Moments subpages are Spoilers Off. You Have Been Warned!
Wakanda may be mourning their king, but even in its Darkest Hour, there are still some laughs to be had.
- When Ramonda visits Shuri in her lab to chastise her about working constantly, she also makes a comment that her personal AI might "kill us all" one day. Shuri disagrees despite what happened in Sokovia being world news.
- We get our first glimpse at the Midnight Angel armor, built in order to bolster the strength of the Dora Milaje. It's been in the works for a while, but Okoye is not a fan of A) relying too heavily on Shuri's technology, or B) the armor's design.Okoye: Is it me, or does that thing get uglier every time I see it?Shuri: It's you.
- When Okoye says that the legends and fables regarding Vibranium are seared in her mind:Shuri: That sounds very painful.
- Shuri is eager to leave on the mission to MIT so she can see her "favorite colonizer". (cut to Everett Ross)
- M'Baku and Okoye trading barbs, ending with M'Baku referring to Okoye as a "bald-headed demon". Ramonda is quickly unamused and demands the two of them show respect to their peers. When M'Baku further lashes out at the River Tribe, Ramonda has enough and wordlessly points at him to take his seat. M'Baku relents… but defiantly takes another bite out of his carrot, still throwing shade at the River Tribe. With the way Okoye calls Ramonda "mother", it's easy to imagine Ramonda is the Team Mom to the squabbling council members all the same, and to see this as just a mother silencing her bickering children.
- When the Merchant Tribe Elder asks for clarification on how Namor wants to kill Riri, the Mining Tribe Elder immediately demands they comply with his demands, earning a double take from everyone.
- Throughout the council meeting, M'Baku is seen periodically taking bites out of a large carrot. He and his tribe are vegetarians, after all.
- Okoye and Shuri's trip to MIT to find Riri is rife with comedic scenes:
- The women argue over who should look for Riri, and Shuri points out that Okoye is still lousy at undercover work. In addition to being a bald woman, her outfit consists of a black suit jacket over a barely toned-down Dora Milaje uniform. Meanwhile, Shuri is wearing a fashionable jumpsuit and is young enough to pass for a college student.
- When Okoye updates Ramonda on the mission, she tells her how MIT and its vast trove of knowledge is equivalent to just a standard Wakandan village school, and dismisses an iPhone as outdated tech. Ramonda, meanwhile, is already dreading the inevitable reveal that the scientist is some Teen Genius.Ramonda: Please tell me it's a professor.
- Riri is completely starstruck by Shuri. "The Princess of Wakanda is in my dorm room!" When talking about her invention and what she does on campus to get by, she bitterly says "to be young, gifted and black, right?" Then she realizes that reference probably doesn't exist in Wakanda.
- Riri asks if her device has somehow angered Wakanda. When Shuri tells her that Wakanda is the least of her worries and they have to leave now, Riri replies that she has differential equations class in 15 minutes...and Shuri gives her a look that positively screams "You're kidding, right?" Surprisingly similar to another Teen Genius more concerned with school than a clash of powers.
- When Okoye shows up, Shuri insists that she asked for five minutes to talk with Riri alone. Okoye replies she gave her six minutes.
- How Riri meets Okoye - namely, after being told that Namor is hunting her down, she decides to dip into the bathroom for a bit - only to discover that Okoye's apparently been hiding in there the whole time. Riri's response? Panic, followed by chucking a wireless speaker at the general of the Dora Milaje, with predictable results. Shuri manages to calm her down before she can follow up by throwing a space heater.Okoye: [grinning from ear to ear] I like her!
- When looking for Riri at MIT, Okoye worries to Shuri that her makeup doesn't look right, though Shuri reassures her otherwise. This is brought up again when they meet Riri and she refers to Okoye's "ashy head", causing Okoye to tell Shuri "I told you!". Even better? Shuri starts to laugh with the "ashy head" remark, meaning she was trolling Okoye when she was reassuring her about the makeup.
- Shuri defuses the situation by suggesting the Wakandans can just leave, so Riri can take on "the murderous merman" with her space heater.Riri: W-wait, the what?
- Okoye is very unhappy that Shuri gave her AI control of the car she was in so they could split up despite Okoye's protest to this plan. She tells the AI in no uncertain terms that she's going to shove her spear where the sun don't shine if he doesn't give control of the car to her. He is very quick to do so.Okoye: GRIOT?Griot: Yes, General?Okoye: Take me to the princess, or I will drive my spear so deep into your CPU you will not be able to process basic inputs for a millennia.Griot: Just one moment, please.
- At Riri's lab, they see something she built. Shuri asks if it can fly, and Okoye is shocked when Riri answers in the affirmative.Okoye: This thing can fly?
Riri: There's a whole YouTube channel dedicated to sightings of me.
- Namora single-handedly killing the cops who saw the Talokanil taking Riri and Shuri ... is reduced to a Black Comedy Funny Background Event after one of them wonders why she's blue. All of them are swiftly cut down and never mentioned again. When she's done, Namora is just annoyed it's taking Attuma so long to handle Okoye.
- Down in Talokan, Shuri is given a new outfit to wear to meet with Namor. Riri panics, pointing to a pattern of movies where female characters are given a dress to wear before meeting a villain – namely Princess Leia from Star Wars, Marion Ravenwood from Indiana Jones, and Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Beauty and the Beast are all Disney properties, just like Marvel.
- Also of note is Shuri's reply, completely referencing the previous film.Shuri: It's alright. You should see what I have to wear at Warrior Falls.
- During Shuri's stay in the underwater cave as a Talokan guest/hostage, she asks Namor permission to see their city. He advises her against going "dressed like that" (in a beautiful, but rather modest robe she received as a goodwill gift), seemingly encouraging her to switch for a more Stripperific local attire... then clarifies that what he actually meant was that between the low temperature, high pressure and presence of natural toxins, she needs something more. He tells her in a low, dangerous tone that she'd never survive... then cheerily says that she'll need a diving suit. "We have some of those!" Cue the Talokans bringing in a big, bulky, definitely-not-sexy diving suit. In a bit of Black Comedy, it's one of the suits they took from the divers they killed.
- After Nakia's rescue of Shuri from Talokan, M'Baku is seen rhetorically asking his men if Ramonda will banish her as a reward. While dampened by the implication that he's genuinely sympathetic about Okoye's situation, his dry delivery and the amused reactions of his men make his quip funny nonetheless.
- During Talokan's siege of Wakanda, M'Baku sees a fin submerging in the flood and goes to investigate. He's utterly baffled to see an orca serving as a beast of burden for the invaders. Later, he enthusiastically rowed his boat and valiantly leaps towards Namor and swings his staff at the king's head... only for Namor to effortlessly destroy the weapon and swat the Jabari leader aside with a single punch. It's M'Baku's dumbfounded expression and panicked wheezing for air after having it knocked out of him by Namor afterwards that sells it. His nickname for Namor is prone to give some chuckles. What sells it more is that one keen-eyed viewer could see M'Baku's boat looming past as Namor conversed with Namora."The Fish-Man!"
- While it's in the middle of a dramatic moment, Nakia and Riri respond to Shuri slamming the Dora Milaje armor against the wall with a single punch with a stunned, simultaneous "Shit." Riri then asks if she can also try the heart-shaped herb. Even better is the fact that Shuri was ranting about how the herb didn't work, just to be Instantly Proven Wrong.Shuri: [completely dumbfounded]
Riri: Can I get some of that? - M'Baku is meeting with the Elders who tell him that more refugees are coming, and M'Baku exasperatedly says he’s already tired of their handwringing over every minor problem.M'Baku: They need more space. So what?! You are visitors! It is a wonder how anything gets done with you people!
- During the council meeting, M'Baku reveals that he knows that Namor is also called K'uk'ulkan, the feathered serpent god, and how this means that his people see him as far more than a king. Everyone else stares at him in bafflement.M'Baku: What? You think that because we live in the mountains, we do not have access to books?
- Though Ross is shocked at discovering Valentina's ambition to have the United States control the vibranium of the world, there's something amusing about how openly and excitedly the CIA director admits it, hammily saying she dreams of such. The woman doesn't even bother to hide her true intentions — and just acted like a cartoonish supervillain!
- Remember Shuri saying that Riri could fight Namor with her space heater? That's basically what she does in the final battle: she traps him inside a ship filled with heaters to dehydrate him.Shuri: What's wrong? You need a glass of water?
- Though a bit of Nightmare Fuel considering Wakanda is quickly losing the battle at the time, M'Baku's audible panic when he asks for the ancestors to save them if Shuri doesn't hurry can be quite funny.
- After Okoye breaks Ross out, she notes the irony in seeing a "colonizer in chains" and says she has now seen everything. Ross's panic at being faced with the Midnight Angel who just took out the agents driving his prison truck morphing into immediate, visible relief when Okoye reveals herself is also amusing; he's probably one of the only people in the world who would react as such.
- The whole ceremony to crown the monarch turned onto its head when M'Baku steps out of the Talon and issues his challenge for the throne. It certainly got a chuckle out of his Jabari men, and the others present, from Ayo to the Elders, mostly laugh and roll their eyes. Wakanda's in for a rough ride with this jokester about to become king...
- Everybody present seems unsurprised at M'Baku’s challenge, and even happy about it, suggesting they knew ahead of time this was probably going to happen and are okay with it. The only Wakandan who seems unhappy about it is the River Tribe member (seen next to the Border Tribe Elder) who earlier bickered with M'Baku during the council meeting. He has a flat, unamused expression, as if he’s dreading the guy who disrespected him in front of the Queen becoming his new king.
- Though it's mostly a bittersweet scene, Shuri's bewilderment at learning that she is an aunt to a child her brother fathered without her knowing can bring a chuckle.
- After telling Toussaint that his name carries a very powerful history and is a strong, good name, he replies that her name "is cool, too, I guess."
