The Women of Marvel
All photos courtesy of Marvel Studios.
For more than 20 movies, fans have fallen in love with the male characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Not only are the men attractive and strong, the women are too. Here they are. All in one place. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
WANDA MAXIMOFF
First appearance: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Latest appearance: WandaVision
Portrayed by: Elizabeth Olsen
Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch is one of the Avengers and a prominent female character of the MCU. We first meet her in Avengers: Age of Ultron along with her twin brother, Pietro Maximoff aka Quicksilver. Wanda is one of the most badass characters in the entire Marvel franchise. Her abilities (telekinesis, telepathy, and energy manipulation) make her stand out. When she does her signature head tilt, that’s when you know it’s game over. Wanda stars in her own show called WandaVision which explores her character and her relationship with fellow Avenger, Vision.
NATASHA ROMANOFF
First appearance: Iron Man 2
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Scarlett Johansson
Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow is one of the original Avengers. We first meet her in Iron Man 2. She is mesmerizing to watch on screen because of her fighting tactics and movements. Although Nat does not have supernatural powers like Wanda, she is still just as badass. With Captain Marvel being Marvel’s first female-led film, Nat is getting her own film as well. It’s titled Black Widow and it was originally supposed to be released in 2020 but it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is slated to be released this year or in 2022.
GAMORA
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Zoe Saldana
We first meet Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. We learn that half of her race was wiped out and is found by none other than Thanos who ends up adopting her. She becomes Nebula’s adopted sister. She meets Star-Lord, Drax, Rocket, and Groot on her journey to steal the Orb. The Guardians of Galaxy are basically like a dysfunctional family. Gamora makes appearances in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. There is a lot that happens to her but that’s all I am going to say. We will see her again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The release date may be 2023 but it has not been 100% confirmed.
NEBULA
First appearance: Guardians of the Galaxy
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Karen Gillan
We first meet Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy. She is Thanos’ adopted daughter and Gamora’s adopted sister. She is an interesting character because she has so many layers. There are times when we don’t know if she’s a villain or a hero. We will see her again in Thor: Love and Thunder which is set to be released in 2022. We will also see Nebula again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which may be released in 2023.
CAROL DANVERS
First appearance: Captain Marvel
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Brie Larson
Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel is a former U.S. Air Force pilot. She gained her cosmic powers from encountering the tesseract. We first meet Carol in Captain Marvel. Fun fact: Captain Marvel is the first female-led movie Marvel has made so far. Captain Marvel takes on a journey as it does for Carol. Carol makes a few appearances in Avengers: Endgame. We will see her again in The Marvels which is set to be released in 2022.
VALKYRIE
First appearance: Thor: Ragnarok
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Tessa Thompson
We first meet Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok. She was a previous member of the Valkyries, a dedicated group of women who swore to protect the Asgardian throne. After their defeat at the hands of the ruthless Hela, she resided on Sakaar. Years after these events, she finds Thor and takes him to Sakaar to present him to the Grandmaster. The two do not get along at first but end up becoming good friends towards the end of the film. Valkyrie is one of the most underrated characters of the MCU. Her character is full of great humor and sarcasm. We will see her again in Thor: Love and Thunder which is set to be released in 2022. She is also confirmed to be Marvel’s first LGBTQ+ character.
PEPPER POTTS
First appearance: Iron Man
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Gwyneth Paltrow
Pepper Potts is the CEO of Stark Industries. Yes, she’s a total boss woman. She was Tony Stark’s assistant until the two developed romantic feelings for each other. Pepper got married to Tony and had a daughter named Morgan. After Tony’s death, she attended his funeral along with their daughter. It is not clear if we’ll see Pepper again so for now we’ll just have to wait and see.
DARCY LEWIS
First appearance: Thor
Latest appearance: WandaVision
Portrayed by: Kat Dennings
Darcy Lewis is one of the most underrated characters in the MCU. She is an astrophysicist who we first meet in the first Thor film. She’s quirky and absolutely brilliant. Years after the events of the Thor and Thor: The Dark World, we see her again in WandaVision. She is recruited to figure out what is happening in WestView. It’s her witty charm and intellect that makes her such a lovable character. She is not going to be appearing in Thor: Love and Thunder.
SHURI
First appearance: Black Panther
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Leticia Wright
Shuri is T’Challa’s sister and the Princess of Wakanda. Wakanda Forever! We first meet her in Black Panther. She’s incredibly smart and witty. She created the modern technology that exists on Wakanda. She was tasked by T’Challa to remove the mind stone from Vision’s head in Avengers: Infinity War. We get to see her again in Black Panther 2 which is set be released in the summer of 2022.
HELA
First appearance: Thor: Ragnarok
Latest appearance: Thor: Ragnarok
Portrayed by: Cate Blanchett
Hela is the sister of Thor and Loki and the daughter of Odin. She is the goddess of death. She was imprisoned by Odin for the chaos she caused. She was released after her father’s passing. It is interesting that she is Thor’s sister because I don’t see the physical resemblance but her and Loki look like twins. They also have similar alpha-personalities. Both crave power and have great senses of humor. Anyways, Hela was killed at the end of the film by Surtur which I find hard to believe because she was so powerful. Maybe she isn’t dead? My rule is: if we don’t see a body, they’re not dead. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
PEGGY CARTER
First appearance: Captain America: The First Avenger
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Hayley Atwell
Peggy Carter is one of the original founders of S.H.I.E.L.D. We first meet her in Captain America: The First Avenger. She falls in love with Steve Rogers aka Captain America. We see her make an appearance in Ant-Man and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. She passes away in her sleep due to old age and Alzheimer’s disease. After figuring out time travel in Avengers: Endgame, Steve travels back in time to the 1940s. He marries her and grows old with her. Peggy is one of the original female Marvel characters along with Pepper Potts.
HOPE VAN DYNE
First appearance: Ant-Man
Latest appearance: Avengers: Endgame
Portrayed by: Evangeline Lilly
Hope van Dyne aka the Wasp is the daughter of scientist Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne. We first meet Hope in Ant-Man. She is smart, sarcastic, and cynical like her Dad. She becomes the Wasp in Ant-Man and the Wasp. In first film, we learn that Hope’s mother dies in a heroic effort to save her father. In the second film, we learn that her mother is still alive and the gang enacts a rescue mission in attempts to save her. We will see Hope again in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The film may be released in 2022 but there has been no official release date yet.
MONICA RAMBEAU
First appearance: Captain Marvel
Latest appearance: WandaVision
Portrayed by: Teyonah Parris
Monica Rambeau is the daughter of Captain Maria Rambeau. We first meet Monica in Captain Marvel as a young girl. We meet Monica again in WandaVision as a grown adult. She takes on the alias, Geraldine, in the first few episodes. Once Wanda threw her out of her reality (and I mean it; she literally threw her) Monica’s mission has been to confront Wanda about what has been going on in her reality and outside of it. In episode 7, we see Monica gain her powers. Darcy Lewis warns Monica about going back in the Hex because the first time has already altered her DNA. We will be seeing her in The Marvels which is set to be released in 2022.
AGATHA HARKNESS
First appearance: WandaVision
Latest appearance: WandaVision
Portrayed by: Kathryn Hahn
Agatha Harkness is a sorceress who has telekinetic, mental manipulation, flight, illusion manipulation powers, and telepathic immunity. She posed as Agnes, Wanda and Vision’s nosy neighbor in WandaVision. In episode 7, Agatha reveals herself to Wanda. She even has her own catchy theme song. Hahn does an amazing job combining intensity and comedy into Agatha. We find out that Harkness is the one who has been manipulating everything. She controlled Herb, lied to Vision, killed Sparky the dog, and sent “Pietro” to watch over Wanda. Not to mention that she has her own theme song that fans have been going crazy over. I think we all thought Wanda was controlling everything but now we know it was Agatha all along.
JANE FOSTER
First appearance: Thor
Latest appearance: Thor: The Dark World
Portrayed by: Natalie Portman
Jane Foster is one of the world’s leading astrophysicists and a well-known doctor. We first meet her in the first Thor film. She is headstrong, smart, and stubborn. In Thor, she meets Thor through a life changing encounter. The two fall in love but separate down the line. In Thor: Ragnarok, fans take a picture with Thor and one says, “Sorry to hear that Jane dumped you.” Thor responds by saying it was a mutual dumping. Guess we’ll be finding out what happened with them in Thor: Love and Thunder. She is set to appear in this film. It will be released in 2022.
Conclusion
As you can see, the MCU is full of female superheroes that kick ass and are just as awesome as the guys. Marvel continues to include more female characters in their cinematic universe with every film and television show they release. So, here’s to the next set of badass female superheroes from this revolutionary franchise.
