Behold These Stunning Black Panther Character Posters

Black Panther has unleashed some sleek new character posters to hype the Feb. 16 debut of the new Marvel Studios movie. Let’s take a closer look at the inhabitants of Wakanda… and one of their foes.

“What makes him different from other superheroes first and foremost is he doesn’t see himself as a superhero,” says director and co-writer Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed). “He sees himself as a politician. That’s the first thing on his mind when he wakes up in the morning. ‘How am I going to fulfill my duties as king of this place?’”

This Wakandan covert agent is seen with her Vibranium ring blades. “She is a departure from what she was in the comic book,” Nyong’o says. “Nakia is a war dog. She is basically an undercover spy for Wakanda. Her job is to go out into the world and report back on what’s going on.”

Once the queen, she is now the mother of the king — and one of his key advisors. “He has to look to her for some of the answers of what his father might want or might do,” Boseman says. “She may not be exactly right all the time, but she definitely has insights. She is the queen mother. And she’s that for not just him, but for everybody.”

“He’s somewhat a religious figure or spiritual figure,” Coogler says. “Spirituality is something that exists in Wakanda in the comics, and it’s something we wanted to have elements of in the film. Forest’s character, more than anything, is a major tie-back to T’Challa’s father. Zuri is someone he looks to for guidance.”

Okoye is the head of the all-female Dora Milaje secret service, which protects and aids their king, the Black Panther. “They are a very powerful force,” Gurira says. “They are not utopic, but what Wakanda has down well is it has allowed people to function within their strengths. These women, their strength is to preserve Wakanda. It’s more like the secret service in a sense that it’s not just military. She is head of intel.”

T’Challa’s kid sister is a warrior scientist who helps him develop new Vibranium-enhanced tech to defend their homeland. “She is also a genius and runs the entire Wakandan design group,” says Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios. “She’s responsible for all these amazing technological advances that Vibranium has brought about from Wakanda.”

Vibranium poacher Ulysses Klaue is one of the few outsiders to enter Wakanda and learn its secrets. He was last seen in the Marvel universe getting his arm cut off in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now he wears a plastic prosthetic,  and inside is a stolen piece of Vibranium-mining equipment that makes for a fearsome weapon.