The Dora Milaje are fictional characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. They are a team of women who serve as special forces for the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Members of the Dora Milaje appear in the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

films '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016), ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

'' (2018), '' Avengers: Infinity War'' (2018), '' Avengers: Endgame'' (2019), and '' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever'' (2022), and the

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

series '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' and '' What If...?'' (both 2021).

Publication history

The Dora Milaje first appeared in ''

'', vol. 3 #1 (November 1998), created by writer Christopher Priest and artist Mark Texeira. Priest, however, claimed that credit for their creation really should go to his Marvel Knights editors

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

and

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, ...

, "who thought it would be great if the Panther had female bodyguards." The Dora Milaje share similarities with the Dahomey Amazons (Agoji), the all-female military regiment of the

Kingdom of Dahomey The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional ...

, which was located in West Africa in what is now the

Republic of Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

. The 2017 series " World of Wakanda" written by

Roxane Gay Roxane Gay (born October 15, 1974) is an American writer, professor, editor, and social commentator. Gay is the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling essay collection ''Bad Feminist'' (2014), as well as the short story collection ''Ayiti ...

and Yona Harvey, tells the story of the couple Ayo and Aneka, two former Dora Milaje. In the 2018 limited series ''Wakanda Forever'', written by Nnedi Okorafor, the Dora Milaje act in team-ups with

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

, the

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

and the Avengers.

Fictional character biography

To keep peace in Wakanda, the

picked ''dora milaje'' ("adored ones") from 18 rival tribes to serve as his personal guard and ceremonial wives-in-training.

Abilities

The Dora Milaje are trained in various African

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

such as ngolo, musangwe and Nguni stick-fighting, as well as

muay thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

silat Silat is the collective term for a class of martial arts from the Nusantara and surrounding geocultural areas of Southeast Asia. It is traditionally practised in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Southern Thailand, Southern Philippi ...

, krav maga and others.

Members

* Ailouros - A former Dora Milaje who was turned into a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

by the Temple of the Shifting Sun vampire hive and took on the name Apostate. * Aneka - A former leader of the Dora Milaje. She was arrested and stripped of her rank after killing a chieftain who had been victimizing the women in her village. After escaping, she became half of the vigilante duo known as the Midnight Angels.''Black Panther'' vol. 6 #1. Marvel Comics. * Ayo - Aneka's lover and another former Dora Milaje. After Aneka was arrested and sentenced to death, Ayo broke her out of prison. Using a pair of prototype armored suits, the two became the Midnight Angels. * M'yra - A member of the Dora Milaje who lost her right arm. She was reassigned to protect Shuri. * Nareema - A Dora Milaje member who helped

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

fight the V-Series Doombots. * Nakia – A Wakandan Mutate with superhuman strength, speed, and agility. She is a former Dora Milaje of T'Challa. * Okoye – A former Dora Milaje.''Black Panther'' Vol. 3 #1. Marvel Comics. Okoye is of the J'Kuwali tribe and acted as a traditional, proper concomitant to the king, speaking only to him and only in Hausa, an African language not widely spoken in Wakanda and thus affording the king and his wives a measure of privacy. * Queen Divine Justice – The street-smart queen of the Jabari tribe of Wakanda raised in Chicago, and former Dora Milaje of T'Challa. She originally went by the name Chanté Giovanni Brown, while her Wakandan name is Ce'Athauna Asira Davin. * Zola - The headmistress of the Dora Milaje who trained Aneka, Ayo, and Nakia.

In other media

Television

* The Dora Milaje appeared in ''

'', voiced by

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard ( ; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including four Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and three Scree ...

and Vanessa Marshall. * Okoye, Nakia, and Divine Justice of the Dora Milaje appeared in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'' episode "Welcome to Wakanda". * The Dora Milaje appeared in '' Avengers Assemble'', with Aneka voiced by Erica Luttrell while the other unnamed members are voiced by Daisy Lightfoot and

Debra Wilson Debra Wilson is an American actress and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series ''Mad TV'', having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a voice actress, she has voiced va ...

. * Okoye appears in ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes - Black Panther: Trouble in Wakanda'', voiced by Yvette Nicole Brown. * The Dora Milaje appeared in the ''

X-Men '97 ''X-Men '97'' is an American animated television series created by Beau DeMayo for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. It is a revival of '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' (1992–1997) produced b ...

'' episode "Tolerance is Extinction – Part 3".

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Dora Milaje appear in live-action media set in the

Video games

* A member of the Dora Milaje appears in '' Lego Marvel's Avengers''. * The Dora Milaje appear in '' Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order''.

Collected editions

References

External links

* * * * {{Black Panther Black people in comics Comics characters introduced in 1998 Fictional female soldiers Marvel Comics female characters Marvel Comics military personnel Marvel Comics organizations Wakandans