10 years, 20 movies, and finally a Captain Marvel: No coincidence the movie releases on International Women’s Day

In less than a week, Marvel Studio’s first woman-led superhero flick, Captain Marvel, will land in the theatres. Hopefully with a bang!

A much-anticipated movie, the solo feature has been in the making for close to a year now and it’s been even longer since the first rumors surfaced. Many believe, Captain Marvel, starring Oscar-winning actor, Brie Larson, is Marvel’s answer to the snowballing box-office success of Wonder Woman.

Few others are of the opinion that a solo female flick was long coming, and Carol Danvers aka Cap Marvel is just the studio’s choice of agent to stir in the wave.

Perhaps the best bet is to wait until the film debuts in theatres this March 8, which also happens to be the International Women’s Day.

A natural question comes to the mind, is it just a mere coincidence that Marvel chose an internationally-acknowledged day to release their first female-fronted superhero feature?

Over the past 10 years and across 20 movies, after all, the studio has been forging an inter-connected, multi-dimensional fictional universe crowded by mostly male, and white superheroes.

Welcoming a wave of change

For some reason, until the recent success of DC’s Amazon, Marvel didn’t think of letting a superheroine lead the bandwagon. Is it the fear of the box-office numbers or just the plain assumption that a Black Widow or a Batgirl is better off as a hero’s sidekick than the one running the show? Or even worse, as a foil to the mighty heroes, who are tasked with saving the world.

Yes, indeed, a Black Widow murmur has been on for ages. She is, for a lack of better word, stunning, kicking ass at the bat of an eyelid, and at par with the likes of Hulk, Iron Man, or even Captain America.

But the sexual overtones associated with this character is also unmissable, a reason why perhaps Marvel chose to save her for later. At least until Captain Marvel has laid the foundation for an era of women superheroes, whose story, powers, and accomplishments are as important as their costumes.

“If the movie does well it will definitely open the door for more women-focused superhero movies,” says Jazmin Truesdale, Founder, Aza Comics.

“Wonder Woman already did that which is probably one of the influencing forces for this Captain Marvel movie. With non-white female Superheroes we'll have to see how the studios respond. They can be really weird about that.”

Stories of unsung heroes and underrepresented characters

Last year, a study spotlighted an interesting shift in trend. As it turned out, there are still more movies starring a male lead than a female lead. But when it comes to their success, it was found that the top movies, releasing between 2014 - 2017 and with a woman at the front and centre of all action, was more likely to pull the big numbers at the box-office. This was regardless the budget of the films.

“The data also indicates that films that pass the Bechdel Test, which measures the portrayal of women in film, surpass the box office returns of films that fail this test,” the report stated.

It is not much of a surprise that in both the domestic and international film industry, there’s an increased focus on the unsung women heroes and minority characters. The trend is even more visible in the superhero department, considering they have been the big profit drivers of late. Take Valkyrie’s case for instance, the comic book character who has been famously bisexual in the comics, finally found her sweet spot in 2017 in Thor: Ragnarok.

2018 fared well too in terms of representation as Deadpool 2 introduced an openly queer character, Negasonic Teenage Warhead (and her girlfriend Yukio) played by Brianna Hildebrand. In the fandoms, there’s a growing chatter about Wonder Woman’s sexuality too, although there might be time before topgun studios like DC and Marvel address these topics. Rest assured, there is an appetite for women and lesser-known heroes among comic book loyalists.

As BossLogic, a contemporary digital artist whose illustrations have been shared even by the Russo brothers explains, “Women-led superhero films could have been brought in long ago, just needed stories for the big screen… “None were really being made, I mean there were some, but they really were a miss and I think that hurt the studios a little back then, but glad to see them coming in strong now.”

Wempowerment, on and off screen?

Black Widow, Valkyrie, Wonder Woman, Okoye, Shuri – just a few female heroes from the roster, who have received a share of the limelight in the recent past. Some of them are lined up for future ensemble movies, and few are even in the process of getting their own solo feature. But the empowerment doesn’t and shouldn’t stop on reel.

“Captain Marvel is the new era, phase 4,” quips BossLogic. “She brings in a space to the MCU that opens up so many stories that I have wanted to see.”

With Wonder Woman, the world was introduced to the box-office favourite filmmaker-actor duo Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot. Scarlett Johansson is in line for her solo feature next, while the upcoming Captain Marvel movie will see Larson teaming up with co-director Anna Boden (also the first woman to helm a Marvel movie). And then there is the impending Birds of Prey ensemble film, with actor Margot Robbie leading an all-female cast.

It doesn’t take rocket science to figure that the new-age superhero movies are the best bet when it comes to closing the debate on gender parity. After years of exhausting the too white, too male roster, they are a breath of fresh air, and one that can mint the numbers and lure movie buffs too.

“As for the MCU, I would pay good money to watch a buddy/spy/action movie starring Black Widow and Okoye,” quips Immanuel Jotham, a self-confessed comic book fan.

It’s naïve then to think that Marvel is merely honouring women with its carefully chosen release date for Captain Marvel. The studio is making a statement, one that we can only hope others emulate. For all the right reasons!