In Marvel’s earlier days, the franchise often struggled to write compelling female characters with a strong narrative. In a lot of cases, these women were unnecessarily sexualized or meant to serve as side characters that helped further the male protagonist’s story, such as Black Widow in Iron Man 2 or Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Phase 1 and Phase 2 were entirely dominated by male heroes, and it wasn't until Phase 3 rolled around that the MCU released its first female-centric project and introduced fans to Captain Marvel. Phase 4 finally upped the ante for real this time, taking their female characters from love interests and plot devices and transforming them into believable, dynamic characters with leading roles.
Phase 4 kicked off with WandaVision, which allotted more screen time for Wanda and took fans on her journey of processing the grief she was experiencing over losing Vision. Although much of Wanda’s story has been rooted in her struggle to cope with the death of her loved ones, the end of the series hinted at there being more to her story in the future, especially since the series’ antagonist Agatha Harkness will be given her own show.
With so much left to learn about her powers, Wanda is slowly but surely shaping up to be one of the most powerful characters the MCU has ever seen. Her next appearance is scheduled for May 6th, when she helps Doctor Strange repair the multiverse in the upcoming Doctor Strange 2 film. This movie could very well be the thing that sets Wanda on her own path and separates her story from the previous theme of death and tragedy that’s been following her around.
She's not the only female character who will play an important role in this film. The trailer for Doctor Strange 2 features ER doctor Christine Palmer as well, Doctor Strange’s ex-girlfriend and still-current love interest from the first film. The trailer implies Christine will be playing a decent role in the movie, and hopefully her new story makes up for the fridging incident that went down when What If…?, which killed her off to make Strange’s life more difficult in the animated series. America Chavez will also be making her MCU debut in Multiverse of Madness and is rumored to have her own Disney Plus series sometime in the future, along with other confirmed woman-led projects like She-Hulk and Ironheart.
Clearly, Phase 4 has already done some major groundwork in giving their female characters better storylines and well-deserved time in the spotlight, beyond just WandaVision and Black Widow. Kate Bishop took the Marvel fan base by storm in the tail end of 2021 when she picked up the Hawkeye mantle from Clint Barton, and Gemma Chan nailed her role as Sersi in Eternals, keeping all eyes on her while she took center stage.
Thor: Love and Thunder has also sparked major discussion amongst MCU fans, ever since it was revealed that Jane Foster would be transforming into Lady Thor. Jane was initially brought into the Thor movies to serve as the God of Thunder’s love interest. She disappeared for many years after her appearance in Thor: The Dark World, only popping back up one other time during Avengers: Endgame, when Thor traveled back in time to retrieve an Infinity Stone. Jane is a wickedly smart individual with a great deal of comic book backstory, so it’s shocking that it’s taken Marvel this long to allow her to come into her own. Now that she’ll have superhuman powers in Thor 4, she might play a larger role in the MCU moving forward.
Looking ahead to 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy actor Seth Green has gone public about Vol. 3, claiming that the film is mostly centered around Gamora and Nebula. It’s no secret that these two have a lot of work to do on their relationship, especially now that the Gamora fans will be seeing in Vol. 3 isn’t the same one they met during the first two movies.
Overall, it seems as if Marvel Studios is turning over a new leaf and is finally allowing their female characters to take charge of the franchise, now that the older heroes are starting to be phased out. A lot of MCU viewers have taken to social media to express their feelings about this change, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
By bringing back the women who have been sidelined in previous movies and giving them larger, more significant roles in current Phase 4 and even future Phase 5 projects, the superhero playing field is finally balancing out. After so many years of the MCU being a male-dominated franchise, digging deeper into the lives of its female characters is a refreshing change of pace that’s opened a multitude of new opportunities.