Zuri was a former member of the War Dogs and a shaman in Wakanda.
Biography[]
Black Panther[]
To be added
Character traits[]
Zuri was loyal to Wakanda and its citizens, and deeply fearful for its safety. He strongly believed that if Wakanda's true nature was revealed to the rest of the world, there would be disastrous consequences.
Like most other Wakandans, Zuri was a traditionalist at heart and supported Wakanda's isolationist policies and failed to realize that their policies were doing more harm than good. Even after he was stationed in Oakland for several years, observing how its citizens were suffering and knowing full-well that his nation's resources would have put an end to this oppression for all people of African and African-American descent, Zuri still had turned a blind eye to their plight, proving just how short-sighted and narrow-minded he truly was.
Zuri played an indirect role in N'Jobu's death, and felt tremendous guilt, shame and remorse for his part. If he had not informed T'Chaka of N'Jobu's treachery and involvement with Ulysses Klaue, N'Jobu would never had tried to kill Zuri in retaliation for deceiving him, which led to him being killed by his own brother in cold blood. He also made no attempt to convince T'Chaka to take N'Jobu's son, Erik, back to Wakanda with him despite his part in the death of the boy's father.
24 years later, when T'Challa discovered Erik's existence, after having forced Zuri into revealing what actually happened to his uncle, he tried to justify leaving Erik behind in the United States, with the rationale that he and T'Chaka were trying to maintain the royal Wakandan bloodline, by preventing half-Wakandans from being mixed into it, but in truth, it was actually an attempt to cover up T'Chaka's misdeeds pertaining to murdering his own brother.
Deep down, Zuri felt very regretful about keeping, such a terrible secret from everyone for 24 years. During the ritual combat between N'Jadaka (Erik's Wakandan name) and T'Challa to decide who would become the next king of Wakanda and the Black Panther, Zuri was unable to bear his guilt any longer and when N'Jadaka was about to deliver a killing blow to T'Challa, stepped in to stop N'Jadaka, after which, he had revealed to N'Jadaka that he was actually indirectly responsible for N'Jobu's death, not T'Challa. In order to spare T'Challa's life, he offered to have his life taken instead, but Zuri also pushed N'Jadaka to forgive T'Chaka for his role in N'Jobu's death.
Ultimately, Zuri's attempts at redemption completely backfired and led to his demise, partly due to N'Jadaka already being aware of Zuri's role in his father's demise and partly because N'Jadaka was not forgiving or merciful by nature.
Powers and Abilities[]
Abilities[]
- Bilingual: Zuri's native tongue was Xhosa and he could speak fluent English; albeit with a thick Wakandan accent.
- Expert Spy: Due to Zuri's training as a War Dog; he was highly skilled in espionage and intelligence gathering. Zuri was also able to mask his thick Wakandan accent with an American one.
Relationships[]
- Golden Tribe
- N'Jadaka/Killmonger - Nephew-figure turned enemy and killer; deceased.
- N'Jobu - Ally turned enemy and attempted killer; deceased.
- T'Chaka/Black Panther - King; deceased.
- T'Challa/Black Panther - King.
Appearances/Actors[]
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 film)
- Black Panther (First appearance) - Forest Whitaker and Denzel Whitaker (young)
Behind the scenes[]
To be added
Trivia[]
To be added
Gallery[]
Black Panther[]
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