Who Are The Midnight Angels In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever?

There have been several important announcements at the D23 Expo this year. One of the projects that were extensively spoken about was Black Panther: Wakanda

By Chandraboli Majumdar
September 14,2022
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There have been several important announcements at the D23 Expo this year. One of the projects that were extensively spoken about was Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. There was also a reveal of new, comic-accurate costumes for the Midnight Angels. So who exactly are they and their members Aneka and Ayo?

Who are the Midnight Angels?

Midnight Angels in Marvel comics
Midnight Angels in Marvel comics

If you have heard of the Dora Milaje, then you will also know about the Midnight Angels. The Dora Milaje are obviously personal bodyguards of the King or rather the Black Panther. They are extremely skilled combatants and are trained in martial arts as well as wielding various weapons. The Midnight Angels are basically a smaller group within the Dora Milaje. They are the strongest and best of them and they form a strike force. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will be the first debut of the Midnight Angels on the big screen. We see them in action when Namor the Submariner decides to invade Wakanda.

New comic-accurate Midnight Angels costume of Aneka
New comic-accurate Midnight Angels costume

In the comics, the Midnight Angels are extremely loyal to T’Challa and fight with him on the battlefield. They are immensely brave and courageous warriors. They stood steadfast against Dr. Doom after he stole Vibranium from Wakanda. Afterwards they also assisted Deadpool in his mission to kill Doom. They wore armor that was free of Vibranium so as to escape Doom’s control. Even their weapons are Vibranium free. The Midnight Angels use Kimoyo Beads as a means of communication. If they move their hand in a form of sign language they are able to send text messages using the beads. They can even produce holograms. Their mode of transportation is a Quinjet used specifically by the Midnight Angels called the Dagger.

New costumes for the Midnight Angels revealed

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever costumes on display at the D23 expo
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever costumes on display at the D23 expo

In the very first trailer of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we witness Dora Milaje’s Aneka wearing a brand new outfit. The outfit can be recognized as the costume of the Midnight Angels from the Black Panther comics in Marvel. The costume designer of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ruth Carter, has designed their costumes with meticulous attention to detail. These costumes were on display during the D23 Expo. The Midnight Angels’ costume consists of a brand new helmet, two daggers that can also be seen in the trailer and a strikingly blue and gold armor. The display also contained updated suits for Ramonda (Angela Bassett) and M’Baku (Winston Duke). Ayo and Aneka two members of the Dora Milaje had stolen prototypes of the Midnight Angel Armor to help the people of Wakanda.

Who are Aneka and Ayo?

Aneka from the Midnight Angels in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer
Aneka from the Midnight Angels in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer

Aneka was an extremely important character in the Black Panther comics. She was given the task of training the Dora Milaje combatants and teaching the female warriors techniques to fight robots. T’Challa did this in anticipation of the Doomwars. Aneka was later held on trial for killing the chieftain of a village. She was brought in front of the Queen Ramonda to face justice. During this panel we also meet Ayo, fellow Dora Milaje teammate. She stood up for Aneka and justified her actions. As it turns out the chieftain was mistreating the women of the village and thus compelled Aneka to take serious action.

Despite her efforts, Aneka was found guilty by the Queen and was sent to the Wakandan prison of Fort Hahn to face her death. This is when Ayo stole the armor of the Midnight Angels and took it upon herself to break Aneka out of prison. Afterwards, with their stolen armors, they vowed to never return to the Dora Milaje.

However, they still remained loyal to the kingdom and protected it from threats when needed. In fact, they helped the Jabari tribe and the Dora Milaje kill the White Gorilla. Eventually a time came when T’Challa needed their help to vanquish the assault by the People. Shuri then managed to convince Aneka and Ayo to assist the Black Panther in defending the Golden City. They will surely play an important role in the upcoming film and it will definitely be very exciting.