These Marvel Women Need Their Own Movies Now

Young Avengers, Vol. 1: Sidekicks, by Allan Heinberg
Kate Bishop has no superpowers when she first takes up Hawkeye and Mockingbird’s gear and learns to fight villains. Along with other teen heroes, Kate forms the Young Avengers, attempting to fill the void when the real Avengers are temporarily disbanded. Kate’s journey from average teenager to superhero (alongside Ant-Man’s daughter Cassie Lang and the other YAs) is a great coming-of-age story, and would provide a great chance for an ensemble cast of young actors to fight battles with smaller stakes than the all-out cosmic whiz-bang we’ll be experiencing in the upcoming Avengers sequels.

She-Hulk, Vol. 1: Single Green Female, by Dan Slott
She-Hulk is long overdue for an appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Shulkie is way more than just “The Hulk, but a woman.” Jennifer Walters is Bruce Banner’s cousin, and not only can she control when she changes back and forth between Jenn and her larger, greener version, but she retains her full intelligence and personality when she’s all hulked up. She’s a practicing attorney when she’s not hanging out with the Avengers or the Fantastic Four, and the “superhero legal drama” angle has been used to excellent effect in the comics. Dan Slott’s 2004 She-Hulk series strikes a good balance between serious issues and light-hearted fun, and features a fascinating meta-narrative in which Marvel Comics, the publisher, exists within the Marvel Comics universe, issuing comic book stories about the real superheroes that live there; Jenn’s law firm keeps a collection of back issues to check for legal precedents. If that sounds a bit obtuse, imagine a Netflix series about a lawyer who has to deal with the wacky consequences of a world where superpowers are real, but who also turns into a super-strong green woman to protect her friends. (Also, check Mariko Tamaki’s current take on She-Hulk, called simply Hulk. Good stuff.)

Daredevil Epic Collection: A Touch of Typhoid, by Ann Nocenti
If any future season of Daredevil is going to be worth a damn, it has to involve Typhoid Mary. A mentally troubled woman, Mary suffers from dissociative identity disorder, veering from the timid Mary to the murderous Typhoid. Her personalities are so distinct, Matt Murdock is unable to recognize they’re the same person, even using his powerful senses. Typhoid Mary is also a mutant with pyrokinetic powers, which makes her incredibly dangerous. She’s a wonderfully complex character who constantly struggles with her own worst impulses and a desire to find stability and mental health, all of which would make her a fascinating antagonist/love interest for Daredevil. Plus, she was created by writer Ann Nocenti, whose 1980s run on on the Man without Fear (issues 236 through 291) is criminally underrated.

Avengers Assemble, Vol. 1, by Kurt Busiek
Sure, we’re getting our Captain Marvel movie. Eventually. But there’s a version of her story we probably won’t see in the MCU because, frankly, it involves her long and complicated backstory. But imagine if someone could tackle it in, say, a trilogy of movies about Carol Danvers: her military career. Gaining superpowers after being genetically spliced with an alien. Losing them (and her memories) in an encounter with the mutant Rogue. Gaining even more powerful cosmic powers. Getting mind-controlled and married to a time-traveling warlord. All that trauma contributing, layer upon layer, to her stoic, controlling personality, making it almost impossible for her to seek help. Finally, all of it collapsing into self-destruction and alcoholism. Imagine what a powerful story about mental health, PTSD, and caring for military veterans you could tell that way. Danvers’ story is spread across decades of Marvel comics, of course, but it all comes to a head in this collection, which is also a fantastic return to form for the Avengers as a vivid, dramatic superhero adventure story.

Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! Vol. 1: Hooked On A Feline, by Kate Leth
Kate Leth’s recent Hellcat series was an excellent take on the “superheroics alongside hilariously dealing with mundane real-life stuff” subgenre. This version of Hellcat will be familiar to fans of Netflix’s Jessica Jones. Patsy has to deal with her mother’s exploitation of her past, she has superhero problems, superhero friends—but also romance and rent checks. This series also draws on her past in the comics, notably time spent as a member of the Defenders, and the fact that she was once literally married to the Son of Satan. A simple plot description can’t really convey the charm, wit, and emotional depth that made this such a standout series, and all of it would translate brilliantly to a Netflix show (with Leth on the writing team!).

Essential X-Men, Vol. 5, by Chris Claremont
Think about how many X-Men movies you’ve seen. What do you know about Storm? Is it anything beyond, “She has weather powers and white hair”? Talk about an underdeveloped character. Even the tiny slice of backstory we got in X-Men: Apocalypse didn’t help much. If Storm ever gets her own movie, there’s a very dramatic character arc from the comic books that she could follow. She spent her early years as a sort of nature-loving weather hippie, floating around with her long, white hair flowing everywhere, being overly comfortable with nudity, thanking “the goddess” for things, and so on. Then, in the mid-1980s, she got a mohawk haircut and punk/leather outfit. She also lost her powers, forcing her to learn new ways to survive among humans and mutants alike. Eventually, she became the leader of the Morlocks, a subway-tunnel dwelling band of mutant outcasts. The Morlocks provide an interesting middle ground between Xavier’s mutant utopianism and Magneto’s quest for mutant global domination. These are mutants ajust trying to survive. And Storm? She falls in love with a Native-American mutant named Forge, but he’s wracked with guilt because he invented the weapon that stole her powers. That’s more than enough melodrama for a feature film.
What stories are we forgetting?