Why Nakia Could Kill A Talokanil When Okoye Couldn’t

Okoye was unable to kill any Talokanil in her first encounter with them in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, but Nakia didn’t have the same problem later in the film. The full abilities of the inhabitants of Talokan are still a mystery, but the film did reveal some of their super-human traits. The Talokanil seemed invincible initially, but careful calculation by the Wakandans revealed some significant weaknesses.

Nakia had the benefit of catching a few Talokanil troops off-guard while Okoye fought Attuma, one of Namor’s chief advisors and strongest fighters. As a spy and war dog, Nakia was also privy to additional information, with Queen Ramonda having heard Okoye’s account of her earlier encounter. Okoye defeated three Talokanil fighters, but they were able to regenerate themselves. Nakia was at least aware of the underwater inhabitants’ susceptibility to sonic-based attacks and was able to wound the guards fatally. Even the most powerful Talokanil, Namor was temporarily staggered by a sonic blast, hinting at the severity of the weakness.

How Powerful Are The Talokanil In The MCU?

The Talokanil are among the strongest humanoids that inhabit Earth in the MCU. Though it was a surprise attack, they were able to penetrate and quickly overwhelm the nation of Wakanda, the strongest and most fortified country in the known world. A people that, with the help of the Avengers and others, could fight on par with Thanos’ army, which just goes to show how strong the Talokanil are.

The Talokanil share many traits with their Atlantean comic counterparts physically, possessing super-strength, amphibious physiology, and durability. A massive change from the comics is that many Talokanil seem to have siren abilities, whereas it is a rarer ability among Atlanteans. There also seem to be significant differences between the Talokanil as Attuma, one of the new characters introduced in Wakanda Forever, was impervious to bullets. In contrast, others of his kind were shot down in their battle against the CIA.

Can Namor Be Killed?

Though Namor is revered as a god, he is still a man and can be killed. The Sub-Mariner is shown to be immensely powerful, almost single-handedly bringing Wakanda to its knees. He is hard to kill, and it took the combined brain power of two geniuses, Riri and Shuri, to figure out how to defeat him. If he is dried out and away from water, he becomes far weaker and therefore susceptible to defeat. Had Shuri decided to finish him off, she could have.

As the first self-proclaimed mutant to hit the big screen in the MCU, Namor clearly represents how mutants will change the power structure. Though the Talokanil were supporting characters in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, they are some of the Earth’s strongest warriors. With rumors of Namor potentially getting his own feature, hopefully the MCU will give viewers a chance to dive deeper into the underwater world of Talokan.