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#Endgame: ​Looking For Some MARVELous Women Action? None Found!

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Ria Das
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Dear Avengers, the excitement over Endgame is compelling but this is not a happy post. Okay, let me rephrase that. We love you 3000 times (cross my heart), but I hate to break it to you that Marvel did injustice to its female characters. Where are the Marvel women, guys? Except for Scarlett Johansson's (who plays character, Black Widow or Natasha Romanoff) much-devastating self-sacrificing big death scene, Avengers: Endgame doesn't have much to offer to its fans who were rooting to see some badass women actions like how it happened in Infinity War. The clap-worthy moments were all men!

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Okay, let’s talk about my girl Natasha here. TBH, when ​Nat says 'let me go', we all weep. She sacrifices her life so Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) can get access to the Soul Stone. Honestly, Marvel has always been on an unstable ground as far as representing a solid woman character (except Nat) is concerned, someone who would stand up to her male counterparts and slay. Nat was one of the only female characters who joined the boys' club since the beginning of our MCU journey. She didn’t have power, but was always badass all on her own. She was a strong and good person but also intimidating. In Endgame too, she was keeping the Avengers and friends together, with whatever it takes! And, Marvel totally ditched the Honourable by not giving her a grand remembrance. No funeral for her?  Really Marvel?

The early world of The Avengers was a man’s world and after watching Endgame I feel it still is. There were very few women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who got cheer-worthy action.

Also Read: ‘Wonder Woman’ Gal Gadot Filmed Reshoots At 5-Months Pregnant

The early world of The Avengers was a man’s world and after watching Endgame I feel it still is. There were very few women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who got cheer-worthy action. Like Cobie Smulders, who portrays Commander Maria Hill, but was not seen anywhere near the big war. Yes, the world needs superheroes to save it but civilians could play big roles too. Biggest example of this disappointment is that it took the Marvel Cinematic Universe over a decade to give us the first black and female-led movies in Black Panther and Captain Marvel.

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Talking about Brie Larson (who plays Captain Marvel); she was shipped out to be the franchise's strongest superhero, even stronger than Thor (if you could believe it). The film brought in more than a billion dollars at the box office and zero emotions in my heart (and no, we still haven’t got used to that particular bit of casting). More realistically, we’re probably looking at a modest recovery and an eventual character development, but Marvel didn't give her the time to expand. Her character was catapulted to add a woman's punch in the big game but throughout the movie, she appeared twice and as usual vanished when 'destiny arrived'. Seems like directors, the Russo brothers had no clue how to pan out her role among the real Avengers. She was left almost alone in the entire Universe and was in the dark about the context of her scenes, whenever Marvel decided her arrival.

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Captain Marvel appears for only 15 minutes, despite her recent blockbuster. Before the big battle, I forgot that she exits. How anti-feminist of me!

The battle, where the Mad Titan owned every superheroes back, the real war raged between the sexes. The major male characters enjoyed a combined time of more than 350 minutes of screen-time, compared to only 116 for their female counterparts.

Endgame's roster includes at least 30 superheroes, of which only actress Karen Gillan has the most screen time of all the female stars, appearing as the cyborg Nebula while Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie appears for just eight minutes, The Sun reported.

Towards the end, the only big girl power moment was short-lived.

But, is it though?

Okoye, head of T'Challa's all-female guard Dora Milaje, Scarlet Witch—Wanda Maximoff, who definitely kicked Thanos for a minute there, Zoe Saldana's Gamora who bested at nothing, or even Pepper Potts suiting up—all seemed coerced, to impress feminist fans just like giving lollipops to kids so they would shut up.

But overall, Endgame is on track to becoming one of the greatest hits in cinema history, making a record-breaking £1billion at opening. More than ten years' worth of films, unfortunately, no notable women's actions captured.

And, predictably midway, I restrained myself from expecting more and started enjoying the movie instead. Cheered loud especially when Captain America finally wields Thor's hammer. What a moment!

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