1. Black Widow
A lot has been written about the Black Widow of the MCU and deservedly so. I could just talk about her awesome fighting abilities, her refusal to back away from the mission at hand even when she is terrified (remember how she was able to pull herself out of shock after Bruce Banner hulked out and nearly backhanded her?), or the very fact that she is one of the most important members of S.H.I.E.L.D., gathering up the other Avengers when no one else could. Those are all true, of course, but what I love about the Black Widow - and what makes her truly awesome - is her ability, much like Peggy Carter, to twist men's perceptions of her against them. The first time we see her inThe Avengers, she is in a short black cocktail dress, tied up in a chair and being derisively called a "pretty face" by Russian bad guys. This moment is important because it demonstrates that, unlike the other Avengers, Black Widow has to deal with sexual and gendered violence. She plays the helpless female ("You really think I'm pretty?") in over her head, just to catch them off their guard. She then proceeds to take all three men out in swift succession, pick up her black pumps, and continue onto the next mission. Awesome. Black Widow manipulates her femininity for her own gains throughout the MCU, most famously in her face-off with Loki. The so-called trickster god is fooled by his own biased notions of womanhood. He believes that love is the center point of Black Widow's life, and even uses vaguely sexually violent language against her:
"I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you; slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you mewling quim!"
Black Widow manipulates his assumptions of her worst fears to find out Loki's plans. In doing so, she tricks the trickster and reveals that not once in their entire exchange was he the one in power or control. Loki's subsequent confusion and her calm confidence are things of beauty. Black Widow returns in the upcoming Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier and, like many fans of the MCU, I am looking forward to seeing her kick some more ass. Of course, nothing would make me happier than seeing her headline her own film. Seriously, can we get her petition started now?
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