Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 10 Ways It Beats Thor 2

6. The Female Characters Actually Have Stuff To Do

There is no character in the MCU who provokes less interest than Jane Foster, Thor's Natalie Portman-shaped love interest who hasn't been given anything worthy to do since we first encountered her in Kenneth Branagh's original flick. Thor: The Dark World emphasised Jane as somebody who Marvel don't seem particularly sure what to do with - they even made her unconscious for half of the flick (though, to be fair, she looked pretty unconscious before that anyway - Portman certainly doesn't seem able to hide the fact that she's bored). So whereas The Dark World relegated its female cast to doing nothing (that's you, Jane), acting as half-assed love interests (that'll be Sif, whose plotline is totally forgotten about), and unnecessary comic relief characters (sorry, Darcy), The Winter Soldier lets its female characters do what they do best: kick ass. Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow is in the movie just as much as the Captain is, and probably plays the most level-headed character of the bunch - even if they can't help but make her flirt with our hero on occassion. The same goes for Cobie Smulders' Maria Hill, who turns up to - would you believe it?! - actually do stuff that's important to the storyline. It's a freakin' miracle!