One of the highlights of the summer is sure to be “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” One of the highlights of its predecessor was Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne, daughter of the original Wasp and Hank Pym. She played a tough, smart woman who chaffed against her father’s protectionism, which made her a touching part of the movie.
Now, she apparently thinks that an awesome plan going forward for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to see the new Wasp as part of an all-female lineup of the Avengers.
“My hunch is that amongst the female MCU heroines, if there was, let’s say, a female MCU Avengers film, the leader of that group, if I had to guess, I’m gonna say Captain Marvel would probably be the candidate,” she told The Mary Sue. “She is a captain. And maybe I could be like her strategic right-hand woman.”
Now, in fairness, that might have been meant as a hypothetical, but this is woke Hollywood we’re talking about here. It’s rarely going to be a passing comment. In fact, this is probably an opening shot in trying to get such a movie made.
And what a hit it will be. In fact, I expect it’ll do just as well as “Ghostbusters II” did.
Why do I say that? Well, it’s not because there aren’t interesting female characters in the MCU. I’ve been jonesing for a Captain Marvel movie from the start and I’ve also been wanting a Black Widow movie or two, possibly at least one with Hawkeye so we can find out just what the hell transpired in Budapest!
The idea of female superhero movies doesn’t bother me in the least. What bothers me is when the focus becomes more on “grrrrl power” than on telling fantastic stories.
Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Panther, and Spider-Man all work not because of a male protagonist but because the focus isn’t on virtue signaling or anyone being “woke,” but on putting out compelling stories with awesome visuals and thrilling action. It’s why the Avengers movies have all worked as well.
DC’s Wonder Woman worked for the very same reason. Despite the ample opportunity to make the movie about “grrrrl power,” director Patty Jenkins focused on using the script to tell an awesome story that transcends gender. In the process, she made more inroads for women than she would have if she’d used the movie to preach to the feminist choir.
Seeing the Wasp as a member of the Avengers doesn’t bother me, nor does seeing her in a leadership role within the group. She’s the kind of character I can see being either in charge or number two in the group. That’s not the issue.
The issue is that the moment you start pushing for an all-female group, you tend to step into a realm where that becomes all the film is about, and that’s a recipe for disaster. Let’s hope the MCU is smart enough to pass.
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