Marvel, Misogyny and the “M-She-U”
In November 2023, Marvel Studios released their latest film, The Marvels. The film featured a trio of all-star heroes: Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel and Monica Rambeau. Leaving aside any binary opinions, the film was a fun sci-fi adventure, with three fantastic characters teaming up. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for some people. Once again the Marvel fandom was inundated with vocal misogynists, flooding online communities. Comments ranged from mild expressions of boredom, bizarre celebrations over the film being a “flop”, all the way to people pushing a toxic and hostile anti-woman rhetoric.
Sadly, the backlash towards The Marvels isn’t anything new. Phases 4 and 5 have introduced more diverse characters to the MCU, marking an exciting period of expansion and growth. These are huge steps needed to improve a universe which has been largely homogeneous since 2008. It unfortunately makes the MCU an easy target for people who oppose equal representation, and who take to various platforms to voice their offensive opinions. Black Widow, Eternals, Ms Marvel, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - these all faced similar backlash. They were subject to online outrage and petty review bombing, with people weaponising the term “the M-She-U” as an insult. Sexist attitudes thrive and spread like mould or rot, so it’s unsurprising when comments become more venomous.
While the historical roots of misogyny are long and deeply embedded, contemporary forms are fuelled from various places. Attitudes which devalue, objectify and mistreat women are reinforced by alt right political movements, bizarre culture wars, online incel communities, and unfortunately the comic book industry itself. The fringe movement “Comicsgate” opposes diverse comic books, targeting progressive characters, stories and creators. But, mainstream creators also perpetuate the myth that superheroes exist for a heterosexual male audience. For example, the original ‘Ultimates’ series from the early 2000s featured a horny and cannibalistic iteration of the Hulk, who is distracted mid battle by a naked Wasp shouting “Hey, Banner! Betty Ross got a rack as nice as these?” These books influence reader attitudes and values, so it’s unsurprising to see toxic messaging spread like a virus.
A key theme with misogynistic Marvel fans, and indeed many other forms of bigot, is a lack of understanding. Fans who are unhappy with female characters clearly misunderstand the history of Marvel in spectacular fashion. They’ve volunteered themselves to gatekeep a franchise, but they’ve misinterpreted what they’re protecting. While there are many things they’re wrong about, there are a couple of common arguments which are particularly incorrect. So, please allow me to clear the air by unpacking and myth busting the key arguments made by misogynistic Marvel fans.
Argument #1: Marvel Comics aren’t diverse or progressive
The myth: “Marvel Comics are all about straight white male heroes. Films and TV shows which move away from that are woke*, and don’t represent what Marvel Comics stand for.”
The truth: Marvel have a long history of diverse characters. They’ve never solely been about straight white male heroes. Marvel as we know it started with the Fantastic Four in 1961, a team which featured Sue Storm from the first issue, and their catalogue of heroes and villains grew from there. Stan Lee’s thesis statement was “anyone can be a hero.” Most Marvel teams offer a diverse character roster. Consider the X-Men: a politically active comic book about oppression, marginalised groups standing shoulder to shoulder, self expression, and a celebration of identity. Marvel haven’t suddenly turned progressive, it’s just the MCU’s representation was appalling before Phase 4. The rise in diverse characters brings the MCU more in line with what Marvel Comics stand for**.
*It’s worth mentioning, “woke” has become an absurd term. It used to be an expression of someone’s willingness to learn about social change. It’s since been misappropriated as a means of criticising progressive media and people. It’s a way of indirectly expressing an opinion which is racist, or sexist, or homophobic, or transphobic etc. People hide behind “woke” because it hides prejudices they’re rightfully ashamed to voice.
**There are numerous examples of Marvel books which are products of their time, and reflect outdated values and stereotypes. However, the intention of being progressive and open-minded has always been there, and it’s certainly something they’ve achieved more as standards of writing and art have evolved.
Argument #2: The MCU is creating new female characters
The myth: “Marvel Studios are creating new characters for their woke agenda. Specifically, they’re inventing female equivalents of existing male characters.”
The truth: Marvel Studios are bringing existing characters into upcoming projects. Plain and simple. These characters have existed for decades in the comics books, so anyone claiming otherwise hasn’t paid attention. It’s why we see outraged tweets claiming that She-Hulk is “making Stan Lee turn in his grave.” Which is delightfully incorrect and incredibly funny. Not only is Stan Lee not turning in his grave, because he was always in favour of equal representation, but he co-created She-Hulk. Jennifer Walters wasn’t created for the MCU, she’s existed since 1979. Decades of history aren’t erased because narrow-minded people bury their heads in the sand.
Also, a wonderful aspect of many heroes is that their title can pass on. Captain America, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Ms Marvel, Ant-Man, The Wasp - these mantles can all be passed to a new character. Some mantles can even be adapted, for the purposes of both sincerity (e.g. Spider-Woman) or comedy (e.g. Spider-Ham). That’s the beauty of superhero naming conventions and the sliding timeline, because even if characters come and go, their mantle lives on and new characters add their own spin to the legacy. So, if you’re unhappy that a title like Hawkeye hasn’t passed to a straight white man, there is a problem, but it’s you.
Argument #3: Female characters are taking over the MCU
The myth: “The MCU used to be about white male heroes, because that’s who heroes are! Now the woke agenda is spreading, and soon there won’t be any men left in the MCU at all!”
The truth: The MCU used to centre predominantly on a collection of white male heroes. What was the result of this? It was boring, repetitive and incredibly limited. However, phases 4 and 5 have made a concerted effort to include a diverse range of heroes. The end goal is to have a massive collection of heroes sharing the same universe, where there’s room for everyone’s story to be told - just like the comic books. White male heroes aren’t being removed and they’ll definitely still be present, they just won’t be the only type of hero.
It’s a simple matter of mathematics. Yes, female characters are being added, but male characters aren’t being subtracted.
Argument #4: Equal representation is the cause of Marvel’s slump
The myth: “The MCU is in a rough spot. New projects are underperforming at the box office and are having a tough time among critics and fans. The reason for this is the inclusion of diverse characters.”
The truth: Marvel’s slump has been caused by decreased quality in their storytelling and the overwhelming number of products. Films and TV shows aren’t as polished as before, and they just so happen to feature female characters. But, and I’ll say this loudly so everyone at the back can hear me, projects don’t fail because they’re about female characters. For some reason people are attributing critical backlash and box office struggles exclusively to a film’s equal representation, which is an incredibly simplistic and absurd argument.
There are two examples to consider, which prove this logic is flawed.
- Iron Man 2 was a disaster by anyone’s standards. It may have performed well financially, but it’s widely regarded as one of the worst MCU films. So, based on the logic that the central character is the reason for a film’s failing, we can say definitively that Iron Man 2 was a disaster because it’s about a white male character. No other reason.
- If a female lead is the reason for films not being successful, how did Captain Marvel perform so well? How did it reach a milestone only a handful of films have achieved by crossing $1 billion at the box office? It can’t just be because it was released between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, because Ant-Man and the Wasp also released during this period, and that made less than half of Captain Marvel’s box office receipts. You can’t just pick and choose which statistics you pay attention to because it backs your argument.
The argument that diverse characters are the cause of Marvel’s slump is preposterous. In fact, the opposite is true. Adding new characters offers more room for fresh and exciting stories, which is how you keep a franchise alive. Look no further than Ms Marvel. In a wonderful moment of repeated history which echoes their comic book debut, Kamala Khan has exploded onto the scene and gained enormous popularity for a multitude of reasons. Recent projects have firmly placed Ms Marvel as a fan favourite character, with many fans (myself included) feeling excited for future projects where Kamala might make an appearance. That’s healthy growth, and it’ll help sustain the franchise much more than repeating old tricks and running existing characters into the ground.
It’s important to remember not every Marvel fan thinks and behaves like this. Thankfully, the fandom is still largely a place of harmony, respect, and shared passion. It’s also a space where prejudices are identified and challenged. The party doesn’t stop just because intolerant people want to scream their outdated opinions online, and their horrible behaviour won’t stop anyone else from enjoying The Marvels or any future projects. It’s a community founded on joy and inclusion, not hatred.
It was a dark moment to see people actively celebrating The Marvels struggling at the box office. It’s essential for everyone else to send a clear message: there’s no room for prejudices or hostility in the fandom. Unfortunately, misogyny is just one issue. Homophobia and racism are just as rampant in online communities, and bigots often collect prejudices like infinity stones to power up their gauntlet of offensive bullshit. Projects often aren’t attacked for one reason. Characters like Black Panther, Ms Marvel, Shang-Chi and the Eternals have all been targeted by trolls armed with an amalgam of prejudices. If a character simply existing is an issue, then that’s your problem to deal with, especially if the character is part of a group that you don’t value or respect off screen. Direct your anger towards characters who are offensive / damaging / culturally insensitive / built on harmful stereotypes, and leave everyone else alone.
If anyone complains about the MCU becoming the M-She-U due to increased appearances from female characters, I have one word in response: FINALLY. The MCU has been dominated by male heroes for far too long, and these steps forward are a good thing. It doesn’t mean we won’t see any male heroes, or every hero will be a woman moving forwards, it just means we’ll see a more diverse range of characters. It’s even more important to see diverse character now we’re in the multiversal saga. It was already overwhelmingly dull to have a mostly male universe; imagine how much worse it’d be if we saw a mult-he-verse. Gross.
I’m all for the M-She-U. I think the M-She-U is great. I want to see more diversity on screen. I want more people to see themselves represented on the big screen. I want more people to know their voice is heard. I want more people to know there’s room for everyone’s story to be told, and that superhero films are for everyone. I want more people to grow up believing they can be a hero. I want more people to look in the mirror and see a hero staring back at them. I want a cinematic universe which reflects and celebrates the diverse world we live in. Most importantly, I want a fandom which is kind, open-minded and respectful. And if anyone doesn’t want the above statements to be true, I’d recommend they walk away.
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