The line that should be removed from Avengers: Doomsday

Despite an overall fantastic (haha) trailer, there is one line that threw me off of the most recent Avengers: Doomsday teaser. Featuring Shuri–the new Black Panther–King M’Baku, Namor, Talokan, and The Thing from the Fantastic Four, it begins with a line from the late T’Challa’s sister.

“I’ve lost everyone that matters to me”, exclaims the still grieving Shuri after the events of Wakanda Forever. Initially, this was true. The tragedy that struck in the sequel to 2018’s revolutionary movie had M’Baku telling Shuri, “The world has taken away too much for you to still be considered a child.”

But eventually, Shuri overcame her feelings of nihilism. Instead of avenging her mother and fellow Wakandans from the Talokan flood, she spared Namor. And in turn, she spared the Earth from suffering his wrath, as she rekindled his belief in the kind nature of surface dwellers, anchored by his mother.

In a post-credits scene, a healing Shuri sitting by a campfire learns that she is not the only one left in her bloodline. Her brother left behind a son with Nakia--Touissant aka T’Challa Junior--whom she tearfully embraces. Within these tears of course, was a smile, carrying the hopeful optimism from the Shuri of old. Her face was that of one at peace, after realizing she is not all alone.

To preserve Wakanda for Toussiant is why I imagine Shuri decides to hold onto the Black Panther mantle. In light of this, her nihilistic line makes little sense besides emotional theatrics.

And I get it, it does hit hard and give the trailer an emotional backbone. The line also functions for thematic value, as everyone in the multiverse is on the brink of losing everyone who matters to them.

But, there are better ways to hone in emotion and thematic symbolism instead of reversing the character journey of Shuri. A journey that was difficult to write in light of Chadwick Boseman’s untimely passing, and one that Ryan Coogler worked hard on to deliver a beautiful payoff. Dismantling that for another movie seems unfair, and hopefully the final cut of Doomsday removes it.