How Female Superheroes Are Taking On Iconic MCU Characters

The MCU has come a far far way from the original Avengers. What started with Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow

By Chandraboli Majumdar
October 9,2022
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The MCU has come a far far way from the original Avengers. What started with Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow has expanded into a Universe with more than a hundred heroes. While the original Avengers have been fading away ever since Avengers: Endgame, the MCU is bringing in great replacements for these iconic characters. By now, we have seen female actresses take on iconic Marvel superhero characters and portray them with their own twist.  So let us explore some of these female superheroes.

1. Shuri as Black Panther

First look at Shuri being the female Black Panther
First look at Shuri being the female Black Panther

Shuri becoming Black Panther is one of the most exciting things coming up in the MCU. There is no better way to honor Chadwick Boseman and continue his legacy. Shuri is one of the smartest people in the world and has only been strengthened by the tragedy she had faced. Her technological prowess gives her a unique edge over her predecessors. She is also a skilled warrior who can hold her ground against villains much larger in size and more experienced than her. And who better to take over the mantle of Black Panther than the sister of T’Challa.

2. The Mighty Thor

Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor
Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor

Bringing back Natalie Portman as Jane Foster to give her a proper send off was an absolutely great idea. But making her the Mighty Thor and showing her wield the Mjolnir made it one of the best ideas ever. She was a brilliant superhero and an absolute natural. The Mjolnir obviously deemed her worthy because of her passion to help people. She even sacrificed her life to stop Gorr the God Butcher. And it was the perfect way to end her legacy.

3. Ironheart

RIri Williams as Ironheart in the MCU
Riri Williams as Ironheart in the MCU

 We literally cannot put into words how excited we are to see Riri Williams as Ironheart in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and then in her own show Ironheart. We have already seen her have multiple parallels with Iron Man aka Tony Stark himself. But she will be putting her own twist on the role. Ryan Coogler himself talks about how Riri Williams will be someone from a completely different background, a white girl who is barely 20 years old. This will make her origin story and emotional arc very different from Tony Stark who was a middle aged white man.

4. Kate Bishop

Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop
Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop

Kate Bishop and Hawkeye is my new favorite duo in the MCU. Their mentor-mentee relationship was the absolute highlight of the Disney+ show Hawkeye. She is a brilliantly skilled archer and her talent with bows and arrows is simply incomparable. Kate Bishop will be joining the Young Avengers alongside Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel. Her introduction gave some really needed depth and emotional arc to Hawkeye himself.

5. She-Hulk

She-Hulk aka Jen Walters
She-Hulk aka Jen Walters

The best of She-Hulk is yet to come. The last two episodes have shown that there is a lot of room for Jen Walters to grow. With episode 7 she began accepting herself and her green other half. However, episode 8 ended with a major cliffhanger where She-Hulk finally loses her cool and lets the Intelligencia provoke her. This will hopefully lead to her having a heart to heart with her cousin Bruce and she will be a hero reborn.

6. Captain Carter

Captain Carter in the What if series in MCU
Captain Carter in the What if series in MCU

The What If series and the Illuminati in Multiverse of Madness give us a glimpse of what could have been if Peggy Carter took the super soldier serum to become Captain Carter. Its a brilliant idea which breaks gender roles even during the 1940s. She is just as righteous as Steve and has a strong moral compass. Captain Carter is also insanely strong and looks like she was meant for the suit.

7. Sylvie

Sylvie in Loki season 1
Sylvie in Loki season 1

Introducing Sylvie as a variant of Loki was the best way to enhance both these characters in the MCU. Sylvie’s backstory, badass nature and brilliant combat skills make her a great addition to the MCU. While her stubborn and snarky personality can be compared to Loki, they’re still very different and complement each other perfectly. After all, being on the run ever since you were a child really toughens and sharpens you.