#desturi

In this series of posts, I profile four of Shuri’s greatest adversaries in comics. Said adversaries come in various forms: physical, political, psychological, and so on. My previous post on Ohyaku can be found here.

First Encounter With Shuri

Black Panther Vol 5. #7

Background

A secretive, xenophobic, ultra-conservative group within Wakandan society, the Desturi believed that the Wakandan monarchy has strayed too far from Wakandan values and traditions, at Wakanda’s expense. The Desturi began plotting in the shadows and—ironically—colluded with outside forces from Latveria, namely Dr. Doom.

Abilities

Well-funded group with many devoted followers.

Importance

Villains like the Desturi aren’t uncommon in the BP-verse. Wakanda had to deal with hardliners trying to bring Wakanda back to its “roots,” so to speak. M’Baku is the biggest representation of that movement.

The Desturi, however, were a lot more devious. Rather than going public, they elected to move quietly and efficiently. There would be no negotiations or presentation of grievances, as far as they were concerned. They were going for the top and would do what it takes to get it done, even if it meant colluding with a foreign nation (topical, isn’t it?).

Looking back, the Desturi represented a bigger problem that Wakanda has faced since T’Challa became king. Wakanda was moving in a seemingly unprecedented direction in the eyes of many Wakandans: too much interaction with the outside world; too much reliance on non-Wakandan resources; too much outside influence on Wakanda; and so on. These feelings, whether they were true or not, found a home in the Desturi and would linger long after the events of Doomwar.

The Desturi also represented the first major domestic threat that Shuri had to face as the ruler of Wakanda. Her face-off with the secretive group resulted in her first major decision as a ruler and set the tone on how she would deal with this particular aspect of running the country.

Conflict

In addition to being secretive, the Desturi were quite thorough. They very likely surmised that they wouldn’t be able to take out T’Challa on their own. Thus, they decided to get outside help: Dr. Doom.

Soon after a secret meeting with Namor, T’Challa is ambushed by Doom and barely escapes. However, he is found barely alive and in a coma. Though brought back due to the efforts of Storm, Shuri, and others, T’Challa is out of commission, recovering from his injuries and finding a way to gain back his powers. Shuri is chosen as the new Black Panther and ruler of Wakanda.

The Desturi moved on to the second phase of their plan: taking out Shuri. While Shuri is in a diplomatic mission in the United States, her motorcade is ambushed. She survives the attack, but finds no evidence who attacked her. Sensing that this attack wasn’t a coincidence, she decides to speed up her search on who attacked T’Challa, believing there is a possible connection between both events.

The Desturi anticipated such a move, however. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, the Desturi managed to infiltrate almost every aspect of Wakandan society, in large part due to high-tech nanites created by Dr. Doom. The Desturi managed to place those nanites key locations such as the water and food supplies, ensuring that practically every Wakandan—including members of the royal family—would become human cameras feeding information. Only T’Challa and Shuri escaped this fate, due in large part to their enhanced senses that came with their panther powers.

The Desturi eventually made their move and enacted a bloodless coup of Wakanda. They ruled seemingly with an iron fist, imposing their will on all of Wakanda.

Shuri and T’Challa had a plan of their own, however.  Rather than seeking something they couldn’t find or see, they allowed the Desturi to come out of the shadows and take over Wakanda, in order to clearly identify their enemy. They (along with the Dora Milaje) quickly left Wakanda and headed to Utopia in order to recruit the X-Men in retaking the country. Cyclops decided not to officially sanction such a move, but didn’t stop those that wanted to help out either.

Once facing the Desturi leader, Shuri gave the Desturi an ultimatum: surrender and become part of a soon-to-be-reformed Wakandan parliament, or be destroyed.

The Desturi leader eagerly rejected her terms, and things greatly escalated from there.

The Desturi were massacred. Per Shuri’s orders, not a single Desturi was left alive.

With every Desturi eliminated, Shuri ordered the Wakandan air force to deploy EMPs throughout Wakanda, destroying the presence of Doom’s nanites in the nation. Her job was far from over, however, as she, T’Challa, and others had to face the puppet master behind the coup: Dr. Doom.

Coming Up