Tuesday, September 8, 2015

5 Female Superheroes Who Need to Join the MCU ASAP

As always, Marvel continues to rise as the best superhero franchise on the big screen (sorry, DC). With this past summer's blockbuster hits of Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, they've proved they can assemble once more and create a successful movie about a hero called "Ant-Man." But one thing they're not so smooth with is the addition of female superheroes.


Sure, we've got Black Widow leading the pack with Scarlet Witch, we've got the kick-butt ladies of Agents of SHIELD getting work done, we've got Gamora keeping the galaxy in check, and we've got Peggy Carter starting everything off with a bang in the 1950s. But when you look at the new heroes to grace the silver screen in upcoming Marvel movies, the female hero is lacking. Eventually we'll have female Captain Marvel, but that's not until 2018! We need more boss lady power now.

There are plenty of female superheroes that could easily be added into the story arcs of the MCU, especially the upcoming Civil War film. Whether Marvel will surprise us or not, I don't know, but here's a list of five female heroes I'd root for if they joined the MCU.

She-Hulk/Jennifer Walters



First off, who wouldn't want another Hulk to join the MCU? Green, strong, powerful, but a boss lady? I love Bruce to bits, but Jennifer Walters aka She-Hulk has a lot to offer. First, she's related to Bruce (cousins, so not another romance tie we don't need) and he gives her a blood transfusion to save her life; thus, she gets similar powers as him. Sure, she retains her personality when she "goes green," and she keeps her intelligence and control about her when she transforms, but it's still the same powers. When she transforms, she gains a more "Amazonian" body type, which would also be nice to include on the silver screen. Plus, she feels confident in her "green" skin, preferring it to her original body, which sends a great message about body image. Anybody--gender, size, color--can be a hero after all.


If Marvel plans to transition the current Avengers team into the next phase of Avengers, I think a Hulk-like character would be awfully helpful for the team. She's also a lawyer. On numerous occasions in the comics, Jennifer served as a legal counselor for superheroes. Superheroes need lawyers (plus, I'd love to see her up against Nelson and Murdock). She's very involved in the comics Civil War story arc, being a lawyer at the forefront of the registration act. So why are we not getting her in the film? I don't know, friends. I don't know.

In addition, She-Hulk is a member of the Defenders, which is going to be a Netflix miniseries at some point in the future. This would be a perfect opportunity to introduce her into the MCU alongside Dardevil and Luke Cage; then, eventually, she could join the Avengers team in the big screen movies (with Daredevil too, please!)

The She-Hulk writer, Peter David, also state she's like the Wonder Woman for Marvel: strong and intelligent, balancing the two for a strong moral center and determination. She sounds like one heroine I'd love to get to know.

Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew



Most of us are so over Spider-Man, right? I mean, another reboot where nothing is changed or altered except maybe his age. Why not give the whole "spider" theme a new spin by introducing Spider-Woman, or Jessica Drew?

First, she's got similar history to old Steve Rogers. Experimentation, incubation for decades, crazy new superpowers. I mean, she could really relate to Cap in an interesting way (he does invite her to join the Avengers personally too). Plus, she didn't get bitten by a radioactive spider or have a blood transfusion from Peter Parker. In the original story, she got sick and was injected with a serum, which then left her in an incubation tank for decades.

Second, she gets captured by HYDRA and is brainwashed into being their agent. I feel like this could be any easy story arc to add to the MCU through, oh I don't know, Agents of SHIELD? Couldn't you just see Spider-Woman face off against Agent May? Sounds fun. I'm in.

Third, her abilities sound way cooler than Spider-Man's "spidey senses." Sure, she's got the same kind of reflexes, agility, and boosted senses (smell and hearing) as Spidey. She's also strong, she's fast, she's got a metal... oh wait... But she does have the ability to fly, which is way cooler than swinging on webs. And she's got this cool power called "venom blasts" where she can knock people out by bio-energy from her pals. Talk about marvelous.


(Or Marvel could even introduce Spider-Gwen, a second version of Spider-Woman from a universe where Gwen gains abilities and Peter Parker dies.)

Spider-Woman could provide some interesting character development and story arcs for the MCU. Your call.

Medusa



Medusa may be a less familiar name, but she's still a pretty powerful boss lady. She's an Inhuman and she's considered royalty. Talk about powerful.

While her back story is far from simple (you know: two brothers fighting over her affections, amnesia, and fighting the Fantastic Four), this lady is strong in morality and fairness. Plus, she's got an array of cool powers: every strand of her luxurious, red hair has tensile strength, elasticity, and shear resistance. She can psychokinetically command her hair to grow longer, lift heavy objects, and move as if it were extra appendages (thus, she could snap her hair like a whip, bind people with it, or even pick locks).


Medusa spends her time communicating to the rest of the Inhumans and outsiders for her husband, Black Bolt, whose vocal chords set off a destructive shock-wave. This is obviously no easy task, which is why she sits next to him as Queen of the Inhumans.

If Marvel decides Black Bolt will be an addition to the Inhumans through AoS or the Inhumans movie (which he should be since he's the king!), I think it will be vital for Medusa to be present as well. Plus, who wouldn't want a heroine with badass hair?

Hawkeye/Kate Bishop



Now, I'm a huge fan of Clint Barton, especially in the MCU. I love that he's gotten a bigger role in the latest Avengers movie. But I recently read through the Hawkeye comics by Matt Fraction, and I met Kate Bishop--the other Hawkeye. I love her.

Not only is she able to stand eye-to-eye with Clint when it comes to archery, but she definitely rivals him in personality. Kate's just plain funny; she's independent, blunt, and tough-minded. Poor Clint probably didn't know what hit him when she waltzed into his life.

Kate has a wide range of skills including: archery, fencing, jujitsu, boxing, swordsmanship, and stealing other people's dogs (okay, that last one is a joke, but she does "take" Clint's dog for a time). She's kind of an awesome mix between Hawkeye (Clint) and Mockingbird (Bobbi) with her skills and costume pattern.


So why should Kate join the MCU? Well, if they ever make a Hawkeye TV show based off his mundane life comics, count me in, but I sense the Hawkeye we know will soon be saying adios to the silver screen. The Avengers team is changing dramatically over the next few movies. Clint has a family to think about; he could, sadly, be leaving the team. But Kate could take his place. She's smart, she's skilled, and she's pretty awesome.

Plus, she's part of the Young Avengers, so if Marvel would ever do something with that (like, I don't know, a TV show?), Kate Bishop is our girl to be included.

Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan


For a while, I'd been hearing good things about the new Ms.Marvel comics by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona. Kamala Khan is the new Ms. Marvel and the first Muslim character to headline her own comic. That sounds marvelous. So I had to give the comics a try. And let me tell you: this is the best comic series I've read all year (and I did read the Civil War comics and the Hawkeye comics).

Here's the thin about Kamala Khan: she's a fangirl. No, really. She's a sixteen year-old girl who sits in her room playing video games and writing fanfiction online about the Avengers. I'm not joking. This is true to the comics (She also meets, and teams-up with, Wolverine and fangirls the entire mission).

Kamala is a Pakistani-American living her every day, mundane life in New Jersey. She goes to school, she wrestles with her parents' high standards, she struggles with her faith as a Muslim, and she faces the labels all this places on her. Then she learns she's an Inhuman when she gains powers from the Terrigen Mists released upon the world. She gains powers, a new identity, and a heart to protect her city.


If there's one female superhero the world needs to know about, it's Kamala Khan. She's a fangirl, a teenager, and a person trying to deal with life and growing up. I think a lot of younger girls could benefit from the addition of her to the MCU. She'd be a great role model as she tries to do good and still attend school, obey her parents, and keep her faith. The best part? She makes mistakes and learns from them, she gets in trouble and deals with the consequences, but she doesn't let it sway her from being a hero and doing good. I loved reading the comics. I laughed, I related to her life, and I thought it was just fun.

Marvel, just give me a TV show about Kamala Khan already!


There are plenty more female super heroes that could join the MCU. Over time, I hope we see some of these faces--and more. The X-Men franchise has had a great run including a wide range of female characters, so I hope the MCU will catch on and add more soon.

Or we could just beg (bribe?) Marvel to make a movie about the A-Force team (you know, the team of all-female superheroes).

Which female superheroes would you like to see join the MCU?

1 comment:

  1. YES, I NEED THESE! *whistles innocently as she rushes to go find these superladies before she is too late*

    ReplyDelete