Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dolls Okoye, Nakia, and Shuri by World of EPI
Okoye, Nakia, and Shuri are the first in the Fresh Fierce line of vinyl articulated dolls representing Marvel Studios' Black Panther: Wakanda Forever characters. Dr. Lisa of World of EPI partnered with Marvel to bring the characters to three-dimensional 11-1/2-inch inanimate life. She is to be commended on this partnership and for producing dolls that bear a strong resemblance to actors Leticia Wright (Shuri), Danai Gurira (Okoye), and Lupita Nyong'o (Nakia). (Please do not confuse the 11-1/2 inch World of EPI dolls with the 6-inch action figures.)
Geared toward children ages 6 and up, many adult collectors scrambled to purchase the Target-exclusive dolls when they became available for sale at most Target stores and online on October 1, 2022. I attempted to order on October 1st but only one of the three was available online. After checking Target's website again in the early morning hours on October 2, 2022, all three were available to order. The dolls were delivered to my doorstep the next morning. (See the ordering links at the end of this post.)
An online description and my actual photos follow.
Each doll "features intricate costume designs and custom-blended skin tones. Kids can use each dolls’ various points of articulation to pose them for action and recreate scenes from the film. Every doll also comes with its own signature battle accessory, including Shuri with her helmet, Okoye with her vibranium spear, and Nakia with her ring blades (Toy Insider).
Shuri
Shuri wears a two-piece top and shirt costume of contrasting blues with white boots, and a silver beaded bracelet. She holds her silver helmet.
Shuri's eyes are painted brown. The brown rooted hair is short and curly on the top and painted brown around the sides and in the back.
This photo captures a closer look at the white ankle boots.
An illustration of Shuri along with her bio is on the back of the back.
Shuri and bio
Shuri's bio reads:
The princess of Wakanda and lead scientist of the Wakandan Design Group, Shuri will be forced to overcome the grief of losing her brother T'Challa when Wakanda's borders are breached by an unexpected threat.
Okoye
Okoye wears the Dora Milaje costume and holds a vibranium spear.
The entirety of Okoye's bald head has a patterned orange and brown tattoo. Her painted eyes are also brown.
She boldly holds a vibranium spear.
An illustration of Okoye and her bio are on the back of the box.
The bio
Okoye's bio reads:
The General of the Dora Milaje and leader of Wakanda's armies, Okoye is the nation's fiercest warrior. However, she will be challenged like never before when she battles both a foe beyond her strength and the very traditions of Wakanda itself.
Nakia
Nakia's lime green, blue, and gold patterned one-piece costume is worn with knee-high royal blue boots with attached knee pads. She holds two ring blades.
Nakia also has brown painted eyes (one, unfortunately, looks smaller than the other) as illustrated in the close-up photos.
The "droopiness" of one eye is more apparent in this photo.
Nakia's brown rooted locs extend below the waist.
The knee-high boots have built-in knee pads.
Nakia is also illustrated on the back of the box where her bio is included.
The bio
Nakia's bio reads:
The former War Dog has stayed true to her word after the events of Black Panther by helping those in need outside of Wakanda. Nakia will have to put her political differences aside and return to Wakanda when a new threat arises.
A recent @thefreshdolls Instagram post (seen below) is captioned, "We are very excited to announce that yesterday we were announced winners in the TOTYs awards in the Doll of the Year category!" (TOTY=Toys of the Year.)
There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________
Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.
If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.
My new post at Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black about Dr. Lisa's Fresh Dolls can be read here. Please let me know what you think and share the link. Thanks, and enjoy! dbg
__________
Thank you for following this blog, for reading the posts, and for your comments. If you are not already a subscriber, go to the homepage. If the right sidebar is not visible, scroll to the bottom and click "desktop view," locate and click "subscribe to posts." Optionally, also subscribe to comments. There is also an email subscription box for those who would like to receive posts by email.
Guest speaker, Dr. Lisa Williams, continued below:
This beautiful one-of-a-kind raffle doll honors Linda Brown of the landmark civil rights case, Brown v. Board of Education which led to the outlawing of US school segregation in 1954. Sadly, Ms. Brown died earlier this year on March 25, 2018.
__________
#BlackBooksMatter
If you will be in the Oakland, California area on November 10, 2018, and you love dolls, ABBA's Festival of Black Dolls Show and Sale is an event you do not want to miss.
ABBDA is the oldest Black Doll organization in California. It was founded in 1984 by Karen Oyekanmi as a means of creating an appreciation of Black dolls for play and education.
Thank you, Karen Oyekanmi, (the artist of the raffle doll and, as indicated above, the founder of ABBDA) for allowing me to share this newsletter with the readers of this blog.
Thank you for following this blog, for reading the posts, and for your comments. If you are not already a subscriber, go to the homepage. If the right sidebar is not visible, scroll to the bottom and click "desktop view," locate and click "subscribe to posts." Optionally, also subscribe to comments. There is also an email subscription box for those who would like to receive posts by email.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
