Supervillains – Bitch Flicks

How the X-Men Films Failed Iconic Black Female Superhero Storm by Sara Century

To me, this is where the X-Men films utterly fail Storm as a character. While her comic form is definitely a sympathetic and understanding person, more importantly, she is a warrior trained in hand-to-hand combat, an orphan, a divorcee, a Black woman in a leadership role on a team of mostly white men, a wife, a mentor, and an activist.

‘Supergirl’ and Room for the Non-Brooding Superhero by Allyson Johnson

There is an indisputable charm to Kara’s strong will that can go toe to toe with the might of her fist. Here is a young woman that believes so strongly in her fellow being that she tries talking to many of the baddies of the week rather than immediately resorting to fighting. Her kindhearted and giving spirit is ultimately what sets her apart from the other heroes that have populated television and movies for the last few years…

Catwoman, Elektra, and the Death of the Cinema Superheroine by Heather Davidson

Now, don’t get me wrong – neither Catwoman nor Elektra are by any means good movies. The first is silly, the second dull, and both are confusing and ugly, with little interest in their source material and an odd propensity to give characters magical powers. They deserved to fail – but they didn’t deserve to take an entire gender down with them.

Top 10 Superheroines Who Deserve Their Own Movies by Amanda Rodriguez

So few superheroines are given their own movies. I’m officially declaring that it’s high time we had more superhero movies starring women. The first in a series of posts, I’m starting with a list of my top 10 picks for super babes who deserve their own flicks.

Why Scarlet Witch May Be the Future of Women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Maddie Webb

Having a superhero grapple with the right use of their power is hardly a new theme and it’s central to the broader narrative of Captain America: Civil War. But allowing a female superhero to tackle the same dilemma on a deeply personal level feels quietly subversive. …Women superheroes can be inhumanly powerful without being reduced to a boringly infallible female badass caricature.

Elektra in Daredevil: Violence, White Masculinity, and Asian Stereotypes by Kelly Kanayama

And then there’s Elektra Natchios, half-Asian, half-white, sexual, violent, dangerous, and in some ways, the most problematic character on the show. … Yet there is something strangely compelling about Elektra, not as an extension of the show’s tired prejudices against Asian people, but as a woman who despite her questionable origins transcends the limiting Strong Female Character trope. …Her presence in and of itself disrupts the masculine hegemony of violence in the show.

Daisy Johnson, Superheroine of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. — And Why She Matters by Lee Jutton

What makes Daisy special among superheroes is that she embodies all of these tropes as the centerpiece of a network television series — and is also a woman. Not only that, she is a mixed-race woman — and not a token one, but one surrounded by other women, of various ages, races and backgrounds.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Humanization of the Superheroine by Kaitlyn Soligan

Often carrying the burden of representation in a genre overrun with male characters, superheroines were strong or weak, clear-headed or in constant need of saving, but rarely complex or allowed complicated internal lives, and even more rarely truly relatable. Buffy changed all that.

Supergirl’s Feminism and Why the Series Works by Dennis R. Upkins

Even with her powers, Kara is the underdog who has to evolve to overcome insurmountable odds, thus making her relatable to viewers. With the series being entitled Supergirl, it shouldn’t be a surprise that feminism is a prevalent theme. What is a pleasant surprise is how well the series tackles it.

Barbarella and the “Savagery” of Futuristic Sexual Politics by Olga Tchepikova

One version of Barbarella draws her as a progressive, sex-positive, and role model-worthy character that saves the universe. … Barbarella the character might be the worst example of a superheroine by many of our contemporary expectations for a female lead not least because of the ambiguous dynamics of her (sexual) agency. … ‘Barbarella’ as a film remains a superheroine movie with a mission: save the future of sexual politics.

How Hawkgirl Saved Me by Maggie Slutzker

This is about my favorite chess-playing, mace-wielding, war-crying, winged superheroine role model: Shayera Hol. … Hawkgirl taught me to be observant. She taught me that it’s possible to come through trying times. She taught me that being able to think was just as important as being able to fight, and that good and evil aren’t always absolutes.

Why Black Widow Is the “Realest” Superheroine of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Yes, Even After All Those Tropes) by Kayleigh Watson

It is this factor alone why Black Widow is so important. She is the longest standing female protagonist within the Marvel film franchise, having starred in Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron and most recently, Captain America: Civil War. She was the only female Avenger in both Avengers films (until Scarlet Witch switched sides at the end of Age of Ultron), and as such was subject to being the onscreen vessel of female representation in a superhero super-team otherwise occupied by straight white men.

How Does Vixen Collide with Race, Gender, a Black Sense of Home, and the Video Vixen? by Tara Betts

…There is more to be said about how essentializing African identities around myth, folklore, the continent, and animals can impose limits on how Black people, particularly Black women, can be written, and how those Black characters are experienced in a more accessible, mainstream outlet. In other words, even Black superhero characters, carry the burden of limitations if the racial stereotypes outweigh the plot and character development. In this case, Vixen has room for more episodes, a potential live-action series, and delving deeper into a host of issues on identity, power, and defining home.

Brown Girls Can Be Heroes Too: Why We Need a Ms. Marvel Movie by Bhavna Vasnani

I’d internalized the rather damaging notion that only white girls deserve to have their stories told. Only white girls can slay the patriarchy without breaking a nail. Only white girls get to be the heroes, and get to be heroes of their own stories. And the rest of us? We don’t matter. … It’s important for young South Asian girls to see that just because they’re South Asian doesn’t mean that they have to be relegated to the sidelines, to being the sidekick, to being the brainy Indian doctor, and so on. They can be superheroes too.

Stop the Fridging: The Invisible Feminism of Arrow by Becky Kukla

So while Arrow seems pretty reluctant to move away from the traditional stance on women existing to be love interests and to be rescued, the individual female characters themselves sometimes show some hints of progressiveness… if only they’d be allowed to live long enough!

Show Me a (Woman) Villain by Mary Iannone

We all recognize the gross disparity of women superheroes, in the Marvel canon and beyond. But I would argue that the cinematic landscape is even less primed to allow women supervillains. … Women are generally presented as easily manipulated and too emotional to be true villains. It is yet another characterization of the “soft” woman, dictated by her emotions, propelled by a propensity to nurture rather than destroy. But we need stories of women who hunger for power, who are willingly selfish, and who stick to their principles, no matter the cost. … No more scenes of men talking women into saving the world. Let them try their best to destroy it.

Batgirl / Oracle: A Superheroine with a Disability and Representation by Adam Sherman

There aren’t a lot of superheroes with disabilities; many of the ones who do gain powers from their disabilities. … Barbara Gordon as Oracle is a more accurate and positive representation of people with disabilities. She’s way more real because despite the fact that she sometimes needs the help of more able-bodied people, like a real person living with paralysis from the waist down, she still lives a positive and active life.

Where Are All the Superheroines Who Are Getting Too Old For This Shit? Ageism and Superhero Movies by Celey Schumer

Even in the rare superhero films with more gender-balanced casts, the age gap between male and female performers can be seen time and time again. Men are allowed to age, to become grizzled, world-weary with experience, or stew for years on a plot of vengeance. … Their women counterparts, however, must remain lithe, “hot,” and never over the age of 40.

Go ahead, try and find a superheroine or female supervillain over 40. I’ll wait. Great. Now that we’re all done pointing at Halle Berry as Storm — who was 46 at the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past — and Famke Janssen as Jean Grey/Phoenix — who was 41 at the release of X-Men: The Last Stand — let’s look at the bigger picture.

Scarlet Witch and Kitty Pryde: Erased Jewish Superheroines by Sophie Hall

While Black Widow’s portrayal remains true to her comic book origin, Scarlet Witch’s does not, as her comic book counterpart is Romani and Jewish. … Not only is erasing Judaism a disservice to both Scarlet Witch and Captain America, it’s also disrespectful to the Jewish writers who invested so much in making a statement about Jewish resistance in their artistic expression. …

In the comics, Kitty Pryde is a feisty, spirited, and proudly Jewish member of the X-Men. …The filmmakers missed out on a more poignant story. Kitty Pryde would have faced what her ancestors faced generations ago; where they were targeted for their religion, Kitty was now being targeted for her mutation.

Superheroines of Color and Empowerment in Fantasy on TV by Constance Gibbs

It’s a rare sight to see women of color as superheroes, but rarest, probably, on television. … Superheroines are important. The desire for women to be seen as heroes, as strong, as capable, as desired, as everything transcends race. But when women of color are constantly told they have to wait or aren’t given the same chances, it does the same thing as when it’s men vs. women. …

Why can’t we have a Black or Asian or Latina or Arab or Native heroine acting as a universal hero for all girls of all races? Why must white continue to be the universal standard and everyone else is relegated to a niche audience? People of color want the empowerment fantasy too.

This guest post written by Mary Iannone appears as part of our theme week on Superheroines.

“The Marvel Cinematic Universe is kind of a sausage fest,” Stephen Colbert said last week. This was in response to the admission by director Shane Black that Iron Man 3’s villain was originally written as a woman, a choice that was definitively blocked by the studio. If this refusal wasn’t foolish enough to begin with, the reasoning behind it gets even more bizarre – they were afraid the toy version of a woman villain would not sell. “It makes sense,” Colbert sneered. “Girls don’t play with dolls.”

We all recognize the gross disparity of women superheroes, in the Marvel canon and beyond. But I would argue that the cinematic landscape is even less primed to allow women supervillains. After all, if some of us can barely accept the thought of a woman running our country, how can we tolerate even a representation of a woman hungry for world domination?

Villains like Loki, Ultron, Red Skull, and Killian are power-driven, tyrannical, reckless, murderous, and mostly devoid of sentiment. And it’s that last characteristic that seems to be so hard to reconcile with women characters. Time and time again, we see women introduced as villains only to be recruited to the side of the heroes. This usually comes after an “aha” moment when she realizes she is “in too deep.”

Take Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron. She has, as I argued in my last article, quite possibly the most powerful out of any character in the film. But suddenly, after witnessing Ultron’s full plan, her desire for revenge is neutralized. She is horrified by Ultron’s monstrousness: “You said we were going to destroy the Avengers – make a better world!” Just like that, Scarlet Witch becomes an Avenger. She only wanted to destroy a couple of people, not the world.

In Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow starts off on the side of Tony Stark (which is somewhat presented as the villainous side), but swaps midway to assist Steve Rogers. Lest we forget, this isn’t the first time Natasha has swapped sides – off-screen, she started off as a KGB officer who was turned into a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. This pattern can also be seen with Elektra in Daredevil, Mystique in X-Men, Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, and even another character in Iron Man 3, Maya. Go outside of the Marvel Universe, and you will see Catwoman following the same pattern in The Dark Knight Rises; she even ends up in idyllic Paris, having gotten the guy.

Of course, we must note that backlash over woman villains is not confined to the comic book world. Consider the frenzy when Star Wars: The Force Awakens cast Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma, commander of the stormtroopers (whose toy is currently out of stock at Toys R’ Us, by the way). The film industry too often listens to the loud corner of the internet that refuses to believe that a woman could be bad (though that same corner doesn’t seem too fond of women as heroes, either).

Women are generally presented as easily manipulated and too emotional to be true villains. It is yet another characterization of the “soft” woman, dictated by her emotions, propelled by a propensity to nurture rather than destroy. But we need stories of women who hunger for power, who are willingly selfish, and who stick to their principles, no matter the cost. People need to know that sometimes, women are just that (minus the desire to destroy the world — most of the time, at least). If audiences can be charmed by Loki, why can’t we react the same way to a woman villain? Why can’t they be just as nuanced?

The stereotype is, again, that women are ruled by their emotions. But why do those emotions have to be good? We’ve called for women superheroes who are not ruled by their ties to men. The same goes for our women villains. No more characters who are only motivated by personal revenge. No more balking when it “gets out of hand.” No more scenes of men talking women into saving the world. Let them try their best to destroy it.

Let’s imagine, for a minute, that the Aldrich Killian character in Iron Man 3 had in fact been a woman. In the finished film, Killian is left on a rooftop on New Year’s Eve, rejected and forgotten by Tony Stark. He then spends over a decade crafting a revenge plan that ends with him attacking the President of the United States (and Tony and Pepper along the way). Had Killian been a woman, this would have been yet another story about a woman scorned and driven mad by rejection. Killian, in his reappearance years after New Year’s Eve, has even gotten a makeover. The characterization is already flawed; crafted into a woman, this would have been a hackneyed, sexist plot that would have done nothing to support the need for deeper women in the comic book universe.

It is ironic, then, that one of the worst-reviewed superhero films of the 21^st century actually contains the best depiction of a woman supervillain. X-Men: The Last Stand is, of course, a dreadful conclusion to the series’ original trilogy. But surprisingly, it serves well its most powerful villain, Phoenix.

Jean Grey dies at the end of X2 (aka X-Men 2), only to be saved by her alter ego, Phoenix, whose powers explode outward with lethal force. When Professor Xavier reveals he had been mind-controlling Jean for years to keep Phoenix at bay, Phoenix kills him. “I don’t want to fix it!” she snarls at Logan. While Jean Grey begs to be killed, Phoenix is unrepentant; enraged at those who tamed her for so long, she is determined to destroy those who mean to destroy mutants. In the end, the only way to stop her is by killing her. There is no way to appeal to her emotions; she cannot be coerced into being a hero.

So what’s next? It’s been 10 years since Phoenix – the latest X-Men series has thus far allowed Mystique to only toy with villainy. Cate Blanchett has been cast as Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Karen Gillan will return as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (and director James Gunn alluded to an expanded role). But given the positioning of these films in Marvel’s vast Cinematic Universe (MCU), it is likely these women will not factor into the ultimate climax, Infinity War. The presence of Thanos has loomed large in the MCU for years, and he is widely considered to be the mega-villain at the end of Marvel’s Phase Three. Is there anyone who can compete? When will we see her on screen?

Mary Iannone holds a Master’s Degree in Media, Culture, and Communication from NYU, where she studied genre film, Hollywood archetypes, and pop culture’s representations of mental illness. Follow her on Twitter at @mianno.

Tag: Supervillains

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