T'Challa
The titular “Black Panther” and king of Wakanda. He takes the throne in the film’s opening act, following the death of his father T’Chaka (as depicted in Captain America: Civil War) and spends much of the film grappling with his father’s legacy as well as the longstanding isolationist policies of Wakanda. Though T’Challa is confident and aggressive in his role as Black Panther, warrior and defender of Wakanda, he is initially conservative and indecisive in his role as king. He deeply values community, expressed in his obligation to and affection for his family and his countrymen. By the end, he realizes that he must break away from the country’s past policies and forge his own legacy as king and that his obligations to community extend to the broader Pan-African peoples around the world.
Erik "Killmonger" Stevens, aka N'Jadaka
An American special forces officer and T’Challa’s cousin. Born in Oakland to Prince N’Jobu and an African American mother, he has a far more acute sense of the global conditions of black people than native Wakandans. Consequently, he wants to gain the throne of Wakanda and use its advanced technology in order to liberate oppressed black people around the world. Dubbed “Killmonger” for his prodigious combat abilities and penchant for killing, he values power and dominance as paths to both liberation and self-actualization. His anger stems from both the murder of his father and the oppression of the African American community he grew up in, and he resents T’Challa and the Wakandans for closing themselves off to the problems of the world.
M'Baku
Leader of the Jabari, a Wakandan tribe which lives in the mountains outside of the central government’s control. He disdains other Wakandans for looking down on his people. A strong warrior, he challenges T’Challa for the throne and grows to respect him both for defeating him in combat and sparing his life. This ultimately leads him to join T’Challa in his bid to retake the throne from Killmonger. His tough exterior and hostile behavior hides a deep concern for the welfare of his people.
Okoye
Okoye is a general in Wakanda’s military and leader of the Dora Milaje, the king’s royal guard. She is extremely competent and direct in executing her missions. This can make her appear impatient and prickly, but she often shows herself to be humorous and affectionate. She is fiercely loyal to T’Challa, as well as the institutions and traditions of Wakanda. These impulses come into conflict when Killmonger unseats T’Challa and becomes king, and she feels torn between her loyalty to T'Challa and her commitment to serving Wakanda's king. Ultimately, her deeper sense of righteousness and the return of T’Challa cause her to turn against Killmonger’s violent mission.
Nakia
Nakia is T’Challa’s ex-girlfriend and a “War Dog,” one of the spies that Wakanda sends into the outside world. While not openly hostile to Wakanda’s traditions, she quietly disagrees with its isolationist policies. As a War Dog, she works to undermine human trafficking operations in Africa. She also gently encourages T’Challa to open up Wakanda to the outside world. However, in contrast to Killmonger, she believes that peaceful cooperation and exchange of culture and technology is the best path to uplifting black communities around the world.
Everett Ross
A C.I.A. agent who T’Challa had met and worked with in the events depicted in Captain America: Civil War. Though he is unaware of Wakanda’s advanced civilization at first, he has seen T’Challa fight as the Black Panther, and both men respect each other’s character and abilities. Because of his experience in American black ops, he is able to illuminate Killmonger’s military history to the Wakandans. Though initially overwhelmed by the revelation of Wakanda’s true nature and T’Challa’s fall, he proves a valuable ally in the fight against Killmonger.
W'Kabi
Head of security for Wakanda’s border. Though he is a close friend of T’Challa, he is skeptical of T’Challa’s strength as a leader. These skepticisms are amplified by T’Challa’s failure to capture Ulysses Klaue, but W’Kabi’s reserved emotions lead no one to suspect his feelings until he sides with Killmonger during the coups. He and Okoye are romantically involved, leading them into an emotional conflict during the final battle.
Shuri
T’Challa’s younger sister and the princess of Wakanda. She is Wakanda’s leading scientist, designing all of the Black Panther’s combat gear. While she does not express any overtly political beliefs concerning Wakanda’s policies, she does not take much of the country’s older culture and traditions seriously. She is competitive with T’Challa and frequently tries to take him down a peg, but always in a playful and affectionate way.
Ramonda
T’Challa’s mother and former queen of Wakanda. Though still grieving over the death of her husband, she is supportive of T’Challa ruling in his own way, even if that means going against what the previous king would have wanted.
Zuri
A kind of priest or shaman for Wakanda’s royal court, as well as an advisor to T’Challa. He presides over the important ceremonies of the monarchy: the combat challenge, coronation, and eating of the heart-shaped herb to gain the Black Panther’s power. He feels indebted to the royal family because King T’Chaka killed his own brother N’Jobu to save Zuri’s life.
Ulysses Klaue
A South African arms dealer who in the 90s had undertaken the only successful foreign incursion in Wakanda’s history, stealing a supply of vibranium in the process. His ability to do this and his killing of Wakandan citizens is clearly a great blow to the country’s national pride, even years later, and consequently, he is Wakanda’s most wanted criminal. Personally, he is gregarious and carefree, lacking any strong beliefs except in his own profit. He is impulsively violent, but extremely skilled in a way his unserious personality would not indicate.
N'Jobu
T’Challa’s uncle and Killmonger’s father. He is sent to the United States as a War Dog, where he becomes disillusioned by the oppression suffered by African Americans. He begins smuggling Wakandan technology (acquired with the help of Klaue, who N’Jobu had helped infiltrate Wakanda) into the United States with the hope of fomenting a black rebellion. Despite his support for violent uprising, his feelings are rooted less in anger and more in a sense of compassion for all black people.
T'Chaka
T’Challa’s father and former king of Wakanda; only seen in flashbacks and dream sequences. Portrayed as compassionate and noble, he is also stubborn in his support for Wakanda’s historically isolationist policies.
