2021 is a big year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as there are many productions scheduled for release. Starting off Phase 4 with WandaVision, there will be releases with almost no wait time in between each new series or movie. It’s going to be tough to process all this new content! After Avengers: Endgame, many fans were left wondering how the MCU could top their storylines after the disassembling of the Original 6. Even though the two of the Big Three have ended their contracts with Marvel and had their characters face a [probably] irreversible end, there is still lots of excitement and anticipation for what’s to come.
I hope that with the new round of superheroes, there will be more female power. That one scene in Avengers: Infinity War where Proxima Midnight holds Wanda by the throat and says, “You will die alone”, with Black Widow popping up and retorting, “She’s not alone”, lives in my mind rent free, and I want to see more of that. Additionally, when all the female characters rallied around Peter Parker in Endgame, it definitely radiated major BDE, but it felt more like the MCU was feeding us a crumb. I can’t wait to see more of them in the spotlight. Captain Marvel became the first female main character in her own movie in 2019, WandaVision has recently dropped, and the long-awaited Black Widow solo movie is scheduled for May. There is so much to look forward to for the future of our favorite female characters. In honor of Women’s History Month, here is the line breakdown of Marvel’s female characters. Even though they typically have less lines than their male counterparts, they still left their impact on the MCU. Imagine what it would be like if they had more lines and screen time…
- Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow: 493 lines
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Topping our list of most lines spoken by a female character is our beloved Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow. Though she falls drastically below the numbers of lines said by the Big Three and three others, it’s still impressive that she’s only one of two women in the Top 10 characters with the most lines in the MCU. To be fair, she’s been there since the beginning and is considered one of the Original 6, but I can’t get enough of her! Can’t wait for her solo movie!
- Pepper Potts: 426 lines
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Next on the list in Mrs. Potts. She’s #9 on the list overall. She has also been in a lot of movies. Tony Stark has the most lines of any Marvel character ever, winning by a landslide; he is at 1894 lines, while #2 on the list is Captain American with 995. I’m assuming that because Tony had so many lines, dialogue between the two ramped up her own count. After Tony’s self-sacrifice, Pepper is now the Avenger’s sugar mama, so I want to see more of her bankrolling the team and hanging out with their daughter, Morgan. She has honestly been through so much loss and sadness; she deserved better. Talk about a strong woman.
- Gamora: 278 lines
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As we exit the top 10, Gamora comes in next at #16 (a huge jump from Pepper!). She also has less lines than a freaking racoon by almost 80 lines, so I don’t know how to feel about that. Homegirl also deserved better, but Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 1 and 2 was a fun watch. I wonder what they’re going to for volume 3 (it just entered pre-production!). I genuinely cannot remember the plot of the movies, but the only quote that sticks out to me is, “I have lived most of my life surrounded by my enemies. I would be grateful to die surrounded by friends.” It’s such a touching phrase, and it pains me that she died alone.
- Hope van Dyne/ Wasp: 270 lines
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This one surprised me a little. She was only in like two movies as a supporting character. She even beat out Captain Marvel who literally had her own movie?? Either way, she was funny and had working brain cells, and I love her. She was just there for the vibes, and I’m here for that. I don’t know when she had time to meet the other female heroes during Endgame, but it was still cool when they rallied together.
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Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel: 236 lines
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Brie Larson did a fantastic job portraying Captain Marvel, and it upsets me that she gets so much hate for it. I will be honest, the MCU kind of set her up for criticism. “Captain Marvel” seems like lazy name-making. First of all, we already have another captain; it’s inevitable that she’ll be compared to Captain America, and he’s tough to beat. To add on to that, their suits look so similar, like there are other colors that they could’ve chosen. Secondly, just calling her Marvel after the company?? Where’s the originality? Not Carol Danvers related, but Brie did so much for women just by posting those edits of male characters smiling on her Instagram. For context, people were criticizing her movie poster since she wasn’t smiling. As a rebuttal, she posted posters of Iron Man, Captain America, and Dr. Strange where someone had edited smiles on them, and they looked terrifying. I aspire to be as passive aggressive as her. She did more for women in that post than the MCU ever did.
- Jane Foster: 211 lines
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This one also surprised me. I genuinely don’t remember what happened to her. I think she was only in the first two Thor movies and then dipped. It’s also a little unsettling how she has the same number of lines as Ned Leeds, Peter Parker’s best friend. I believe Natalie Portman left the role due to creative disagreements regarding Patty Jenkins. It is implied that Portman only agreed to the series because of Jenkins, so she was very displeased with this result. Regardless, they could’ve come up with a better reason for her disappearance than “she broke up with Thor”, as mentioned in Thor: Ragnarok. They expect us to believe Jane broke up with a sculpted Norse god?? Wrong. Her representation of an intelligent and respected astrophysicist always makes me really happy. It’s important that strong female characters are portrayed. She’s coming back for the fourth installment of the series, so I hope we get to see her again soon!
- MJ Jones: 123 lines
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This number of lines is a little less surprising. MJ didn’t really talk too much in either Spiderman movies since they mostly centered around Spiderman himself. Fun fact: Spiderman has the third most lines in the MCU (beating out Thor!) even though homie just got here. Peter does speak really faster and often though, kind of like a talkative and excitable kid. I wished she had more lines though; she was so funny without even trying. My favorite sense of humor is saying hilarious things super casually with a straight face. Though she didn’t have that many lines, she made the most of what she did get.
- Nebula: 117 lines
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Blue lady! I don’t remember a single thing she said, but I did end up really liking her towards the end. I really like the headcanon that Tony Stark adopted her like he did Peter Parker and Harley. I don’t remember her dying, so I think we’ll see her again in future Guardians adventures. I would like that since she doesn’t annoy me that much anymore.
- Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlet Witch: 108 lines
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I’m certain with the recent release of WandaVision, her count has since exponentially increased. Regardless, she’s supposedly the strongest avenger, so she should’ve had more lines. I’m glad she’s getting in time in the spotlight now! This series was a great way to start off 2021, and I recommend watching it if you haven’t already!
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Shuri: 104 lines
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She is a genius and is considered to be on the same intellectual level as Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Hank Pym. I wish we got to see more of her, because she was so funny. My favorite dynamic between her and T’Challa was her being a woke teenager messing with her older not-so-woke brother. It’s a shame her and Peter Parker never met since I think they would get along so well and just constantly make Vine/TikTok references as Gen Z habitually do. Every word out of her mouth is gold; some of my favorite include: “When you said you would take me to California for the first time, I thought you meant Coachella or Disneyland”, “Great, another broken white boy for us to fix!”, “Don’t scare me like that, colonizer!”, and “What are thoseeeee!?”. Everything she’s said lives in my rent free. Petition for her to get more lines next time because she gives absolute zingers each time.
- Peggy Carter, Valkyrie, and Darcy Lewis: 93 lines
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Peggy Carter had a heart of gold. Remember when scrawny Steve jumped on that dummy explosive in the boot camp because he thought it was a live explosive? Well, Peggy was also going to do the same. They were the only two who thought to do that and were willing to sacrifice themselves to save others without hesitation. I wish her TV show didn’t get cancelled. She was a bad*ss and such an inspiration (the tally of her lines don’t include her show). Valkyrie was also a bad*ss. She was like the only female character in all of Thor: Ragnarok, but she represented well. I absolutely love Darcy Lewis. She carried the first Thor movie, and I loved the dialogue between her and Thor. She perfectly displays how you can be a genius scientist with a fun side. Everything she said was also gold, and I want to see more of her. Some of my favorite quotes from her include: “I am not dying for six college credits!”, “You know, for a homeless person, he’s pretty cute”, and “Myeuh-muh? What’s Myeuh-muh?”.
- Ancient One: 86 lines
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She is one of the most powerful female characters, topped only by the Scarlet Witch (as stated in WandaVision). It’s unsurprising that she didn’t have that many lines, which is good because she was kinda annoying. The Ancient One was originally supposed to be male, but I’m glad they opted for a Celtic female!
- Maria Hill: 85 lines
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I would die for Maria Hill. S.H.I.E.L.D. would not have lasted as long as it did without her. Nick Fury himself needs her. She has all the brain cells, can kick some serious butt, all while look good. My favorite scene of her was in Avengers: Age of Ultron when they got caught in a surprise attack at the Avengers Tower. In the aftermath, we see her picking out literal shards of glass from her feet, and then proceeding to put her heels back on when they begin to move on to their next plan of action. The MCU wouldn’t be much without, and she definitely would a character that I would love to learn more about.
- Okoye: 78 lines
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She didn’t have too many lines, but they were all iconic. “Would you kill me, my love?” “For wakanda? Without question.” Omg the power that exuded. That is one of the most memorable lines of the whole movie, and I remember everyone on social media talking about it for such a long time (which was deserved). She was so intimidating but respectable as a general. No wonder she was the king’s second in command. She earned her place on the battlefield, and she is a force to be reckoned with. She is short and sweet and to the point. It takes a whole other type of person to have so much power in such little words.
- Aunt May: 74 lines
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We love Aunt May! She just wanted what was best for Peter, and she did a great job. It was also great casting with Marisa Tomei. Like aforementioned, Peter has so many lines, so it isn’t surprising that the rest of the cast didn’t. Even so, with the little number she did have, her personality really showed through.
- Cassie Lang: 71 lines
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Cassie was so cute in Ant-Man, and Abby Fortson portrayed the role so well. For me, she is what really brought the movie together. She was her father’s partner in crime, and they were just so adorable together. My favorite lines from her are, “Are you trying to find my daddy? Hope you don’t catch him” and “He’s so ugly! I love him!” It sucks that Scott had to miss 5 years of her life growing up because of The Snap :/ Scott and Cassie deserved better than that.
- Karen: 67
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Karen is to Spiderman what Jarvis was to Iron Man. The only thing I remember her saying was, “Activating instant kill.” I was actually surprised she had this many lines, but Peter also asked her a lot of questions, so it makes sense.
- Mantis: 66
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Last but not least is Mantis. As a big-ish supporting character, it’s odd that she almost has less lines than an AI, but she got a lot across with little words.
For Women’s History Month, I hope there is more appreciation for the female power behind our beloved heroes. Without women, the MCU and the results of many battles wouldn’t be the same. P.S. I know the article’s thumbnail is of Spiderman (aka not a female hero), but I could not find any copy-right free pictures with Marvel women, which just goes to show how much we need more women in the MCU.