Black Panther: 10 fun facts that will blow your mind

7. Zuri

Who doesn’t love the wise sage in any film? The Lion King had Rafaki, the original Star Wars trilogy had Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Black Panther film has Zuri, a longtime friend and ally to T’Chaka. In the movie, he’s introduced as a War Dog spy who was tasked by the king to keep an eye on N’Jobu while he was living in America. He went under the alias of James and was almost killed when the truth about the prince’s involvement with illegal activities was uncovered.

To defend his friend, T’Chaka is forced to kill his own brother, which devastates him. To make it even worse, T’Chaka leaves his nephew, N’Jadaka, behind as an orphan, which would later prompt the boy to kill Zuri as an adult years later. Though to be far, Zuri sacrificed himself for T’Challa when Killmonger sets his sights on killing his cousin in revenge of his uncle T’Chaka killing his father all those years earlier.

In the comics, Zuri became a close friend of Thor and served as a companion to T’Chaka. He served as a warrior, becoming T’Chaka’s bodyguard before serving T’Challa in the same role. Upon his death, he is buried next to M’Baku, another warrior who died a noble death.