Marvel is incapable of writing compelling female characters, and it’s detrimental to their movies’ storylines.
Marvel’s female characters all have one or more of these faults: They are defined by their male love interest; their character growth is completely off screen; they are a plot device; they are ingrained with toxic femininity; or they become a female version of their male counterpart. That’s not even to mention just how over sexualized they are.
Wanda Maximoff, or the Scarlet Witch, is one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the driving force behind her recently discovered powers is her desire for a false life with her late love interest and fictitious children.
She is only able to reach the full potential of her power by achieving the overwhelmingly traditional “woman’s goal” of creating a healthy, picture perfect family.
Then once this imaginary family is taken away from her, she becomes one of the most destructive and irredeemable villains in Marvel. She tears through the multiverse to steal an alternate dimension’s version of her fake kids.
Natasha Romanoff, or Black Widow, is boxed into similar sexist norms in Avengers: Age of Ultron, when she and Bruce Banner, or the Hulk, are talking about the burdens of his uncontrollable Hulk.
She admits that she thinks of herself as a “monster” because of the hysterectomy she was mandated to receive while a part of the brainwashed spy organization she was raised in. Romanoff considers her inability to become pregnant just as terrible and burdensome as the Hulk, a giant green beast that destroys everything it comes in contact with.
Even for Romanoff, a dangerous and persistent spy, childbirth is the Holy Grail, enforcing toxic femininity and unhealthy stereotypes.
Many people believe that female characters having flaws could be considered insulting, but this is not the case. If a character is flawless, there is no room for character development and growth.
There’s nowhere to go for perfect characters. It also feeds the fire of the idea that women need to be perfect, like Barbie did before the new movie portrayal of her character.
An example of this is Carol Danvers, or Captain Marvel.
Captain Marvel is considered among the most powerful heroes in the MCU. At surface level, she seems like an amazing role model. She’s a powerful and heroic woman.
But that’s all she is. She is a flat character in every movie, including her own.
She didn’t work towards earning her powers – they were given to her by complete accident. Her character had an amnesia-type storyline, which could have been an outstanding plot. But instead, it was written in a way that made it seem like Marvel regaining her memories wasn’t something that mattered to her.
She was egotistical and didn’t have much screen time in the Avengers movies, often only being mentioned or being on a call with one of the other characters. She returned for Avengers: Endgame, but she was entitled, arrogant, and overall not fun to watch.
A lot of female characters, meanwhile, have been robbed of screen time.
Pepper Potts is a significant character in the early Iron Man movies. But she disappears for a long time, only having one mention in many movies, before returning for Avengers: Endgame to be a support system for her husband.
A similar thing happens to Jane Foster, who is Thor’s love interest. She disappears for a few movies, then returns only to become a female version of Thor himself.
Many other female characters end up with powers and abilities only to also become a “copy paste” version of their already established male counterpart, such as Jennifer Walters, who becomes She Hulk, or Kate Bishop, who becomes the new Hawkeye.
Marvel manages to write powerful, compelling character arcs and personalities for its male characters. But the company can’t seem to grasp even a fraction of that for its females. Marvel’s women all deserved so much better than what they have been given.
