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Oh, poor Ms. Marvel!
The face of feminism (Ms. in 1977!), Air Force Major Carol Danvers was hybrided with alien DNA and took the she-name of her boyfriend, Captain Marvel.
Later raped and impregnated, then her powers and memory "permanently" absorbed by the X-Men's Rogue (pro—made Rogue pretty awesome; con—everyone wanted Ms. Marvel back anyway). Along the way, powers and name changes from Binary to Warbird back to Ms. Marvel and eventually emerging as the most powerful woman in the Marvel U., she changed her name to Captain Marvel.
WHAAAT?!?
Captain of what? Whatever her ex-BF was captain of (the Kree intergalactic army?), she isn't. But it's in honor of all that he meant? Weak.
Ms. Perfect or Ms. Plays Her Music Too Loud would be titles of a kind meant to amplify the quality the bestower intends call out (usually for negative reasons). If there was a heroine "Ms. DC," one would assume she is the embodiment of the DC universe or the line of comics. So, Ms. Marvel (regardless of her ex BF) name suggests she's also the embodiment or flagship heroine of the Marvel universe. Certainly, that's how she seems to be positioned lately.
So, why would a determined and strong woman, who had earned the rank of major, and held the name that embodied the comics line she represented, take a lower rank on all levels, of captain? To me, she'll always be Ms. Marvel, midriff exposed with a giant scarf.
I told you yesterday that it should have been Scarlet Witch who should have been in the Avengers film if there could only be one she-venger, now I shall tell you why.
Power
Wanda was born with a mutant ability, the power to alter probabilities. This was usually called her "hex." I guess this was sometimes tough for writers to explain or use, so she embarked on the study of witchcraft with Agatha Harkness. Pretty awesome, huh?
Unlike, say, Wasp, who wanted super-powers to be with her boyfriend more, so he gave them to her. He designed her stingers, he upgraded her powers to her internally manifested "bio sting." Hank Pym this, Hank Pym that. She even took advantage of him while he had amnesia to tie the knot! Eesh, take a hint already.
Male-fluenced
I read an article that claimed that Wanda was too defined by the males in her life. Seriously? In the face of She-Hulk (cousin of Hulk), Ms. Marvel (girlfriend of Captain Marvel), Spider-Woman (linked to the popular world of '70s Spidey by a marketing department), She-Thing (looks just like the Thing), seriously? And didn't I just explain Wasp?
So her brother is "Quicksilver." Big deal! They're related but he didn't give her her mutant powers. Her father, Magneto, did, I guess, by banging her mother, but what about the learned witchcraft? All Wanda. She didn't learn Magneto was her father until decades after her first appearance, so he didn't define her character until much, much later in her history. And, it's not like she started out She-Quicksilver and later changed her name to Magneta.
Sure, Hawkeye longed for her passionately. Sure, Wonder-Man longed for her passionately. But it was the android the Vision that won her heart. Yes, she married a robot. Then she used her mutant powers to get preggo by the robot sperm. And yet she's defined by her father and brother? Did we read the same comics at all?
Public consciousness
Marvel women didn't really seep their way into public consciousness like DC's heroines did. In the '60s and '70s there was an animated Invisible Girl, and she was the only she-Marvelite to be a Mego action figure. Invisible Girl, Wasp, and Scarlet Witch made it onto the 1977 "Marvel Super-Heroes" lunchbox, followed by Invisible Girl and Scarlet Witch featured in 1978's "Marvel Super-Hero Card Game." Not until the Spider-Woman cartoon was there as much public awareness as there was for Scarlet Witch.
Yeah, I get it, I'm basing this entire line of argument on everything pre-1980. But you can say what you want on your blog.
Tomorrow: Captain Marvel is a rank demotion for Ms. Marvel
I'll start with my thoughts on the most prominent lady Avenger in the public's consciousness (thanks the 2012 film), Black Widow.
First, I admit I like the character.
Next, I admit I like Scarlett Johansen.
But, I do not like Scarlett as the Black Widow, and I think the Black Widow an odd and sad choice for the film.
I get that she was in Ultimate Avengers and all, but in terms of classic Avengers comics, she made very few appearances. Ignoring mainstay and founding member Wasp and awesome early addition Scarlet Witch, still Black Widow made very few appearances.
Even heavy hitters like "Moondragon," "Mantis," and "Jocanda" made more appearances. In fact, according to issue 300, only one she-Avenger at that time—Hellcat—had made fewer appearances than the Black Widow.
In the world of the super-hero team, there are heroes with high, medium, low, and no powers. In the Avengers film, there are 3 high powered males (Hulk, Thor, Iron Man), one medium male (Captain America...maybe low), and 1 no powered male (Hawkeye). Given Disney's plans to bring Ant-Man into film, it's odd they would drop him (a founding Avenger in the comics) and his girlfriend Wasp (two medium-low powered heroes) in lieu of Hawkeye and the Black Widow. Sure, I get the connection to S.H.I.E.L.D. and that writers not wanting to overwhelm the film with a mega-cast...but seriously, with all that man-power in the film, to not go with a medium or low powered lady feels a bit unfair and sexist.
I recently read a journal post and the reviewer claimed that Scarlett's portrayal of the Black Widow was the best portrayal of a female hero in live-action.
WHAAAAT?!?
I freaked out at that. Sure, there's not a lot to go on...Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman had to put on glasses to sound smart...Halle Berry as Storm was bad and as Catwoman worse. I liked Anna Paquin as Rogue, but the film version is such a departure from the comics version, it's tough to even say it's the same character. But goodness, based on casting, costuming, acting, believability, and more, I still rank Yvonne Craig as Batgirl as a close second only to Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman. Despite the camp and the era-appropriate effects, those two totally knocked it out of the park. Eesh.
Tomorrow, I'll reveal my choice for who should have been in the film. Hint: it's Scarlet Witch.
