Marvel Does Right By It's TV Women

I’ve long been waiting for a Black Widow movie along with most fans of the Marvel cinematic universe. After three Iron Man movies, two Captain America movies, and two Thor movies, I think it’s about time that fans get to enjoy a movie about their favorite lady Avenger, one Natasha Romanoff. But alas, it seems film executives are still caught in the trap of thinking that dude-bros will only go see movies about other dude-bros, leaving characters like Black Widow out in the rain, though Marvel hasn't completely nixed the idea. Until executives get past this, I’ve turned to a different medium for my fill of Marvel’s kick-ass women: the small screen.

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD premiered on September 24, 2013, aka my birthday. It was basically the best birthday gift ever. If you’ve never watched it, the premise is essentially that a super-secret team of spies working for the clandestine security organization SHIELD fly around on a plane and save the world on a regular basis. Aside from the excitement, Marvel references, and perfect mix of super-snappy comedy and high stakes drama, one my favorite parts of the show is the main cast, a cast that is an even split between men and women. For each male lead, there is an equally matched female lead. What’s more is that the women are equally as nuanced as the men and their stories are given the same amount of screen time. Melinda May is portrayed as an agent equally as skilled as Phil Coulson, Jemma Simmons is shown to be just as smart as fellow scientist Leo Fitz, and Skye is just calculating and cool under pressure as Agent Grant Ward.

 It might not seem like that big of deal to have an evenly matched set of characters, but when you consider that men still outnumber women on television in starring roles the feat becomes that much more impressive. It is also encouraging that the women’s stories are not typically thrust offstage to give more of the spotlight to the men. SHIELD has skillfully split it’s storytelling time between all of the characters almost equally and, though it could be argued that Phil Coulson is the main protagonist he is surrounded by characters with stories that are just as rich and important. Furthermore, SHIELD has shown that it isn’t afraid of putting women in the pilot’s seat, literally and figuratively. While Melinda May pilots a jet, Maria Hill and Victoria Hand fill some of SHIELD’s top ranks. With the likes of Joss and Jed Whedon and Maurissa Tancharoen as producers and writers, SHIELD is proving to be a beacon of hope for the future of Marvel’s female characters and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it’s first season.

After much speculation over the fate of Agents of SHIELD, today ABC announced that in addition to renewing the inaugural Marvel television series for a second season, it is picking up another Marvel production, this time a spin-off of Captain America about the Cap’s former love interest Agent Peggy Carter. Agent Carter is set to explore Peggy’s life as a woman in what is unquestionably a man’s world, the world of mid-20^th century spy work. Hopefully, the show will succeed and be another boon for Marvel’s women, perhaps even proving once and for all to Hollywood executives that Marvel fans are just as interested in the women of Marvel as they are in the men of Marvel, clearing the way for the Black Widow movie we've all been waiting for.