Show Me the Ladies, Marvel
Marvel Studios continues to knock it out of the park with their movie adaptions of our favorite comics. There just hasn’t been a lot of women standing alongside the men. As of right now, we have only seen three female superhereos, Black Widow, Lady Sif, and Gamora. We have been promised more with the upcoming addition of Scarlet Witch to the Avengers. A Jessica Jones series for Netflix is also said to be released, and Marvel Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. announced that Mockingbird would be appearing on the show.
Scarlet Witch
Though comic book fans know her as Magneto’s daughter and a mutant, it is unlikely that she will be presented as such in the movie. I am under the impression that Marvel Studios will gloss over this information due to rights of “mutant” belonging to Fox. I have faith they will make a good run with making it believable and even open for later clarification if a possible crossover happens. Outside of the red tape Scarlet Witch has been a long time member of the Avengers in the comic and a suitable choice for the team’s next super heroine. Depending on which version they go with, her powers are capable of effecting probability or changing reality. I am assuming the later, because that would make her a much more mysterious and complicated character to write, especially when it comes to controlling her powers.
Jessica Jones
Jessica has a few code names, the most famous being Jewel, but no one really refers to her that way. She, like her husband in the comics, just goes by her name. She has super powers from an exposure to radiation that give her super strength and the ability to fly. She also is a little hard to kill, which can be useful. I imagine the show will focus around her being a private investigator, but we will just have to see.
Mockingbird
Not only is she badass, she’s just human. She is a S.H.E.I.L.D. agent and was a big member of the Avengers in the comics. She could potentially be added to the Avengers later, but it would be interesting to see how they handle her and Hawkeye due to their history in the comics.
Mr. Joss Whedon has stated that the new Avengers movie will feature four major female roles. We already know about Black Widow and Scarlet Witch, but the other two could already be known or simply wild cards. The known possibilities for the other two roles are Maria Hill, which is likely, Jane Foster, or even Sharon Carter. I don’t really think that Jane Foster’s role will be large if it even exits, but you never know. Sharon Carter was the fun S.H.E.I.L.D. agent that was keeping an eye on Steve Rogers in his last movie, and comic fans know her to have a romantic involvement with Cap as well as fighting by his side. Now, let’s play a game where they bring in some unknown power houses. Who could be added to the Avengers movie and possibly take on one of these roles?
Captain Marvel
I say this while crossing my fingers and praying to whatever nerd god will listen. Can we have Carol Danvers, please? I would settle for her in her Ms. Marvel incarnation, but the comics have done so much to rebrand her that I feel it would be a step back. While there is no need to go into full detail of who and what she is, we have seen the Kree in the latest Guardians of the Galaxy movie. They just have to quickly link her powers to a Kree machine explosion and go on about their business. Then they need to give the woman her own damn movie where they can go to town on her background and origin. The chica can fly, has super strength, advanced healing, and can absorb energy just to throw right back in someone’s face. Captain Marvel is one of the strongest damn female characters they have in Marvel and they need to put her ass on the big screen immediately.
Spider-Woman
I know there are rumors about a Sony Spider-Man spinoff featuring female leads, but Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman is a rumor, and one I hope won’t come true for Sony. There are a lot of female characters out there that have used a variation of spider for her name, but please don’t let Sony take Jessica. She doesn’t really have any involvement with Spider-Man especially after they retconned her origin story. The new and accepted origin for Jessica Drew is what makes her a great possibility for current Marvel Studios universe. She was raised and brainwashed by Hydra becoming an agent only to discover their lies and ended up joining S.H.E.I.L.D at Nick Fury’s invitation. She went back to Hydra as Fury’s girl and kept tabs for S.H.E.I.L.D. With Hydra’s current rise in the film and television world, she would be an ideal addition. Her abilities include being able to walk and crawl across anything much like Spider-Man, but that’s as far as it goes where similarities are concerned. She has a venom like energy that comes out of her hands to take down her opponents. Her last ability is the one she dislikes the most and is the hardest to control. She can release pheromones from her body that can either make you terrified or enamored by her depending on which she was going for. She can’t just turn it off or focus it on one individual, which makes it unpredictable at times.
Marvel Studios has also left open these possibilities for their current franchises. While they don’t need to be large focused roles, it would be nice to see them.
Valkyrie
Sadly, during the development of the second Thor movie, creators had every intention of including Odin’s shield maiden, but left her on the idea podium. However, it looks like Thor will be returning to Asgard to deal with his brother in the third film and hopefully he will need every ally possible including Valkyrie. If they decide to bring in the Enchantress to help Loki keep up his throne, it would be good for Thor to have another female ally besides just Lady Sif. Valkyrie is Asgardian, so she is super strong as well as quite durable. It would be nice to see her.
Misty Knight
While she may not be one of the biggest female superheroes that Marvel puts out, she is quite large where Hell’s Kitchen is concerned. She plays a large role in keeping the streets clean alongside Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Hell, she is romantically involved with Iron Fist in the comics. She was a former NYPD officer that lost her arm in an explosion. Tony Stark helped her out with a bionic arm and super strength that allows her to be one hell of a badass. If you get a chance to read the short lived Fearless Defenders comic series, please do. It features Misty and Valkyrie leading an all-female superhero team. I am just bummed that they killed it.
She-Hulk
Yes, I agree, a long shot, but if they pursue anymore Hulk stories, then she is still a possibility. She is blessed enough to keep her mind when in hulk form, and actually prefers that compared to her normal human self. She has all the hulk perks with practically no negatives. I am sure her cousin Bruce Banner gets jealous a little every time he sees her.
Wasp
You really can’t do an Ant-Man storyline without at least mentioning the woman. While Hank Pym is clearly going to be aged somewhat, we may not get to see the Wasp. I just hope they at least mention Janet Van Dyne. She has so connected to the Avengers in the comics, that it would be disrespectful not to at least give her a shout out somewhere in the films.