someone who carries on in order to support others. Ramonda’s portrayal flirts with the notion of the Strong Black Woman who forges ahead with the world on her shoulders, but she’s also allowed to feel her grief, to rage over all that she’s lost. I appreciate that—it keeps her from feeling too flat, too in service of T’Challa and Shuri’s stories.

Relationship Spotlight: Namor & Shuri (Black Panther)

*Wakanda Forever spoilers.*

Weirdly, I couldn't find any actual pictures from the movie of Shuri and Namor in the same shot. I suppose that will be remedied soon enough once the film hits Disney+ and people start taking screenshots, but for now, I'm using this fanart from @MiaJus.

It’s not often that I do a Relationship Spotlight about a hero and their antagonist—usually, it’s only when they have a pre-established relationship outside of any superhero clash, a la Shang-Chi and Wenwu. But Shuri and Namor really light up the screen together. I don’t know where the MCU is taking Namor next, but I hope his future appearances involve plenty more encounters with the Wakandan princess/scientist.

Shuri meets Namor in the context of a threat. He urges Ramonda and Shuri to bring him Riri Williams, whose vibranium-detecting device puts Talokan in danger of discovery, and promises no mercy for Wakanda if they don’t meet his demands. Everything about him suggests that he can make good on these threats. But after Shuri and Okoye find Riri and the Talokanil are on the brink of taking her by force, Shuri tries to look out for this girl she barely knows, offering herself as a hostage to accompany her.

In the grotto that serves as a Talokanil outpost, Namor shows Shuri a different side to him. He’s now the regal host, charming and open as he tells Shuri the story of his life and the origins of his people. And in turn, she doesn’t come in swinging or plotting to escape. Even though she’s being held under threat, she positions herself more as a royal diplomat, listening to Namor’s story with interest and expressing her desire to see Talokan proper. With the aid of a deep-sea suit, she’s the first person from the surface world to receive an invitation to the underwater kingdom.

And yes, you go, “Wait, are Namor and Shuri kind of vibing?” I’m not usually one to go for heroine/villain ships, regardless of how physically attractive or charismatic the villain might be, but with these two, I’m kind of into it—at least at this point. Namor hasn’t done anything yet that can’t be undone, and Shuri sympathizes with the trauma his ancestors experienced to create Talokan. They almost make you think there’s going to be a peaceful solution to this conflict, that Shuri will make Namor see reason and convince him to let her leave with Riri.

But of course, then, the movie would only be an hour long. Shuri learns that Namor’s ruthless vision goes far beyond killing Riri to keep her invention out of greedy hands. He wants to strike at the colonizers before they can come for Talokan, and in his mind, the colonizers are the entire surface world. He offers to spare Wakanda if they don’t intervene, but he’ll make no further concessions.

Shuri refuses, obviously, and escapes, and that’s when things get really personal. That’s when Namor leads a Talokanil attack on Wakanda, when he kills Ramonda. In the wake of this further devastation, Shuri is consumed with rage, hell bent on avenging her mother’s death. But even in this, as mortal enemies, there’s still this tug between the two characters, and that’s because of how similar the vengeful Shuri is to Namor. During their brutal one-on-one fight, Namor recognizes game, thinking that this Shuri might be one to accept his invitation to burn the world together. And as he sees his rage in her, she starts to see her pain in him. She realizes the path she’s laying for herself and is able to pull back from the brink, leaving Namor alive in exchange for a ceasefire between Wakanda and Talokan.

I mean, it’s just electric! And Namor gets it—even after Shuri brutalizes him within an inch of his life, he goes back to Talokan with the assurance that this is a good turn of events for him. He’s glad that neither of them killed one another, because he foresees a time in which the rest of the surface world will turn on Wakanda and Shuri will come to him for help. He’s envisioning an unstoppably powerful alliance. Which, yes, is definitely in part his arrogance talking, given that he, in sound body and mind, killed her mom, but it’s also reflective of how much remains between Shuri and Namor. Despite everything they do to each other in this film, Namor isn’t ready to be done with Shuri, and as much as I’m sure Shuri will hate to admit it, it’s inevitable that she will one day call on his aid. And I for one can’t wait.