Michaela Coel's Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debut is nearly upon us! The North American release of the MCU's highly-anticipated Black Panther sequel is November 11th and, as is typical of Marvel Studios, information about the film has been locked down, apart from what has been divulged through images, trailers, and official press releases. Still, there has been a lot of information to process: the wise decision of director Ryan Coogler and Marvel to tackle the loss of actor Chadwick Boseman, both on and off-screen, head-on; the confirmation of a new Black Panther moving forward (but, maddeningly, not who that is); and the introduction of multiple faces into the MCU. The names of the newcomers include Marvel icon Namor, aka the Sub-Mariner (Tenoch Huerta), and Riri Williams' (Dominique Thorne) as Ironheart. One other character that has been confirmed for the film is Aneka, played by Michaela Coel. Aneka doesn't share the instant recognition that Sub-Mariner brings, but those fans steeped in Black Panther's comic-book history know that the queer heroine has a deep association with Wakanda and its protector King. Before her MCU debut, let's get to know a little more about the Wakandan powerhouse.

What Is Aneka's Storyline in the Black Panther Comics?

Aneka first appears in 2009's Black Panther (Vol. 5) #8. She was the combat instructor for the Dora Milaje, personal bodyguards of the Black Panther, who tasked her with preparing them for fighting Doctor Doom's robots in the Doomwar. Aneka shares a forbidden love with her teammate Ayo, and the pair are assigned to protect Queen Shuri. Upon discovering that T'Challa and Namor, who attacked Wakanda previously, are holding a clandestine meeting, they lose faith in the royal family and leave the country. This leaves Shuri open to an attack by Thanos, leaving her in a state of sleeping death. Shortly after, Aneka kills a chieftain in response to a woman's accusations of abuse against the women of the village. This leads to Aneka being taken prisoner and brought before Queen Ramonda for judgment. Ayo unsuccessfully argues that the killing of the chieftain was necessary – a consequence of the treatment of the village's females. Ramonda still finds Aneka guilty and sentences her to death in the walls of Fort Hahn.

michaela coel black panther wakanda forever aneka
Image via Marvel Studios

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Ayo strongly disagrees with the decision, so she uses a prototype Midnight Angel armor to attack the prison and free Aneka. They take shelter and promise one another that they are no longer Dora Milaje. Ayo produces another Midnight Angel set of armor and they both make their way to a bandit compound on the north border of Wakanda. Aneka kills the men in the hideout, liberating the women that were being held hostage there. Soon after, the village is attacked by the White Gorilla Army of the Jabari-Lands. Aneka and Ayo, now known as the Midnight Angels, are aided by the Jabari Tribesmen and other Dora Milaje in killing Lord Mandla, leader of the White Gorilla forces. They take control of the Jabari-Lands. The Midnight Angels then bring order to the land by convening tribunals, assembling communes, calling for elections, and writing laws.

T'Challa sends the Hatut Zeraze after the Midnight Angels and their allies the People, who are stirred to revolution by falsified footage of T'Challa agreeing to use violent anti-revolutionary tactics. The Hatut Zeraze are thwarted and taken as prisoners by the Midnight Angels. The allies plan on carrying out an attack on the Golden City, but the plan doesn't come to fruition after the Angels confront the People about how their soldiers violently treat the women amongst them, ending their alliance. The Midnight Angels liberate the imprisoned Hatut Zeraze, which Aneka proclaims is a sign that they would not resort to violence in their efforts to liberate Wakanda, and, hopefully, stir empathy among the people of Wakanda. Aneka also takes the opportunity to publicly announce that she had rejected T'Challa and the Wakandan monarchy before fleeing into the woods.

In the woods, Aneka, followed by Ayo, runs into Shuri, who has returned to life. Shuri confronts the two and asks them for their help in defending the Golden City from the impending attack at the hands of the People. Both initially decline, being opposed to the idea of helping King T'Challa. Shuri, however, presents a convincing argument that T'Challa is a man of honor, as opposed to the leader of the People, who would turn on them as soon as he had usurped the throne. They agree to help, and when the attack happens against the Golden City, the People fall in defeat.

Following the battle, T'Challa agrees to meet with the Midnight Angels at the Wakandan city of Birnin Azzaria. The Angels, having made peace with T'Challa after a Wakandan elder made Aneka understand the value of their king, ask that their lands be made independent. This stirs T'Challa to action, forming a council to execute a constitution for Wakanda that would instate a democratic government, one where he would remain the king but as a representative of the Wakandan people and not their ruler.

More recently, Aneka, Ayo and Okoye joined with Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Avengers to capture former Dora Milaje member Nakia (aka Malice) and stop her from using Mimic-27, a weapon capable of destroying the world. Thankfully, T'Challa was able to talk to Nakia and convince her to join with them and stop the imminent threat. Back in the fold, Nakia worked with the Dora to stop the weapon, sacrificing her life to do so, an act that regained Nakia the respect of Aneka and her Dora Milaje sisters.

How Will Michaela Coel's Aneka Fit Into the MCU?

Michaela Coel

By necessity, we already know that a straight adaptation of Aneka's story simply can't happen: T'Challa has died, Doctor Doom has not been introduced to the MCU, and it's unlikely that there would be enough time in the film following an attack by Namor and his not-Atlantis Talokan army to start Aneka's story then. Namor also sics Thanos on Wakanda at some point, and Avengers: Endgame pretty much ended the Thanos era of the MCU. What we do know is that Ayo (Florence Kasumba) is already in the MCU, having been introduced in Captain America: Civil War, and that she is on the cast list for Wakanda Forever. This likely opens up an opportunity to explore the loving relationship between Ayo and Aneka. If the MCU's Wakanda currently forbids relationships amongst members of the Dora Milaje as it does in the comics, addressing and ending the stance would be another prominent step forward for LGBTQ+ representation.

The only other information we have on Aneka's role in the film is what we can deduce from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer. In it, we see that Aneka is in Midnight Angel armor. So perhaps a portion of Aneka's story has taken place offscreen. Or maybe Marvel has done its own thing and the Midnight Angels are an existing, or newly created, offshoot of the Dora Milaje. Or we'll soon come to learn a new justification Marvel's dreamed up that's beyond our current imaginations. In the trailer, we also see that Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett) is very angry about... something. Perhaps it's from a scene that takes elements from the comic book arc, and her anger is directed at Aneka's inability to protect (possibly) Shuri (Letitia Wright) or (more likely) T'Challa.

Whatever the case may be, one has to believe that Aneka's inclusion in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever points to her being a major player in how the story plays out. There is little doubt that the character of Aneka in the comic books is an agent of change, a strong, vocal, and active proponent of women's rights, and a stalwart advocate for democracy. It would be a disservice to the character, and to the fan base, for her to be represented as anything less on screen.