The Kimoyo Beads are advanced Wakandan technology that has been developed from Vibranium by the Wakandan Design Group to serve a number of purposes.[1]
History
The Kimoyo Beads are pieces of advanced communication technology utilized by the Wakandans from Vibranium. The prime bead provides a lifetime's worth of medical knowledge and is given to each individual at birth. Additional beads are added to serve various purposes, such as communication or vehicle control.[2]
Arrest of Ulysses Klaue
Okoye used her Kimoyo Beads to inform both T'Challa and W'Kabi at the Border Village that Wakanda had obtained intel regarding the presence of Ulysses Klaue in South Korea to sell a Vibranium artifact to an unidentified buyer. In the throne room, Okoye gave the Tribal Council the information they had through holograms with her Kimoyo Beads. Thus, T'Challa decided to plan a mission in order to arrest Klaue. To that end, Shuri gave T'Challa another version of the Kimoyo Beads, named Remote Access Kimoyo Beads, to use in the mission.
T'Challa uses a Kimoyo Bead to stabilize Everett Ross
Once Klaue was arrested and brought to the CIA South Korean Black Site, the facility was attacked by Erik Killmonger who successfully released Klaue. Everett Ross was heavily wounded in the assault, and T'Challa put a Kimoyo Bead in the wound so that it would stabilize Ross long enough for him to be treated in Wakanda. As they hid him in Shuri's lab, they received a signal through their Kimoyo Beads informing them of W'Kabi's arrival.[2]
Erik Killmonger's Arrival
When Erik Killmonger was brought into Wakanda by W'Kabi, Okoye unsuccessfully tried to contact T'Challa by Kimoyo Beads. She then called Shuri and transferred to her the information she had about Killmonger, enabling Everett Ross, who was standing next to Shuri, to identify him.
Shuri uses her Kimoyo Beads to activate the Wakandan Maglev Train
During the Battle of Mount Bashenga, Shuri used her Kimoyo Beads to activate the Wakandan Maglev Train in the Great Mound where her brother was fighting against Killmonger in order to disable their respective Panther Habits. Additionally, Ross was also given a wristband of Kimoyo Beads so that he could remotely pilot the Royal Talon Fighter thanks to the Remote Access Kimoyo Beads put on the aircraft by Shuri.[2]
Infinity War
Okoye monitors the breach in the protective dome with her Kimoyo Beads
Shuri used her Kimoyo Beads to scan Vision's body and project a holographic image of the Mind Stone embedded in his head as she had been tasked with safely removing the Stone without killing Vision. When the Black Order arrived outside of the kingdom's force fields, Okoye used her Kimoyo Beads to project an image of the Outriders' dropships.
During the Battle of Wakanda, T'Challa communicated with his sister with his Kimoyo Beads, telling her to hurry with the Mind Stone's extraction.[3]
Capabilities
The Kimoyo Beads are specially crafted to serve a multitude of purposes in accordance to what the wearer needs. Different beads have been shown capable of capturing and projecting holographic images and recordings. Their Vibranium composition allows them to be used for medical purposes, such as stabilizing the condition of a wounded Everett Ross. They can also be used to scan a given subject, as Shuri did with Vision's Mind Stone.
The Kimoyo Beads have also been shown to control various types of Wakandan technology, as Shuri was able to control the Wakandan Maglev Train's systems, activating the train's stabilizers that weakened the defenses of T'Challa's and Erik Killmonger's Panther Habits, respectively.
They can also be used as communication or recording devices over a long distance, as T'Challa was able to communicate with Shuri through her Remote Access Kimoyo Beads from South Korea.
Trivia
- "Kimoyo" is Bantu for "of the spirit".
