10 of the Best Female Characters in Marvel Film & TV
Very often in comics female characters can be relegated to being the damsel in distress, the nag, or fulfilling some kind of fantasy. That's why it's important to celebrate times where female characters are treated with more attention to detail.
If you don't see a character on here she either fits one or more of the three traps mentioned above... or she's just not that good. Now, in no order, other than the one in which they appeared, here are 10 of the best female characters in the MCU.
Role:
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Appearances:
Iron Man 2 (2010), Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Reason Why:
The first female on the Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and boy does she hold her own. I feel like she unfairly gets lumped in with Hawkeye since she doesn't have a super power. The thing is, though, once she showed her full range of tactics in The Avengers, it was hard to dismiss her as just one of the humans on the team. Let alone, the lone female on the team. Natasha was great at getting information out of peopel who thought they were withholding information, and yeah she can also take care of herself when it comes down to it.
Role:
Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter
Appearances:
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Agent Carter (2015)
Reason Why:
The moment Peggy punched a soldier for not taking her seriously, I was on board. I get that she is roped into a love story with Steve... and whatever happened on her show that I only watched the first season of (sorry). Peggy Carter is more than that. She's another woman in the MCU who founds an important group in the form of S.H.I.E.L.D. She is in the room where it happens many times in her life. She fights to become more than just s secretary and has the respect of some heavy hitters like Howard Stark and, I assume, Hank Pym. Peggy Carter is a leader in every sense of the word and can out think and perform most of her male peers.
Role:
Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple
Appearances:
Daredevil (2015), Jessica Jones (2015), Luke Cage (2016), Iron Fist (2017), The Defenders (2017)
Reason Why:
Ultimately Claire is written into every show to patch the heroes up. However, Rosario definitely makes the character someone we look forward to seeing in every Netflix show. Claire isn't just a Night Nurse, she's the voice of reason most times and she can hold her own in a fight thanks to some lessons from Colleen Wing; who's good but not this list level good. I think it says a lot that Claire is a female character in multiple comic book shows without powers who isn't defined by who she is dating. She's got her own journey and the fact that she is currently dating a hero is like the fourth or fifth thing you think of.
Role:
Rachel Taylor as Trish Walker
Appearances:
Jessica Jones (2015), Luke Cage (2016), The Defenders (2017)
Reason Why:
I was genuinely caught off guard by how much I appreciated Trish as a character. Another human without super powers who just does the right thing most times. Not to mention her lack of fear when faced with having to fight Nuke. I appreciate how she really looks after Jessica and how we've seen how their relationship evolved from jealous surrogate sisters to confidants. The fact that they've given a supporting character such development is truly something to be excited about. Plus I genuinely got happy when her radio show was heard during Luke Cage.
Role:
Carrie-Anne Moss as Jeri Hogarth
Appearances:
Jessica Jones (2015), Daredevil (2016), Iron Fist (2017), The Defenders (2017)
Reason Why:
Jeri Hogarth is just the goods! She gets results and owns most scenes she appears in. Not for nothing, but she was the only person to make Danny Rand seem like a character worth following since you can't play around when Jeri is on screen. She's also pretty complicated. I'm still recovering from how dirty she did Calamity Jane in Jessica Jones, and yet she's a character I ultimately root for!
Role:
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones
Appearances:
Jessica Jones (2015), The Defenders (2017)
Reason Why:
My sister and, I'm sure, more people find Jessica too dismissive and sarcastic, but I can't help but enjoy her and her show overall. I like that she desperately wants to openly love people but thinks she has to atone and close herself off to that. I also like the idea that she may be way more powerful than she has already displayed but she doubts herself and limits herself. Jessica Jones' relationship with Luke Cage in the comics and their chemistry in these Netflix shows is a selling point for me, but again, that's not the most interesting thing about Jessica Jones. It's the fact that she has many layers we might get to see as her story continues.
Role:
Alfre Woodard as Mariah Dillard
Appearances:
Luke Cage (2016)
Reason Why:
I can't help it, I love watching Mariah operate. Even when they flashed back to how she manipulated one of the illest characters in the MCU, Cottonmouth. The fact that, at the end of Luke Cage's first season, Mariah was still standing and ready to make more moves proves she's a force to be reckoned with. Ms Dillard never needed to use brute force... well almost never. She finessed her way through most of season one and was amazing to watch.
Role:
Simone Missick as Misty Knight
Appearances:
Luke Cage (2016), The Defenders (2017)
Reason Why:
Misty Knight was probably the best character in Luke Cage... who stayed alive. I loved watching her struggling with sticking to proper police work and bending the rules, vigilante style. Especially since her ultimate decision had serious consequences. In Defenders we got to see her get one step closer to her comic book look and show that she's one of the good cops when it comes to helping heroes. Like the other women on this list, Misty is a character who isn't represented in absolutes and that makes her interesting to watch develop.
Role:
Cate Blanchett as Hela
Appearances:
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Reason Why:
Just saw this movie like 12 hours ago so maybe I'm just on a high, but Hela was a great villain in that she knew what she wanted and went for it. She didn't try to curry favour with anyone, she didn't hide till the time was right to strike, she pretty much steamrolled through everyone in her way. I know things didn't look good for her by the end of Ragnarok, but I'd be all in for her to be the embodiment of death that Thanos courts throughout Avengers 3 and 4. Plus, who doesn't love the moment where she crushes Mjolnir? Well Pauline didn't like it... she asked where Thor was going to get another one of his hammers, but the point is it was one of a couple of game changing moments from Hela.
Role:
Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie
Appearances:
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Reason Why:
A hard drinking self-hating selfish hero who is hiding from her past. Not something we get to see a lot of... unless you watch Jessica Jones, but the point is that is compelling and pulled off in a different way when Tessa Thompson is portraying the character. I am confused since her name in the movie seems to be the name of her group or warriors. Like if everyone just called Wonder Woman, Amazon. Either way, Valkyrie has different sides to her and is a complete joy to watch on screen as she takes the fight to anyone who deserves it. I also enjoyed the fact t hat she wasn't used as a replacement for Jane Foster regardless of what might happen in the future.
-YG