The closest allies Marvel’s new Ultimate Black Panther has are going to war with each other. Even worse, Shuri and Okoye are both fighting for his future.

Ultimate Black Panther #3 opens with Shuri training fiercely against mechanized warriors of her own design. While the fight at hand provides a meaningful distraction, it is still one that she wins easily. That said, the battle she is in against Queen Okoye is certain to be much harder won, especially when both of them are fighting for T’Challa’s future, or at least to determine where exactly his present is leading him.

Written by BRYAN HILL Art by STEFANO CASELLI Colorist DAVID CURIEL Design by JAY BOWEN Letterer VC’s CORY PETIT Cover by STEFANO CASELLI & DAVID CURIEL Variant Cover Artists BOSSLOGIC, PEACH MOMOKO, SKAN, and JOSHUA CASSARA & GURU-eFX

The primary Marvel Universe’s Okoye first appeared in the pages of 1998’s Black Panther #1 by writer Christopher Priest and artist Mark Texeira. A former member of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s royal bodyguards, Okoye is one of the most capable warriors that the kingdom has ever known. This version of Okoye has been instrumental in numerous storylines in the primary Marvel Universe, most memorably in the battle against Nakia, the former member of the Dora Milaje whose obsession with T’Challa drove her to take up the villainous mantle of Malice.

The primary version of Shuri was introduced in 2005’s Black Panther #2 by writer Reginald Hudlin and artist John Romita Jr. The younger sister of T’Challa born to their father T’Chaka and the latter’s third wife Queen Ramonda, Shuri is a literal genius, and she has used her intellect to craft some of the most useful, not to mention iconic accouterments that the Black Panther has ever wielded. Shuri also stepped into the role of the Black Panther for herself, which bolstered the already impossible supernatural abilities granted to her by the spirits of the Djalia.

Marvel’s current Ultimate Universe was brought into form during the events of 2023’s Ultimate Invasion by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Bryan Hitch. Discovered by the villainous variant of Reed Richards known as the Maker, this reality’s history was altered by the Maker, who hoped to reshape it in his own image. As a result, most of the world’s heroes never emerged, while those who did found themselves either conscripted into the Maker’s shadow cabinet or cut down as soon as they cropped up.

Ultimate Black Panther #3 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics