Power and Gender: The Twisting Paths for Female Heroes and Superheroes

A strange thing happens on the way to most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe female superheroes getting their powers, they often don’t know the full capacity of their powers for quite a long time, and many of them are misled by others about their powers. Most of the MCU female superheroes don’t get a linear experience in coming into their powers, they come by those powers accidently, as do some of the male heroes, but the female heroes are often essentially fighting with one hand tied behind their back, or blindfolded, since they are constrained in making use of their superheroic capacities. Captain Marvel, in many ways, is the keenest example of this thesis. As we learn her origin story in the film Captain Marvel, we see this incredibly powerful female superhero who is being trained to use her powers. Because she lost her memory in the transition to her superpowers, Vers is doubly disabled—she doesn’t know who she is, nor does she know the full extent of her power. Like so many of the female superheroes who follow her, Captain Marvel learns on the job, and because she is not linearly learning her powers, she is at a disadvantage. Much like Sersi lacks full knowledge of the situation in The Eternals, or Wanda having the full grasp of her capacities as The Scarlet Witch. This is an oddly gendered distinction between the male superheroes and the female superheroes. The men often come into their powers and we see them experience those powers, learn how they work, and go on with their lives, or in the face of threats, they have full knowledge of their powers, skills, and operational capacities. The female superheroes learn on the job, come to their capacities in zigzagging trajectories, surprised by what they can do and how they can apply their powers. While the female superheroes are quite powerful (Captain Marvel is the strongest of the Avengers), their origin stories tell of constrained capacities, and highlight a difference in the presentations of these super-humans—the male heroes are more capable, and less bumbling.