The general of Wakanda's royal guard, who is loyal to the throne rather than to whoever happens to be sitting on it, and who is made to prove that.
Okoye is the character who makes Wakanda feel like a country rather than a set. She is the general of the Dora Milaje, the royal guard, and her loyalty is constitutional: she serves the throne, and the film puts her in the one situation where that is unbearable.
When Erik Killmonger wins the challenge and becomes king, he becomes king legitimately. Okoye’s oath does not have an exception for this. What she does next is the most interesting decision anyone makes in Black Panther, and the film makes her say it out loud rather than letting her off with a look.
She is also, straightforwardly, the best fighter in these films who has no enhancements at all.
Show detailsWhere her entry comes from
There is no standalone reference article for this version of the character. The page cited here is the Marvel Cinematic Universe character list, which carries her section and the count of her four film appearances.
That is worth saying plainly rather than hiding behind a link. A character this central having no article of her own is a fact about how this material is documented, not about how important she is in it.