In keeping with the bad habits of both the comic book and film industries, women are underrepresented both on and off screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even when the MCU does feature female characters, they're rarely the focus of the films or TV shows in question and, even when they are, they're often saddled with dull romantic plots or allowed far less development than their male counterparts. However, the MCU is slowly (very slowly) but surely, improving its gender balance and allowing its existing female stars to develop and move to the forefront of their franchises. We're even starting to get movies that are female-led - Ant-Man And The Wasp in 2018 and Captain Marvel the year after, while the other films are looking set to give increased screen time to their female characters in future instalments. Though there is of course still work to be done, the MCU women are breaking through and earning themselves ever increasing fanbases. They each bring their own brand of brilliance to the table and prove that heroics shouldn't be confined to male characters.
10. Bobbi Morse
ABC's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D arguably serves its female characters better than any other MCU venture. Though Daisy Johnson (née Skye) can occasionally be a bit of a drag, the rest of the show's women are brilliant. Since Season 2, this has included the Amazonian (not literally) butt-kicker, Bobbi Morse, played by Adrianne Palicki. She's based on the comics character Mockingbird and has proven to be as just as incredible as her print-counterpart. Morse is a highly skilled S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, speaks multiple languages and has a biology PhD. She is also responsible for some of S.H.I.E.L.D's most thrilling fight scenes, during which she takes down rooms of gun-wielding men armed only with her trademark batons. She is also supportive of the other women on her team, which is a nice rebuttal to the "competitive women" trope common on TV.