Black Panther Concept Art Reveals Shuri's Unused Vibranium Suit

File this one under "should've been in the dang movie". 

Judging by the reactions from critics and audiences both, it sounds like everyone's pretty pleased with how Black Panther turned out. Still, there's always room for improvement, and some concept art from the movie has been unearthed that shows just how much cooler the movie could've been.

The concept art, posted by Comic Book Resources, comes from the tie-in book Marvel's Black Panther: The Art of the Movie, and reveals a second, fully-fledged vibranium Black Panther suit custom-made for its creator, T'Challa's brilliant sister, Shuri.

The suit, an all-black ensemble with panther-head gauntlets similar to the ones Shuri used in the movie, is an awesome tease for a Shuri setpiece we never got to see, and maybe a sign of things to come in the all-but-guaranteed Black Panther sequel.

In the comics, Shuri actually does assume the mantle of Black Panther for awhile after T'Challa is left comatose and incapacitated. As Black Panther deftly demonstrates, she clearly knows enough about the ins and outs of the suit to be not just helpful in a fight, but crucial to winning it — which makes sense, being that she designed the thing. 

Comments from Marvel producer Nate Moore pegging Shuri as the "smartest person in the world" hint that the higher-ups at the studio clearly have a lot of respect for the character, but do they have big plans for her that involve her one day donning the Panther suit in a support role, or daresay as a lead? Time will tell. If Marvel's listening to fan response, they'll put Shuri front and center for the next one. Or maybe, if we're really lucky, she's suiting up for her appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, because there's nothing like the arrival of Thanos to make Earth's heroes pull out all the stops.

Black Panther is in theaters now.