Who Are The Dora Milaje?

The second trailer of Avengers: Age of Ultron featured more than a few surprises. Most notably, a scene that featured a mysterious woman in the cave.

Based on what is known regarding the plans for Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the character is most likely either Shuri, princess of Wakanda and co-Black Panther, or the Dora Milaje: the elite personal bodyguards of the Black Panthers.

A brief bio and backstory on Princess Shuri can be found here.

The history of the Dora Milaje traces back to the origins of Wakanda herself.

Also known as the Adored Ones, the order of the all-female guard was established to create harmony among Wakanda’s 18 rival tribe factions. A young exceptional woman is selected from each faction to serve as the Black Panther’s personal guard. Because of the high honor bestowed with the title of Dora Milaje, they are also considered potential wives for the Wakandan King/Queen.

Extensively trained in various weaponry and highly skilled martial artists, the Dora Milaje are some of the fiercest warriors in the Marvel Comics universe. 

Throughout their history, they have bested the likes of Namor, Doombots and have battled the Black Widow to a stalemate. When Doctor Doom attempted to invade Wakanda, T’Challa assembled a special wetworks team of Dora Milaje named the Midnight Angels.

These warriors were specifically trained to battle robots and magic, Doom’s weapons of choice. They were instrumental in aiding T’Challa and his allies deliver a crushing defeat to Doom.

With the impact the Adored Ones have made in comics, it’ll be exciting to see them in action on the big screen. 

Is it May 1 yet?