Ever since Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) started back in January 2021, the “MSheU” has been a recurring element in the media. What is intended with this term? And why is it incorrect?
The “MSheU” is a wordplay. People all over the world are posting about the new Marvel movies and how “everyone nowadays has to be female.” Think about, for example, She-Hulk (who is ‘replacing’ the Hulk), Jane Foster who became Lady Thor, and Riri Williams who will be Ironheart.
These fans are upset by the fact that everyone needs to have a female version now and how the old male characters are being killed off and replaced by them. Others complain about the ‘overdose’ of new female characters who are “just being added to show that Disney is ‘woke’”. Hence, the name “M-She-U” instead of MCU.
Take for example the picure below:
Most of these characters have been introduced in Phase 4 or will get a bigger role in it. It is pictures like these that people use to show how many female characters were added in just (almost) two years.
However, this picture portrays Phase 4 wrong. Captain Marvel, Wanda, Shuri, She-Hulk, and The Wasp are important characters. But only Carol Denvers and Jennifer Walters got a solo movie/series (WandaVision and Ant-man and The Wasp being accompanied by male leads). Yelena, Sylvie, Kate, Layla, Cassie, and Xialing are all side characters. And we can’t even properly comment on Clea — who had three seconds of screen time in the credit scene of Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness. Since these characters are mainly all side characters to a male lead (or not even a prominent character in the movie/show), these types of images/arguments do not correspond with their “MSheU” theory.
Apart from the relevance these women had in Marvel movies, one can also look at the Phase 4 projects and see if the “MSheU” is indeed true or not.
- WandaVision: mainly female lead, but with a man in the title
- Shang-Chi: and the Legend of the Ten Rings: male lead
- Eternals: both
- Spider-Man: No Way Home: male lead
- Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness: male lead
- Thor: Love and Thunder: male lead
- Black Widow: female lead
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: male lead
- Loki: male lead
- Hawkeye: male lead
- Moon Knight: male lead
- Ms Marvel: female lead
- She-Hulk: Atterney at Law: female lead
- Werewolf by Night: both
So, from these last 14 Marvel projects; only 3 have been female leads and 3 others were accompanied by a male lead. That means that the other 11 projects (not including the movies/series that had both male and female leads) are male leads. Thus, is the MCU really the “MSheU”?
No, it is not. It is true that there are now more female characters; but what is the issue with that? No one ever called it the “MHeU”. Take a look at Phase 1 for example:
- Iron Man: male lead
- The Incredible Hulk: male lead
- Iron Man 2: male lead
- Thor: male lead
- Captain America: The First Avenger: male lead
- The Avengers: 1 female character, 5 male characters
All these 6 movies have as main character(s) a man. The women in these movies are normally the love interest or dressed for the ‘male gaze’ (think about Black Widow in Iron Man 2). Only in The Avengers, a female character became somewhat more important. So, why did no one complain about that? Why did no one call it the “MHeU”? I could also make a list for Phase 2 and 3, but I think my point is clear by now.
I think it is also important to point out that almost all of these women already existed in the comics (the exception is Xu Xialing who was based on 5 different characters). Lady Thor’s first comic appearance was in 1962, She-Hulk came in 1980, and Sylvie in 2009. Thus, they weren’t just introduced in the movies to seem woke. They already appeared in many comics and some even had their own spin-off (think about “The Savage She-Hulk”). Remember, the MCU is based on the Marvel Comics — it is almost never random.
So, what does all of this proof? It proofs a condenscending view (mainly) men have on the MCU. It proofs that, due to the vast majority of male characters, this term is far from reality. And that if you can’t handle a few more women in superhero suits rather than in tight dresses on the big screen, you might not be “woke” enough.
To conclude, if you don’t like how some newly introduced female characters are written — that’s okay. It is your opinion. But saying that the MCU is now the “MSheU” because of the ‘overload’ of women, is not accurate when looking at the facts. Who knows? Maybe there will be more female leading roles in the future. Or maybe in Phase 5 these side characters will become very important like Wanda did, but for now, I can assure you; It is not the “MSheU”. It is the MCU with (finally) some more female characters.
Alice and Clara ‘t Lam
