When considering female superheroes in film, it’s helpful to take an Ebenezer Scrooge style approach.
By this, I mean that first we must spend some time with “The Ghost of Superheroines Past.”
By far the scariest of the lot, this phantom includes Jennifer Garner’s leather-clad Elektra, Halle Berry’s atrocious Catwoman and a short but terrifying list of other failed female-helmed films.
We’re then visited by “The Ghost of Superheroines Present,” which is a significant improvement.
Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and Wonder Woman can trade punches with the best of them, but the real superheroines of today are on television. As much as I’d love to wax poetic about the no-nonsense ass-kicking of TV heroines like Jessica Jones, Supergirl and the Elektra of Netflix’s “Daredevil,” that’s a column for another day.
In order to be rid of this terrible “Christmas Carol” analogy, we have to finish with “The Ghost of Superheroines Yet to Come.”
For the sake of comparison, let’s analyze this topic by laying out all of the upcoming superhero movies that will feature a super-heroine in a reasonably-major role, starting with Marvel.
Of their expansive Phase 3 lineup, “Captain Marvel” remains the only female-helmed Marvel title - and if rumors are to be believed, Elizabeth Wood might soon sign on to direct, which would make her Marvel’s first female director.
In 2017, Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan will return for “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” joined by Elizabeth Debicki in a mystery role (my personal choice for “Captain Marvel”).
Barely a month later, Zendaya will make her Marvel debut in “Spiderman: Homecoming.” Here’s hoping her character description goes beyond “Peter Parker’s love interest.” I’m not optimistic.
Later that year, real life goddess Cate Blanchett will play one onscreen in “Thor: Ragnarok,” accompanied by “Creed” actress Tessa Thompson in an unidentified role.
2018 isn’t looking much better for the maidens of Marvel, although Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” is assembling a top-notch cast, most recently with the addition of Lupita Nyong’o.
In July, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” will be Marvel’s first film with a nod to a female in the title. Not much is known about this one, other than that Evangeline Lily will reprise her role as Hope Pym and will actually be given something to do this time around.
I’m assuming, perhaps incorrectly, the usual Avengers will be featured in the “Infinity Wars” films, so let’s ignore those for the time being.
“Captain Marvel” rounds out the Phase 3 lineup in 2019, and if that seems light-years away, it’s because it is.
We move now to DC, who for once is doing marginally better than Marvel, at least in this arena.
In August, “Suicide Squad” will likely be one of the most successful DC movies to date, helmed by a variety of female heroes. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn has taken the spotlight so far, but let’s not forget about Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara as Katana and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller.
Beating Marvel to the punch by two years, DC’s first female-helmed movie will release June 2017. Gal Gadot’s “Wonder Woman” will feature a host of Amazonion warriors played by Connie Nielson and Robin Wright, to name just a few.
Arguably the only good thing about this year’s “Batman vs. Superman,” Gadot will also appear in “Justice League: Part 1” in late 2017.
Another upcoming DC release, “The Flash” doesn’t appear to have any women in major roles, but rumors of an upcoming Harley Quinn solo movie immediately redeems DC in my eyes.
Though we often forget that superhero movies exist outside Marvel and DC, the other franchises are doing an equally sub-par job portraying female superheroes.
This weekend’s “X-Men: Apocalypse” features a number of fresh-faced superheroines, but I’ll reserve judgment on them until I see the movie. The recent “X-Men” movies, while featuring Jennifer Lawrence in a prominent role, leave much to be desired in the way of character development — especially considering the well-crafted arcs of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender’s characters.
I would go into the abysmal treatment of Kate Mara’s Sue Storm in the recent reboot of “Fantastic Four,” but I’m still pretending that movie doesn’t exist.
Finally, 2019 will see the return of the greatest superhero franchise of all time. It’s been more than 10 years since we last saw the Parr family on the big screen, but our prayers have finally been answered. “The Incredibles 2” is planned for summer 2019 and will see the return of everyone’s favorite super family. Mrs. Incredible is a highly underrated superheroine, and I can’t wait to see she her and Edna take on whatever new forces of evil that Pixar has cooked up.
Joking aside, not that I would ever joke about loving “The Incredibles,” female superheroes are long overdue for equal treatment onscreen. Even with the over-saturation of superheroes in the media lately, the treatment of women in superhero movies has made little progress.
Bah, humbug!
khalliwe@indiana.edu | @Kate__Halliwell
