The Marvel Cinematic Universe officially has a new best character: Shuri, the resident tech wizard and T'Challa's little sister from Black Panther. There have already been plenty of think pieces on what her role will be in Infinity War. Will she steal Tony Stark's techie title? Hopefully. Will she continue to annoy T'Challa even as they save the world? Probably. But I have a larger role in mind for her. She's charismatic, she's brave, she's funny -- all qualities of a good leader, in my book. In fact, when she raises her hand to challenge T'Challa's new throne just to mess with him in the new movie, I could feel half the audience wishing they could have seen that battle go down.

So, how do we get Shuri on that throne?

It's actually a lot more likely that she'll be made queen than you'd expect, especially considering what's currently on the horizon of the MCU. In a recent storyline in the comics, a wounded T'Challa is unable to protect Wakanda, so Shuri is nominated as the successor to the Black Panther title. The powers of the Black Panther initially don't take, but after proving her selflessness and bravery without them by donning the Black Panther armor and protecting Wakanda on her own, she is granted the same powers as T'Challa. Once T'Challa wakes up, though, he doesn't stay in Wakanda to reclaim his title. He leaves Wakanda behind so he can stop Doctor Doom, who's threatening the world again for one reason or another. But T'Challa doesn't leave Wakanda without a leader. Shuri stays behind to assume both the throne and the Black Panther mantle.

Infinity War comes out April 27th, and we already know Thanos' appearance will be world-threatening. It's more than likely whatever chaos he brings with him will call every Avenger to the battlefield, including T'Challa, leaving Wakanda without a leader and without a Black Panther. Unless...

Even if Infinity War doesn't take this route, I still believe Shuri will take on a larger role in the MCU. As it stands, Shuri is already a princess and technical genius, but, in the comics, she is just as much the Black Panther as T'Challa is. She has the potential to be a queen, technical genius, and superhero all wrapped into one. I mean, she's already made a small collection of Black Panther suits. How much is it to ask that she try one on herself?

There's no doubt the royal family has a long life with the MCU. The box office is still breaking records, so I'm expecting nothing less than the number of sequels the rest of the boys are getting. So, if we're lucky, Shuri's sitting on the throne in her Black Panther garb just a few films down the road.