Marvel fans’ relationship with their female superheroes has always been a subject of intrigue. When Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige first revealed his intention to star Brie Larson in the MCU’s maiden female-led Marvel superhero movie, Captain Marvel, the move received plenty of unjustified backlash from a section of the fanbase.
A few months later, Larson’s film vindicated Feige’s decision — and then some, grossing more than $1 billion at the box office. This seemingly pushed the studio to back more female-oriented projects down the road. However, much to everyone’s surprise, the all-female venture The Marvels, bombed at the box office, cementing itself as the lowest-grossing MCU installment of all time.
It’s always hard to predict how fans will react to the next female-led project. But as far as Avengers is concerned, past precedent doesn’t paint a very promising picture. Accordingly, we’ve taken a look at three female counterparts of Avengers that failed to impress fans after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
1. Wasp
Paul Rudd entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Scott Lang in 2015 and instantly became a fan favorite due to his character’s charming and sneaky personality. Fans recognized his bad choices and yet backed him on his redemption journey, as Marvel did well to establish he is a good guy at heart.
However, no such efforts seemingly went into developing Evangeline Lilly‘s Hope van Dyne. As far as the character’s emotional arc is concerned, she was completely sidelined in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023). Instead, the movie focuses on the relationship between Scott and his daughter, Cassandra Lang.
Since Marvel made very little effort to develop the character’s background in the first two installments, Wasp didn’t offer any unique voice in the third, so much so that her absence wouldn’t have been noticed.
2. She-Hulk
Considering the love and admiration Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk got during the Avengers series, not many were surprised when Marvel Studios dropped a television series on his female counterpart, She-Hulk, in 2022.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law focuses on Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany), a single attorney who also happens to be a green 6-foot-7-inch superhero. Bruce Banner’s struggles have been documented very well, as a result, his persona is digested seamlessly by fans. But Jennifer’s rude side doesn’t sit well with viewers due to her shallow background.
Moreover, the series tries to establish how Jen saw herself more as a lawyer and connected to her work more than embracing her superhero identity. Yet, there are very limited scenes with Jen in the courtroom. Perhaps more legal work would’ve helped fans properly grasp what She-Hulk was all about.
3. Ironheart
In Marvel Comics, fifteen-year-old super-genius Riri Williams gets inspired by Tony Stark and decides to follow in his heroic footsteps. She builds her own suit of advanced armor and assumes the role of the superhero known as Ironheart.
After Robert Downey Jr.’s character bid farewell by sacrificing himself in Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios seemingly tried to fill his void by introducing Dominique Thorne as the young genius inventor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022).
However, despite plenty of screen time, Riri served little purpose in the film. Apart from helping the Wakadans get information about the CIA’s pursuit, Thorne added little to the story. Marvel writers also failed to shed any light on Riri’s personality aside from establishing that she’s very smart (Bravo!).
Let’s hope the upcoming Disney+ series, titled Ironheart, does a better job of familiarizing MCU fans with the character.
