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.