Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is out and it has brought in quite a few new characters. Namor has been introduced alongside Namora and Attuma. But on team Wakanda, we got Riri Williams and a new Dora Milaje member called Aneka. Her presence in the trailers (wearing a specific blue suit) led people to believe that she would be leading us to the arrival of the Midnight Angels. And that’s what ultimately happened, but there was a twist in the tale. The Midnight Angels in the MCU are very different from the source material.
Midnight Angels in the Comics
Back in 2009, Aneka made her first appearance in Black Panther #8. During the Doomwar battles against Doctor Doom, she trained the young recruits of the Dora Milaje. And she was pretty loyal to T’Challa and the Royal family. Even though it was forbidden, Ayo and Aneka still shared a loving relationship with each other. Later, both these lovers were assigned to protect Queen Shuri. But after some time, Aneka was imprisoned when she killed a terrible chieftain in one of the villages. Even though she was right to take action, she was still found guilty of murder and faced the death penalty.
This didn’t sit well with Ayo and she stole a prototype Midnight Angel Armor which was designed to be used in the Doomwar in order to save Aneka. As Ayo broke Aneka out of prison, the two left the Dora Milaje and formed the Midnight Angels squad. This is a group of the most elite warriors who swore to protect and defend the people that the royal family doesn’t acknowledge. But as always, the introduction of Midnight Angels in the MCU is very different.
Spoiler Alert: The rest of the post contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Midnight Angels in the MCU
First of all, Okoye replaces Ayo in this whole scenario. She is the lover of Aneka in the MCU and she was the one who got the Midnight Angel armor from Shuri. And it was Okoye who asked for Aneka to get one as well. Like the Black Panther suit, the wearer of this armor gets super strength, speed, agility, durability, and even flight. You may not like the look of these suits but you’ve got to appreciate their comic accuracy.
Instead of Aneka, it is Okoye who gets relieved of her duties in the MCU. She was right on her end, but so was Queen Ramonda. But after being stripped of her title as the general of Dora Milaje, she fought in her enhanced Vibranium Midnight Angel armor alongside Aneka and the Wakandan forces. And she even showed up to rescue Everett Ross in the same blue armor. So, it’s apparent that she is keeping it.
Also read: All 13 Marvel TV Shows Releasing After Loki
The Okoye Spinoff
Under the rulership of M’Baku, Okoye may be appointed to lead a new faction of the Midnight Angels alongside Aneka. And that’s what the previously reported Okoye spinoff series will be about. Hopefully, they’d redo the design of the suit though because as Okoye mentioned, this one’s truly ugly! But it will be interesting to see where the Okoye spinoff, or perhaps the Midnight Angels series takes Okoye in the future, and what it means for the rest of Wakanda. We can only hope that it will feature M’Baku, Aneka, the Dora Milaje, and even Everett Ross.
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