MCU: Okoye (ESTJ)

This analysis of Okoye is specifically from the MCU movie, and not the comics. Most people peg Okoye is an ISTJ. However, we actually see more evidence of Okoye being an ESTJ.

Te:

“If he touches you again, I’m going to impale him to this desk.”

Okoye is a very intense and commanding person, even with those who should be her superiors. She expresses visible disapproval when T’Challa says that he doesn’t need her in the initial mission to retrieve Nakia. She also ignores his order and goes in anyway, which suggests that Te is overruling Si. She is incredibly aggressive, and T’Challa is shown reminding her at one point to play nice. (This is shown when they’re outside the interrogation room holding Klaue.) At one point, Okoye even goes so far as to remind T’Challa what his duties are. She’s generally very bold in the way she addresses her superiors, and her primary concern seems to be about controlling any situation that arises. You can see her conflict with T’Challa over whether or not to let Agent Ross speak to Klaue alone. She tells him it can’t be allowed to happen, and T’Challa focuses more on keeping the peace and allows it.

Okoya is task-oriented, focused and straightforward. She addresses her husband as “my love” in a very flat manner, displaying neither the typical privacy that a tertiary Fi displays but also obviously smothering out any associated emotion. (Her detachment from emotions is further supported by her unwavering and unhesitant willingness to kill her husband later on, if necessary). On the mission to retrieve Klaue, she’s also shown reminding T’Challa and Nakia to focus when they start getting involved in a more personal conversation. In addition, her desire to accomplish the mission (Te) appears to override her sense of caution (Si), which is suggested when she climbs out of the bullet proof car and onto the roof, in order to attempt an attack. (Nakia looks at her like she’s crazy).

Si:

“How could you miss Greased Lightning there behind you?”

“I thought there were no weapons allowed in here… Somebody did not get the memo.”

Okoye is loyal to the system and the rules, being unwilling to depart from it without some kind of loophole (which shows up later when T’Challa reappears, alive). She doesn’t appear to allow for any kind of nuance, or extraordinary circumstances. You see the emphasis on rules show up not only when T’Challa is seemingly killed, but also earlier on the mission to retrieve Klaue. She notices and expresses annoyance at people bringing in weapons that were not supposed to be allowed. Of course, her emphasis on her duties compels her to remind others like T’Challa of their own. She also struggles with allowing Agent Ross into Wakanda even though he had just sacrificed his own life to save Nakia’s. (This specific example also doubles as evidence that she’s not a feeler.)

Okoye is also observant and gets either annoyed or surprised when others are not. For instance, she asks how one of her teammates could have failed to notice an agent that was a little ways behind them.

Ne:

“Like an antelope in headlights.”

Okoye’s tertiary Ne comes out in small ways. She frequently displays a more relaxed and friendly relationship with T’Challa in spite of her serious, duty-bound nature. She takes a lot of liberties in making jokes about him, especially in regards to Nakia.

Her Ne also comes out in the slight witty phrases that she uses, like referring to someone as “Greased Lightning” or saying that T’Challa froze like an antelope in headlights. She’s also relatively adaptable as situations arise. She doesn’t appear to show any signs of being overly-cautious like an inferior Ne user might, but rather does things like climbing out on a top of a bullet proof car, as mentioned earlier. (Obviously, if it was necessary, an ISTJ might have done it, but the surprise from her fellow warrior, Nakia, seemed to indicate otherwise.)

Fi:

“I am not a spy who can come and go as they so choose. I am loyal to that throne no matter who sits upon it.”

Okoye’s inferior Fi comes out in a couple of different ways. The most obvious is her lack of any sign of emotion beyond aggression or anger (except in extreme circumstances, like the death of T’Challa where she fought back tears). However, beyond that, the main indicator lies in her loyalties. Obviously, her loyalty is derived from her Fi. As a soldier and commander, she is very loyal to her superiors. However, she is loyal to the system and not any specific individual or set of values, which suggests inferior Fi. It’s a very impersonal detachment, which would not be typical for a tertiary Fi user. She recognizes the evil that the new king is but her own values are not strong enough to override her loyalty to the system. Even though she expresses a desire to stay loyal to the previous royal family; she basically suppresses her own Fi in remaining to serve the new king. She claims to be with Nakia in heart, but refuses to deviate from her post and doesn’t display any direct loyalty to her former (and seemingly deceased) King, his ideals, or his family (beyond telling Nakia to get them to safety).