phantom of the dystopia

princess shuri’s heroine’s journey

- according to maureen murdock

created by maureen murdock in the 1980s, the heroine’s journey is the alternative to joseph campbell’s hero’s journey which focuses on the heroine’s quest for wholeness. this is not a flawless way of charting a character’s journey. with how dense and beautiful shuri’s arc is in wakanda forever, i thought it would be fun to do an overview of her story through the paradigm of the murdock’s heroine’s journey. so here we go.

HEROINE SEPARATES FROM THE FEMININE

the rejection the mother/mentor figure or a societally prescribed feminine/marginalized/outsider role.

at the start of the film, there’s a definite separation between shuri and the feminine- her mother, queen ramonda.

ramonda has been able to navigate her grief with the strength of her spiritual beliefs. though heartbroken, she is able to heal because her spiritualism gives her comfort. shuri on the other hand, is still wrestling with her loss and hasn’t started healing at all. scientific beliefs only provide torment despite her utter confidence in them. this causes a wedge between mother and daughter. shuri is dismissive to her mother’s wisdom and is happy to be distance herself by bunkering in her lab. there is also an underlying resentment towards how her mother and the women around her are so attached to the spiritual. when okoye mentions the stories she grew up on being seared into her mind, shuri sarcastically replies “that must have been painful for you.”

IDENTIFICATION WITH THE MASCULINE & GATHERING OF ALLIES.

the heroine embraces a new way of life, a different path that prescribed. identifying with a male figure (or societally prescribed masculine role).

while ramonda would prefer the princess to stay in the palace and her lab, shuri chooses to step into a hero’s path and help okoye to find riri williams. because wakanda is not a patriarchal setting, there aren’t many things that society prescribes as a ‘male role’. however, for decades in the mcu the black panther, the hero of wakanda, has been her grandfather, then her father, and then her brother. shuri is now stepping into this hero role to find and ensure riri’s safety just like t’challa would.

ROAD/TRIALS AND MEETING OGRES & DRAGONS.

the heroine encounters trials and meets people who try to dissuade the heroine from pursuing their chosen path, or who try to destroy the heroine.

the finding of riri, followed by the cia chase scene, and the appearance of the talokanil could symbolise the trials and tribulations of this stage. shuri is playing the role of the hero, but the CIA are trying to derail her and the talokanil have no problem with killing the princess. at the end of this stage, shuri is successful however: riri is alive and shuri has a chance to convene with namor in hopes of finding a peaceful solution.

EXPERIENCING THE ILLUSORY BOON OF SUCCESS.

the heroine overcomes the obstacles in their way but her values are betrayed in the end.

the political/romantic courtship of shuri takes place. the princess and god king have a deep understanding and connection. it seems as if a peaceful solution might be reached between the two mirror images, but when shuri’s own rescue goes awry and two talokanil get killed this success disappears immediately. shuri, the healer and self appointed diplomat, leaves a scene that could only be understood as an act of war from namor.

this stage and the next can be seen as one big stage. there’s a domino effect at play: the peaceful courtship to unintentional betrayal to the attack on wakanda to the death of ramonda. any hope that was building between the two nations gets snuffed out.

HEROINE AWAKENS TO FEELINGS OF SPIRITUAL ARIDITY/DEATH.

the heroine’s new way of life (attempting the masculine/dominant identity) is too limited. their success in this new way of life is either temporary, illusory, shallow, or requires a betrayal of self over time.

shuri tried be the hero without taking the mantle- saving riri, refusing to the set the world on fire in the name of her anger, and attempting to heal the innocent talokanil- but it wasn’t enough. her mother still drowns in front of her eyes and wakanda is even more vulnerable than before.

she knows she must become the protector her kingdom requires if a war against talokan is on the horizon. but her pursuit to become the black panther is motivated primarily by vengeance, which is a betrayal of her previous heroic nature. becoming black panther will inevitably lead to a spiritual rebirth.

INITIATION & DESCENT TO THE GODDESS.

 the heroine faces a crisis of some sort in which the new way of life is insufficient, and the heroine falls into despair. all of the masculine/dominant-group strategies have failed them. there’s a return to the feminine.

oh look. i just write an entire meta about shuri’s descent into becoming a goddess. how convenient.

anyway, after taking the synthetic heart shaped herb shuri is the domain of the goddess bast. shuri is meeting the feminine. murdock’s template suggests that the heroine should be accepting all of the positive values that shuri left behind at the beginning. and we start to see this- shuri’s return to the spiritual. she is no longer relying on science only to overcome her struggles.

through n’jadaka, shuri is asking for the godly power of punishment and retribution, which is bast grants her. i always say this part of the movie isn’t shuri as the black panther, but shuri as the goddess: destructive, wrathful and ready to cause eternal war in the name grief.

HEROINE URGENTLY YEARNS TO RECONNECT WITH THE FEMININE.

the heroine wants to, but is unable to return to their initial limited state/position before the rejection of the feminine.

shuri becomes the scientist once more with her plans to trap namor. however, she isn’t fully able to return to this position because she is now the goddess, and her fury takes her away from that role. thankfully, riri is there to help her. though she is now interacting with the spiritual, it’s not the peaceful spiritualism that her mother was preaching. she is ready to use her new found connection with the spiritual (goddesshood) to kill.

HEROINE HEALS THE MOTHER/DAUGHTER SPLIT.

the heroine reclaims some of their initial values, skills, or attributes (or those of others like them) but now views these traits from a new perspective.

this stage neatly aligns with shuri seeing the parallels between herself and namor. she’s reclaiming her empathy, love, compassion, her need to protect her people. only now she is the protector of wakanda and has the power to defend her kingdom.

the healing of the feminine comes in the form of a message from her mother. and her message is to remember who she is and show that to namor. shuri is able to receive that wisdom and fully accept it, integrate it, and thus make a substantial, conscious step with accepting the spiritualism of her mother. the mother/daughter split is healed.

HEROINE HEALS THE WOUNDED MASCULINE WITHIN.

the heroine makes peace with the “masculine” approach to the world as it applies to them.

coming to terms with the masculine could literally mean her reaching an alliance with namor. it could be seen as her truly becoming the black panther, noble and just. and just like her brother letting go of vengeance and allowing for mercy. it could mean her full acknowledgment of namor as her mirror image and accepting that killing him would be wounding and killing the part of herself that he reflects back. there’s a lot a different things that could slot into this stage of the heroine’s journey.

HEROINE INTEGRATES THE MASCULINE & FEMININE. 

in order to face the world/future with a new understanding of themselves and the world/life, the heroine integrates the “masculine” and “feminine” perspectives.

if the masculine is the role of black panther, a position shuri heavily associates with her late brother, and the feminine is spirituality, what her mother was a beacon for, then in the end we see her step towards the union of the two.

she is the black panther, empathetic and able to build bridges like t’challa. she is also listening to the spiritual wisdom of her mother and bringing her mourning to an end by burning the funeral garments. her journey to wholeness is in motion.

final thoughts

as i said, this isn’t a flawless way to think about storytelling. it would be interesting how accurately this template applies to future stories where shuri is at the core.

there’s not many mcu heroine’s who have such an extensive and mythic journey, so i hope shuri just becomes more complex and compelling as her story progresses forward.

bast’s gamble: shuri’s descent into godhood

shuri’s brief stint as a goddess (symbolically/mythically/whatever) is probably one of the most fascinating parts of wakanda forever. and i call it a descent into godhod because there’s nothing glorious about it. it’s ugly, fiery and brutal. it’s very nearly a tragedy: shuri praying for bast to save her brother, her prayers being ‘ignored’, only for bast to grant her power to seek retribution and to find vengeance corroding shuri from the inside.

shuri’s descent into godhood starts with her death. the heart shaped herb is represents spiritual death and rebirth- the person gets transported to the ancestral plane, meets their ancestors , and then awakes from a burial blessed with the powers of the goddess bast. it serves a unique role of both killing and reviving the individual. and the only way for shuri to become a goddess, is to be reborn into one.

shuri wants the will of a warrior. she wants to be strong enough to best namor, have him beg for mercy, and kill him. through n’jadaka, she is asking bast for the power to enact retribution. and whose role usually is it to dish out punishment and retribution in legend and lore? a god’s. shuri, consciously or not, is asking for the power of a god.

i think bast is aware of shuri’s previous non-belief and understands that granting the powers of the black panther to shuri will enable her path of retribution. shuri literally sets the ancestral plane on fire with her fury. and yet, bast obliges with her request and gives her strength to burn the whole world if she wishes. the question is why? we don’t know much about bast in the mcu, but in marvel comics she has a strong sense of morality and justice. bast casts judgement and decides who is and who isn’t worthy of the becoming black panther. she has even denied shuri before.

depending on how you see bast, shuri becoming the black panther could either be seen as a punishment or a test. for the former, it’s a classic case of hubris. granting shuri the power to obtain the one thing she believes she needs, but knowing that it will only lead to more pain and misery for her. all of this as punishment for her non-belief and vindictive spirit. shuri, in her state of anger and vengeance, will cause her own self destruction.

the second reason is more in line with a journey of a hero. shuri is given the power to cause eternal war and the gamble is that shuri will know better and and walk back from the precipice. there is an understanding that shuri has a goddess’ anger, but a protector’s heart. and there is a hope that shuri will give up the former for the latter. bast risked the fate of wakanda and the world on this gamble. i want to believe this reason. it’s more hopeful.

for whatever reason, shuri becomes the black panther. but with a goddess’ touch everything is amplified. shuri’s once casual confidence turns to arrogance, her rage becomes wrath. we see shuri (as i love saying) become a vengeful goddess. she’s dismissive of nakia and m’baku. the lives of her people come second to her goal of killing namor. it’s been a while since i’ve seen a female character be this ugly in her anger. it’s amazing.

we know how it ends, with a spear on namor’s neck and shuri about to do the deed that causes eternal war- a goddess queen killing a god king. shuri is also about to kill her mirror image, something that will irreversibly wound her deeply. but then, bast’s gamble pays off. her protector’s heart fights against her goddess’ rage. her kindness and empathy are inextinguishable beacons despite her grief. shuri does not walk off the cliff edge. maybe as encouragement or as a gift, bast allows ramonda to give a brief message to her daughter. and in that moment, shuri lets go of her godhood, an amplifier of her anger, and instead stands as a warrior and protector over namor.

and if bast was intending to punish and not test? then it’s love changes shuri’s tragic fate. the love she has for her people, the love namor has for his people, the love between child and mother, the connection between two people who understand each other entirely. just like a fairytale, love conquers all and shuri is able to relinquish her fury. bast, impressed, accepts this twist of fate and allows shuri to continue being the black panther.

there was something mesmering and powerful about shuri’s emotions during her stint as a goddess. i like to think bast knew shuri could cope with the weight of godhood and not be crushed by it. at least for a small amount of time. i also think shuri is at peace without that righteous rage. she’s no longer burning, she’s surviving. and with clarity of mind she’s able to become the protector bast was gambling on.

shuri and namor: the mirror image

let’s jump into this well overdue meta, shall we?

shuri and namor’s dynamic is compelling because we are seeing two mirror images meet each other, confront each other, and eventual align with each other. to see your mirror image is to see your reflection. you can read it as soulmates, twin flames, whatever. i use the word mirror image because the imagery of both shuri and namor standing on opposite sides of that same mirror is a pretty apt description of their relationship. and we see what happens when the glass between them breaks.

“the same wound”

tenoch has said repeatedly that shuri and namor share the same wound. this wound being grief and trauma. for shuri, this wound is fresh: the death of her brother despite her efforts to save him. it has left her with paralysing guilt, a cold detachment to spiritualism and an anger that could burn the world. for namor, this wound is centuries old: witnessing the heartbreak of his mother due to colonialism. as the ruler of talokan he’s burdened with trying to protect his people from an evil he has witnessed and has no real control over.

the scene at the beach is when we first see the two interact. “this better not be apart of your ritual” shuri says, as if their words or mere presence had summoned a stranger to them. and it’s kind of true. namor, only after overhearing the depth of shuri’s rage, emerges from the sea. at five hundred years old, he is well-versed in rage and he already understands that him and shuri share the same wound from her words.

most of the conversation flows through ramonda, wielding a spear as her guards herself and her daughter from a god who promises war and ruin if they do not deliver him the scientist. namor is calm and collected in this moment, at peace with the fact he holds the advantage in this tug of war. also at peace with the fact he has a potential ally in shuri already. shuri is on guard, but intensely curious at the vibranium clad god with winged feet. she doesn’t realise yet how alike they are. perhaps her disconnect with the spiritual has played a part in that. in any case, her curiosity is already tethering her to her mirror image.

“we must look at each other and recognise we are the same”

after shuri’s “not-abduction-abduction” we find ourselves just outside talokan in a cave. shuri is ready to face namor, for a chance to save riri williams and understand namor’s motivations. after a quick wardrobe change she meets namor alone, surrounded by his history.

shuri’s dress, which is specifically made for her, is pure talokanil artistry: a light white silk robe with an elaborate neckpiece made of jade and pearls. a royal fit. namor’s likeliness is also embodied on the lower part of the dress. interesting that namor, perhaps subconsciously, is creating a literal mirror image of himself. manifesting the mythical through the literal. when looking at shuri he is now seeing his culture, his history, his likeliness reflected back at him.

for them to be allies, he must show how they are the same. so he tells the story of his people, the spanish conquistadors, his mother’s heartbreak over leaving her home, the evil that took over their land, and finally his vow to hold no love for the surface world. shuri still doesn’t understand- why are you telling me this?. which makes sense. namor has had five hundred years to sit and understand his wound. shuri has spent the last year ignoring it. she isn’t making the connections between the two of them that namor was able to do in a heartbeat.

instead, she uses her smarts to try and save riri: keep her in talokan and send riri back to wakanda safe. and i don’t think namor was expecting that. he pauses, considering and thinking over her proposal. then shuri says she would love to see talokan and he stumbles slightly, perhaps bashful, but quickly agrees to her suggestion. it’s like seeing people on opposite sides a mirror, tentative tapping at the glass. while they are mirror images, they are not identical. the mistake on namor’s part is to believe shuri’s response should be the same as his. when really it should be complementary. shuri is actually softening his edge with reason.

ryan coogler has said one theme of wakanda forever is smarts v wisdom. while shuri is a certified genius, she doesn’t have the wisdom that a god of five hundred years have. and i think we see that on display throughout their scenes in talokan. namor is patient telling her the why. he’s betting that his wisdom will be enough to convince her. while shuri counters with reason and logic.

namor, the lonely god

the thing that you need to understand with namor is that he is constantly grieving.

as a ‘god’ he is forced to see his people be born, grow up, and die every day for five hundred years. and he hasn’t become jaded to this fact of life. the talokanil that die in the midst of shuri’s rescue are mourned by namor and the trigger for namor’s destructive retaliation. their deaths are just as important to him, as queen ramonda’s death to shuri.

but namor isn’t just grieving. he’s lonely. his distrust of the surface world, and his superior status amongst his people puts him in an isolating position. to his people, he’s the god that brought the sun to the ocean, has protect them against external threats for centuries, and promises to win an inevitable war against the entire surface world. but namor views himself as “broken”. he’s happy to go to war, but wants an ally. he’s proud of the might of talokan but still resents the fact that they are hiding. after five hundred years he is tired.

is it any wonder namor is so earnest in his want of an ally?

and he believes shuri to be that ally. the alliance and union he seeks can only be through shuri because, for all intents and purposes, she’s his mirror image. she’s the only one he can think to trust. the tragedy of shuri’s rescue is that trust between the two is shattered, even though shuri personally did nothing to break it. and it leaves namor with nowhere to turn but to himself and into his own darkness. his fears and resentment only amplified by her apparent betrayal.

“I was blinded by hope.”

what a telling line of dialogue. you mean to tell me the grieving princess of wakanda, with fury in her heart, made the lonely god king of five hundred years vulnerable, trusting, and hopeful? but not just hopeful, blinded by hope. that’s some fairytale sh*t right there. that charm…is it even a wonder why namor pronounces her as the most powerful person in the surface world? with the way she was able to sway the mind of a vengeful god.

the courtship of princess shuri

should we talk about the courtship of shuri?

let’s be real, namor is gambling a lot on shuri accepting any type of proposal. he’s showing her his home, he’s being vulnerable about his trauma, and he is risking the wrath of wakanda with holding her ‘hostage ’.

so why shuri? i got three reasons- the mythical, the political, and the romantic.

i think all three reasons are correct. it’s a mixture of hope for an alliance, meeting a mythic equal, and shuri’s attractive characteristics which makes namor pursue her and this ‘courtship’.

and how did her court her? well:

and let it be known that namor was written to be seductive. ryan coogler says as much. coogler also lists the key principles that they couldn’t change about namor, a few of these things being his charisma, confidence and hitting on other people’s wives. simply, namor was written to have that seductive swagger and charm that could win over people.

and it was working. at the end of their little moment, shuri has a greater understanding and respect towards namor and talokan. she accepts him putting the bracelet on around her wrist when she could have easily refused. she truly admires what namor has done for his people. this is the guy who threatened wakanda with an army the first time he met the queen and wants to kill riri williams. and shuri let her guard down and allowed him to charm her. but not to the point of throwing away her own sense of justice. something namor tries to bargain with but has no such luck.

but even after shuri is ‘rescued’ it’s still so telling that shuri keeps wearing the bracelet until someone brings attention to it. namor is literally caressing the shell he gave to wakanda after shuri leaves. he teases and calls her princess in the midst of battle. whatever they had didn’t just die when she left talokan. only there’s no time to dwell on it when war comes knocking.

it could have been different namor remarks after everything. after attacking wakanda, killing her mother and finally stabbing shuri onto a rock. it’s interesting that’s what his mind goes to. their unofficial ‘courtship’. and he doesn’t seem victorious in that moment. just deeply disappointed. the hope he had cruelly taken away from him.

shuri revives that hope. with a spear at his throat, she is reminded of her time in talokan, of namor’s smile, at his love for his people. she draws parallels and sees herself in him. it’s what brings back her from the brink of eternal war. and she offers an alliance on her terms.

so the question is, was the courtship a success?

namor seems to think so. or at least he knows this isn’t the end. he believes princess shuri will inevitably be back for his help soon enough once the world turns on wakanda. and then the control would be back in his court. i can’t help but think he has other reasons besides politics as to why he wants shuri to turn to him. the lonely god craves an equal. but these reasons might get him into trouble with namora.

it is clear that the ‘courtship’ of princess shuri was not a failure, but warm up for next game between panther and feathered serpent which namor is eagerly awaiting. i don’t believe shuri could be so easily charmed this time round, but i’ll never underestimate a relentless god who has found his mythical equal.

shuri and the rejection of queenhood

the other day on twitter, i remarked how shuri’s rejection of queenhood fascinated me. shuri is offered queenhood thrice. and she rejects it thrice. but she deals with two different types of queenhood which is the most interesting part. let me explain.

mythic queenhood: “you said you wanted to burn the world. then let's burn it together.”

let’s start with mythic queenhood. i view a lot of elements of wakanda forever through a mythic lens. it’s something that comes naturally when a story is so textually rich and layered. and it invites us to not take things at face value and play with the extremes myths often do.

when isolated from the rest of the movie, the scene between shuri and namor in talokan feels like something from a fairytale. a chapter from an epic where the princess gets taken to an underwater kingdom, gets courted (politically/romantically/whatever your interpretation) by the ruler of this kingdom, and they are able to see themselves in each other. namor gifts shuri a family heirloom (an heirloom which symbolised a promise that he would be royalty and rule), and they watch the sun shine on the beauty of talokan.

there’s just such a different vibe to these moments between them on talocan. hence when namor offers allyship, a union between two kingdoms, and specifically proposes to her that they “burn it [the world] together” i can’t help but see this as a mythic proposal to become queen who, by his side, will wage war on the surface world.

shuri refuses this strongly. despite her anger and grief, she understands what this union could bring: a world in ruins. she rejects alliance, the mythic queenhood, and most importantly, acts nobly as the protector she will become at the end of the movie.

literal queenhood: “you are queen now.”

the rejection of mythic queenhood and the dead of two innocents, is met with an inevitable retaliation: there’s rhyme in the tragedy: the death of a servant/handmaiden, ultimately leading to the death of a queen.

namor, the ‘peter pan’ god king he is, was told no and sought out a yes. once his mythic proposal was rejected, he decided to force the title on her. shuri was unable to outrun a fate that namor, a ‘god’, bestowed upon her, despite her steadfast rejection of it. you don’t just reject a ‘god’. she messed with myth and myth swung back hard. there’s a concurrent mythical storyline happening here, which i won’t completely explore here, but it’s exciting to think about.

anyway, this pushback by fate leans nicely into what happens in this part of the film. which can only be summarised as shuri’s illusion of control being shattered. this can refer to her belief that she is her grief when really it’s eating her alive. it can refer to shuri ‘containing’ her anger at the world. it can refer to her need to be purely pragmatic and logical, when her world her life is actually steeped in spiritualism. all is broken.

a vengeful protector: “i am the black panther, and i am here for retribution!”

the rejection of her this literal queenhood starts once shuri becomes the black panther. not to say the two titles can’t coincide, but with a furious, vengeful shuri, one falls by the wayside. seeing killmonger in the ancestral plane and not her mother, solidified this. to me, the mantle of queen wasn’t completely passed down. instead we have this terrifying and beautiful hybrid of duty and vengeance.

when namor greets shuri as “princess”, she replies back “NO. “i am the black panther, and i am here for retribution!”. despite literally being queen, in her words (or lack of words) and her actions this is a rejection of that part of her.

she is the protector of wakanda, perhaps a deadly goddess in the heat of her battle with namor. her role as black panther becomes a vessel for all her pain and anguish. and more importantly the future of wakanda is second to her revenge. eternal war was about to be triggered until she is pulled back from the brink. who helps her? the queen mother.

this moment is not queen to queen, because shuri was not acting like a queen or even completely believes that she is one. it’s queen to princess. it’s mother to daughter. And it’s only after queen ramonda is able to pass on those words that shuri couldn’t receive in the ancestral plane, does the mantle truly get passed in that moment. shuri is now the queen.

and isn’t it funny, that after shuri accepts literal queenhood, she also accepts a mythical queenhood, in the form of an alliance with namor. of course, at the moment, this is a queenhood rooted in the love of her kingdom, and the empathy and understanding of namor’s kingdom. and its forged not in fire, but in water as their alliance is communicated to their soldiers over the atlantic ocean.

the final rejection

there isn’t too much to say. skipping straight to the end of the movie, shuri formally rejects literal queenhood clearing the way for m’baku to be king. and it’s…peaceful. she has control over her own narrative, finally because she has control over her emotions. but this could only come from her being born again through the literal flames of her fury. there’s a lot of death and rebirth in this movie. the mythical queenhood still stands. and she has the bracelet, and the heart shaped herb that came from that bracelet, to prove it.

but for now, she has decided on being princess shuri, the black panther, protector of wakanda. a role that is steeped in tradition, but gives allows her a way to channel her technological prowess and her tremendous love for her kingdom.

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so what happens next? that’s a whole different meta, but let’s just say i don’t see a forth rejection on the cards. if her arc in this movie was partly about rejection- rejecting spiritualism and her grief until it couldn’t be neglected no more, i would like to see acceptance play a big part in her next arc. but again, that’s a different meta.

the rage of princess shuri

very few character arcs have been as substantive and transformative as the arc given to shuri in wakanda forever. and what makes it so powerful is her undeniable rage.

shuri angry. at herself, at the ancestors, at the world. and there’s so much range in her anger. it’s cold and dismissive to her mother’s faith in the spiritual. it’s painful and untethering to herself and her beliefs. it’s hot and all consuming towards namor and the harm he causes.

and then with how mythical and fairytale-esque wakanda forever is in general. shuri plays with the princess archetype and instead almost becomes a vengeful goddess. eternal war was one death away. it just happens that the person she longed to kill was her mirror image.

a black heroine having the space to transform, rebirth by fire and fury, was an experience. i don’t really know how to put it into words.

“Is my mother’s life not worth eternal war?”

that might be one of the most heartbreaking, and relatable lines in the mcu. grief and anger crystallised into one question.

“Shuri would never forgive him-”

and i wouldn’t hold that expectation over her. honestly having this deeply painful, terrible act that ties them together is amazing to me from a storytelling perspective.

i can’t overstate how much i love dramatic extremes in my ships. i want to be able to write reams and reams about the complexities and nuances of a couple. i want to be able tie in myth, allegory and folklore. i want to feel deeply and explore hyperbolic, fantastical situations.

what i’m trying to say is the challenge of finding love and comfort after an unforgivable act fascinates me. and being able to explore that in fiction where we can play around with character, story, and motivation is the best thing.

essentially why not. let’s test the imagination and wonder how these two people who have hurt each other find love with each other.

i guess this is my reply in general to people who don’t understand the attraction of enemies to lovers pairings.

and also, sometimes the characters are just that hot.