Black Panther: Ayo and Aneka of the Dora Milaje

 

What happened to the Gayness? Black Panther films were the pride of Black cinema and the Black community when they arrived in theaters. People from all backgrounds were dressing up as the Black Panther or the Dora Milaje to show their enthusiasm for a brand-new wave of Marvel and superhero comic book characters coming to life. I’m not a major follower of Comic-Con or anime, but I was excited as well. My brother collected comic books as a kid, and I read quite a number of them just to follow behind my big brother. I was well acquainted with DC comics and Marvel Comics, and I’ve always been interested in Black animation characters of the 70s, 80s, and early 90s. Although I knew of Black Panther, I didn’t know the intricate details of its history, the gist of the storyline, or its characters. Imagine my surprise when I found out Roxane Gay, someone I followed as an academic and Twitter follower, became the first black, queer woman lead writer for Black Panther comic for Marvel. It was a proud moment of representation.

Because of Gay’s involvement in the comic series, I wanted to learn more about Black Panther’s storyline and background. I learned it was a product from the genius of Stan Lee (circa 1966), which didn’t surprise me because he was always a progressive visionist and writer. As a feminist studies professor, I knew there was juiciness awaiting us inside the pages of World of Wakanda. Not only was this a proud representation moment, but it was a progression in the feminist movement in a space dominated by white males as creators and readers. Gay didn’t hesitate to exercise her feminist gaze within the storyline of Black Panther. Once Gay is introduced as one of the writers, she takes the helm of picking up where the storyline leaves off (2017) of the loyal Dora Milaje beginning to question their allegiance and mission to and for the royal family due to T’challah fraternizing with the enemy. *Brief background on the Dora Milaje—A group of African warrior women who, according to the original storyline, are ceremonial wives in training to T’challa*. Seems sort of primitive, right?

However, in spite of the primitive notion of T’challah having several wives, Gay’s storyline for the World of Wakanda focuses on two of the Dora Milaje warriors, Ayo and Aneka who are lesbian partners. In the comic, the two leave the Dora Milaje to form their own called the Midnight Angels in response to the oppressions of the royal family. The comic goes into detail and depiction of their love affair. In the film, the two women simply smile at each other. It is disheartening that a space created for Black representation has neglected to extend the same courtesy to the LGBTQ. Gay wasn’t even invited to the premiere of both movies. It can be said that since Black Panther is under the Disney umbrella they wanted to make it family friendly. But don’t gay kids (because they do exist) deserve an opportunity to see themselves represented in a movie like everyone else? Not many people will read the comic books the way they will see these films. It’s unfortunate Stan Lee’s progressive movement took two steps back.