Marvel’s Thunderbolts* recently released a teaser trailer, which has the fans excited. Florence Pugh’s Yelena takes center stage for it, as the rest of the tag team of antiheroes and villains come together under one roof (and thumb). Julia Louis Dreyfus, responsible for bringing the Thunderbolts together, makes an appearance at the very end, as the teaser leaves us wanting more.
While it was really good to see all these characters come together, there are certain aspects of it that the MCU probably could do without. And the most glaring subject would be the broken female hero theme that has been consistent for most of the female characters that have come up so far. From Natasha to Wanda to Valkyrie to Hope, most of the female heroes we see in the MCU have a similar story. And now, Yelena seems to be on the same path.
Thunderbolts* Teaser Trailer Gives Center Stage to An Emotionally Wounded Yelena
Florence Pugh made her MCU debut with Black Widow in 2021. The Scarlet Johansson starrer movie became the stepping stone for the character of Yelena Belova as the next female action hero. It was done in the hope that she could fill the gap left by Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow. But maybe they could have given her a storyline that was a little different from Natasha’s.
Although to say that they had the same backstory would be wrong, it won’t be too far-fetched to say that it is pretty similar. Alongside Natasha, Yelena was trained as a spy and an assassin by the Red Room, and the two were sisters. When she finds out about Natasha’s death, she goes on a revenge hunt, even appearing in the Disney+ show Hawkeye, to kill Clint, thinking he had killed her sister.
Florence Pugh‘s Yelena maintains the trope of a broken female hero that Marvel has been consistently putting out. An emotionally wounded woman who is trying to find her place and purpose in this world. We, of course, remember Natasha’s storyline, but sadly, it’s not just her.
Wanda Maximoff had a similar story, whose debut happened because she gave herself up to be experimented on after her parents died. And then, the emotional degradation continues with her losing control, Vision’s death, and then with losing her children.
Then we have the character of Valkyrie, whose whole sisterhood dies and she becomes a fighting machine for the Grandmaster. In trying to forget the Valkyrior as well as her legacy as a part of it, she drinks and fights to keep her mind away. This trend continues for most of the female heroes in the MCU, and maybe it’s time they put a stop to it.
Let’s Break The Stereotype of A Hero Is Only As Good As They Are Broken
If this trend is anything to go by, without the darkness consuming the characters, their depth seemingly vanishes. Romanticizing this aspect of a female hero with a checkered past, though prominent, is not only confined to the MCU. In other movies and shows too, there is a similar trend. Whether it’s Angelina Jolie in Salt or Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde, these female action heroes also have a pretty similar background.
But we need to remember that with the MCU, the movies are also for children (except Deadpool, thank you!). And their impressionable minds do not need to see the same thing hashed and rehashed. Rather than romanticizing this aspect and having them relate to such characters, why not give them superheroes with a little more positivity?
We already have seen Iman Vellani’s Kamala Khan and one of the main reasons she became so popular with kids and adults alike is because she had a happier backstory than most other heroines. Hopefully, Marvel can give us, and their younger audiences, a little more positivity with the female heroes they bring to the screen. And no, we are not just asking them to smile more. But maybe they could just be a little happier.
Thunderbolts* is set to release in theaters on May 2, 2025.
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