Marvel Studios to feature first female lead in movie-verse

Captain Marvel is set to release in theatres and showcases steps towards equal gender representation in the film industry.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe cast Brie Larson as Carol Danvers (alias Captain Marvel) for the film. This is the first time Marvel has done a female lead film, with the exception of the television series: Jessica Jones, featuring Krysten Ritter.

From Danvers’ comic debut in 1968 to the film in 2019, fans have waited long enough.

This is thanks to all the efforts of feminist activists including Kelly Sue DeConnick, who helped reshape Danvers from the usual overly sexualized female character many male comic book readers cling to, into the strong protagonist she is today.

These lead roles have faced backlash from nostalgic fans who can’t take the hint that our society is changing. Even though this is a great step for Hollywood, this character was already a female to begin with. The comic book world has continuously focused on strong male characters.

Rewriting comic book history has not been limited to a change in gender. Both Marvel and DC have scrapped entire storylines to simplify its new ones to avoid continuity errors.

So why should it be a big deal if Iron Man was rebooted as Iron Woman, or Iron Human? 

Controversial? Yes. Less catchy? Debatable.

But these kinds of actions should be considered if gender equality is to be taken seriously.

“People have to take into account when these characters were made. It was made in the 50s and 60s where it was a male-dominated industry and that industry isn’t the same now,” said Daniel Loria, architecture technology student. “They’re addressing modern standards.”

Anna Boden, the director, is also waiting for the day when a female director doesn’t make headlines solely on the premise of their gender.

There are other notable strong supporting actresses such as Letitia Wright in Black Panther, Scarlett Johansson from the Avengers, and Zoe Saldana in Guardians of the Galaxy. DC Films beat Marvel Studios to the punch with Gal Gadot starring as Wonder Woman in 2018, however, this is not the point. Another female lead role means another step towards equality.

The circumstances are quite convenient considering Danvers’ backstory. The character started out as Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel’s love interest and colleague.

However, after gaining the same powers as him, Danvers became more or less on par in terms of strength, official statistics aside. The character continued to go through a whirlwind of aliases until super-ceding Captain Marvel and eventually taking his alias while the original became Captain Mar-vel.

I know. I am as confused as you are. If you are a Marvel fact-checker please send us a letter. 

What matters is that with more films like Captain Marvel, less stereotypical gender roles are taking the screen.