A Feminist Killjoy Meets the Marvel Cinematic Universe…
What do you do when you’ve been in some degree of lockdown/ quarantine/ pod-situation for over a year and your brain is completely fried and even though you know you’ll watch the entirety of Schitt$ Creek for a fourth time, you need to watch something fun that you don’t need to care about?
You watch the new Disney+ show, WandaVision because EVERYONE was talking about it. And they were all right to. It was incredible… strange, interesting, full of well-drawn characters, and very meta-theatrical.
SPOILERS ABOUND… IF YOU READ ON I’M ASSUMING YOU’VE SEEN ALL THE MCU MOVIES/ SHOWS
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I mean, the show is basically about a girl who copes with trauma by watching television, and then as a woman turns her traumatic life into a television show, but ends up traumatizing others all the while I’m watching it to distance myself from the trauma of everyday pandemic life! Brilliant!
Not only was the show like a puzzle… but one where you have no idea what the final image will be, it featured Kathryn Hahn who I will watch do basically anything, and a diverse cast of characters and actors who I just wanted to see more of (Randall Park’s “Jimmy Woo” anyone?!).
There was, however, one glaring problem. I hadn’t really ever watched any of the Marvel films. I’ve seen bits and pieces of them here and there—I watched the first (2011) Captain America on a really hot day so that I could enjoy the free air-conditioning, and made a point of seeing Black Panther in theatres (WAKANDA FOREVER!), but otherwise most of the MCU (Marvel Comics Universe) movies had escaped me.
So, what do you do when you’ve been in some degree of lockdown/ quarantine/ pod-situation for over a year and your brain is completely fried and even though you know you’ll watch the entirety of Schitt$ Creek for a fourth time, you need to watch something fun that you don’t need to care about and have finished WandaVision?
You embark on the project of watching EVERY SINGLE MCU (Marvel Comics Universe) movie in timeline order to see what happens first—finishing all the films or getting two doses of Pfizer in your arm (Pfizer beat the MCU by a couple of weeks).
So folx…I present to you the feminist killjoy as critic’s thoughts on every MCU film in timeline order as presented on the Disney+ AppleTV app (I have learned that there are some movies which technically fit into the timeline, but aren’t included on the app, so those were omitted).
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011 movie)
Bechdel Score: 0
1. Two women with names
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something other than a man
Okay, even though this movie is a TOTAL Bechdel failure, I kinda really love it. I like the idea that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), even when he gets BIG, is still just a skinny kid from Brooklyn who wants to do right. It doesn’t hurt that Chris Evans seems to be just about as nice of a guy as there can be. The relationship between Steve and Agent Carter (Haley Atwell) is totally charming and her role as a powerful woman is nice to see and certainly progressive for the 1940s (where the film is set), but still… she is literally the only woman who speaks for basically the entire movie.
Captain Marvel (2019 movie)
Bechdel Score: 3(!)
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
I really loved everything about this movie. It’s ultimately a film about a woman rediscovering herself, her herstory, and her power, AND reconnecting with a long lost best friend (who is a brave and brilliant Black woman played by Lashana Lynch, whose daughter becomes (one can argue) the central protagonist in WandaVision). Bree Larson is terrific and Annette Benning as mentor to Larson’s Carol Danvers/ Captain Marvel warms my heart.
I also genuinely appreciated learning how S.H.E.I.L.D. came to be and why Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) wears that eye-patch!
Where Captain America really had only one woman in the cast, in Marvel the strong female leads, and leads of color, show just how far the MCU has come in terms of representation in only 8 years! More Captain Marvel please!
Iron Man (2008 movie)
Bechdel Score: 0
1. Two women with names
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something other than a man
2008 indeed. This one hasn’t aged so well. Robert Downey Jr.’s rouge and arrogant charm might have been charming in 2008, but in 2021 it churned my stomach. Okay, he’s rich and brilliant, good for him, and yeah, he’d probably be like Elon Musk in real life… but I don’t need to watch it.
Gwyneth Paltrow might have fallen off the Goop wagon of late, but I still want to be open to her performances, especially since one of the reasons for her absence in films in recent years might very well be the ‘Weinstein’ of it all. Still, what was she doing in this film? She plays the ‘Type-A pain-in-the-ass woman’ to Robert Downey Jr.’s ‘boyish charm’ and it really grated on me.
Also, let us remember that all but one of the people of color in this movie are non-descript brown men who play terrorists. Don’t need to see this one again.
Iron Man 2 (2010 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
The presence of Scarlet Johansson’s Natasha is literally the only reason that this film gets a Bechdel 2. And it’s only because she plays the “hot secretary” who Tony Stark can’t keep his eyes off of while she’s secretly Black Widow and capable of some serious ass kicking.
The addition of Don Cheadle as Captain Rhodes brings a bit of diversity (and actual charm) to the cast, but still… this was made for straight white men (what wasn’t in 2010?!... or ever).
When Pepper Potts (Paltrow) became the CEO of Stark Industries I initially cheered for this powerful business woman… but then it becomes abundantly clear that she now just has more work to do cleaning up Tony’s messes so that he go and play with his toys and be a hero. None of which he could have done without her.
Pass.
Thor (2011 movie)
Bechdel Score: 3
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
To be clear: I will watch anything with Natalie Portman. And Natalie Portman as a brilliant physicist is even better. Portman graduated from Harvard, so it’s not that far off.
The second MCU Chris (Helmsworth) was surprisingly charming, and while I definitely rolled my eyes at their romantic subplot… whatever.
I can also confidently say that I’ll watch anything with Tom Hiddleston whose Shakespeare work of late has been stellar.
Kat Dennings’ character, Darcy Lewis, was the witty and sarcastic scientist I enjoyed from WandaVision, so I was happy to see her character’s arc from the beginning of the MCU series (Thor) where’s she’s an intern to the present in WandaVision where she solves the mystery at the center of the show.
While it was no Captain Marvel in terms of representation, the fact that the thing these two women talked most about was not only not a man, but was science, was lovely.
Also… Idris Alba as a yellow-eyed guardian of the Rainbow Bridge was great and I immediately looked to see if he would be in the rest of the films (he is!).
The Avengers (2012 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
More women in this film, but no scenes where they actually engage with one another. We need to talk about Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow for minute. Tony Stark has his Iron Man suit (he invented it and is brilliant, but he has it); Captain America is a super-soldier and has (what I know because I watched Black Panther) a Vibranium shield; The Hulk is The Hulk; Thor is literally a God as is Loki; Hawkeye… yeah, I don’t know about him… but Natasha Romanoff’s only super power is being a baddass strong woman! She has NO SUPERPOWERS!
She isn’t bulletproof, she doesn’t have any special gadgets, she’s just amazing. Why do we have to wait more than ten years and 20 MCU movies for one just about her?!
I just wish SO DEEPLY that she didn’t have that weird (failed) flirtation with Dr. Banner/ The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Can the ONLY female character please not also be someone’s love interest? Please???
Iron Man 3 (2013 movie)
Bechdel Score: 1
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something other than a man
Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) has PTSD so he builds an army. How nice for him. I honestly didn’t follow this movie very well. Quite possibly the worst of them all.
Also, Pepper Potts (Paltrow) gets an iron suit. Cool! How? Why? What’s going on with this? FILL IN THE PLOT HOLES PLEASE.
Thor: The Dark World (2013 movie)
Bechdel Score: 3 (I don’t even know how but it happened)
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
This one wasn’t great either. Glad to see Natalie Portman again, and I loved her scenes with Kat Dennings, but we got very much into the ‘damsel-in-distress’ mode and I wasn’t here for it.
The only redeeming factor of this movie was more time with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.
Don’t need to see this one ever again.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
Well, I guess out of all the Chris’s I’m still on team Chris Evans. I like Cap. movies more than the rest so far.
Glad to have “bad guys” be Nazi’s again, and not non-descript brown folx.
The inclusion of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) who becomes Falcon was great. The chemistry between Falcon and Captain America was terrific and I loved every minute of them on screen together.
There is also something deeply charming about Captain America’s ongoing love for Agent Carter (Atwell), even though he could “get it” from just about anyone, his skinny Brooklyn kid heart is true and I’m here for it.
Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier was a bit frustrating, but I like the idea that these films could actually involve men processing trauma (without just building toys like in Iron Man 3).
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2 (Okay, there are two women who talk each other, but only about how much they do or do not want to commit patricide (deservedly so) so like 2.5).
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
Huzzah! Another Chris! Pratt this time as Peter Quill—and once again we see someone who appears to be charming on their face, but is actually a deeply troubled and insecure man who is arrogant and full of himself and isn’t really all that charming.
Zoe Saldana’s Gamora is pretty fantastic, but she can’t do it all on her own and her sister is too troubled to be part of the team… for now.
This film in some ways stands outside of what I’ve thought of as the MCU, but at the same time feels like the first film to actually engage with the central conflict in the Infinity Series… those damn stones!
The thing that gets me about this movie is the amazing soundtrack and GROOT (Vin Diesel).
All hail GROOT.
More GROOT please!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 (2017 movie)
Bechdel Score: 3 (wow! I’m surprised even writing this…)
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
We learn about Star-Lord’s (wow, that self-appointed nick name… Peter Quill really is annoying!) parentage and it turns out… Also a God. The team needs to defeat Quill’s aptly named father, Ego (Kurt Russell), who has travelled throughout space and time impregnating women who he hopes will give him an heir and none but Quill have survived.
The movies really glosses over the fact that lying to millions of women to get them into bed is very rape-y and then the film tries to turn the deceitful encounter with Quill’s mother into romance and I nearly vomited in my mouth.
Nope. Not interested in that trope. Hard pass.
Gamora (Saldana) is always fantastic and I just wish that instead of falling in love with Quill she kept rebuffing (and occasionally punching) him. Feels more appropriate for a woman like Gamora.
Also… BABY GROOT!
The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2.5 (there are women who talk about a murderous robot voiced by James Spader… so 2.5)
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
Wait, Tony’s (Downey Jr.) ego got the best of him and he created a AI smart enough to outsmart him and take over the world?! Finally, Mr. Stark is put in his place! Ultron as voiced by James Spader is as creepy as a killer robot as he is in real life. The role was… unpleasant. Glad he won’t be back in future films.
Also, we finally meet Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen)! The end and the beginning are finally connecting for me! Except that in WandaVision, Wanda has an American accent, and in this it’s very Russian. So that was frustrating.
I was glad to see her origin story, but damn… why are all the women of MCU only baddasses because horrible things happened to them?—that isn’t the case for many of the men. Wanda Maximoff (Olsen) is the victim of collateral damage in war and then is kidnapped and held hostage and then forced to train as a weapon by those post-war Nazis, Hydra. Gamora (Saldana) and her sister Nebula (Karen Gillan)… also kidnapped as children and abused and trained by their adopted (kidnapper) father, Thanos (Josh Brolin).
I don’t know the Black Widow/ Natasha Romanoff back story yet, but I’m really hoping it doesn’t involve rape, torture, captivity, or forced training. Not holding my breath though.
Again, it’s nice to see Wanda be much the hero in this after loving her story so much in the show, but it still difficult to get past the FIFTEEN year age gap between Olsen and Paul Bettany (Vision). Why are young women consistently cast opposite love interests who are so much older...? It never happens the other way around.
Don’t need to see this one again either.
Ant-Man (2015 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
Meh. The concept of a guy putting on a suit and shrinking feels like the least likely thing possible in all the MCU… But… PAUL RUDD!
But… MICHAEL PEÑA!
I will watch either of these actors do just about anything. So while it’s not super strong in representation for women or for people of color (the only non-white people are criminals trying to start a business) I’m still here for it.
Captain America: Civil War (2016 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
Again, Steve Rogers/ Captain America is by far my favorite Chris (Evans). The ‘Civil War’ here is between Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) and Rogers and I’m on team Rogers all the way.
Steve finds himself with only a few allies—Falcon and a sneaky Natasha (Johansson) and while the film is in the Captain America timeline, it feels like an Avenger movie more than anything else. We see Peter Parker/ Spiderman (an adorable Tom Holland), T’Challa/ Black Panther (the beautiful Chadwick Boseman), and even Ant Man (Rudd) returns.
Steve flirts with a woman and I wanted to cheer for him, but also knew that his heart still belonged to Agent Carter (Atwell) (which I know will all work out for him somehow), but to see him not knowing how to engage with women was a charming reminder of his former self.
As was his commitment to saving his best friend from before the war, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) who has been tortured into becoming The Winter Soldier.
There is actually quite a bit to mine here—the reality of processing trauma, fear of intimacy, and male friendship… All in all a pretty good movie.
Doctor Strange (2016 movie)
Bechdel Score: 1
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something other than a man
Oy. Where to begin with this one???
I love Tilda Swinton as much as the next person, but after ALL the history of yellow-face HOW ON EARTH, was she cast in this movie?!
The tone-deafness of casting a white cis-woman to play an AAPI (Asian American or Pacific Islander) character in 2016(!) astounds me.
Also, what a waste of Rachel McAdams who is always delightful and charming.
Benedick Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange nails an American accent. And American arrogance. And the myth of American exceptionalism… so I guess there’s that…?
Hard pass.
Black Panther (2018 movie)
Bechdel Score: 3!!!
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
WAKANDA FOREVER forever!
This film was so fantastic. I could hardly contain myself when Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) talked about what it means to steal an artifact from an institution who stole it from indigenous people first.
Then Shuri (Leticia Wright) called the American CIA agent Ross (Martin Freeman) “colonizer.”
Then, right before Killmonger dies he says, “[b]ury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage.”
I mean COME ON this movie is SO fantastic— I love a villain who is interesting and complex. Killmonger is as much a victim as he is an aggressor and frankly, I’m on team Killmonger…Why shouldn’t Wakanda share its knowledge and weapons with oppressed people all over the world and overthrow systems and institutions of oppression?!
I’ll watch anything with Lupita Nyong’o—and she is so smart and strong in this film! Of course the toughest of them all, Okoye (Danai Gurira) never ceases to amaze me. More strong, fearless women please! I realized when I watched the (mostly) unwatchable Wonder Woman movie that I had literally never seen so many women be so strong. I cried. Okoye made me feel that way once again.
And one cannot talk about this film without acknowledging the work of Chadwick Boseman. A pillar of strength, resilience, and Black excellence. Rest in Power.
WAKANDA FOREVER.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2(ish…)
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
Things I LOVED about this:
1. The bro-mance between Thor (Helmsworth) and Hulk (Mark Ruffalo)
2. TESSA THOMPSON as Valkyrie riding around on a freaking Pegasus and kicking ass. Since her performance in Dear White People (2014) I have had nothing but love for her and was thrilled to see her in this… can MCU make an all Valkyrie movie, please? I would watch that in heartbeat. While Valkyrie’s character isn’t explicitly queer, there are certainly undertones, namely that the Valkyrie are all elite women warrior “maidens” who defended the planet until the invasion of Hella, where only Thompson’s character survived.
3. Hella. Cate Blanchett can do anything and playing a demon god with fabulous helmet hair can now be added to the list. If only she would stop defending Woody Allen….
But the movie wasn’t actually all that good, or interesting. It had its moments, but the only thing that was really worth watching for me was Tessa Thompson on her winged-steed. And that I could watch over, and over, and over again.
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018 movie)
Bechdel Score: 3 (but barely)
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
Well, WandaVision’s Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) makes an appearance which warms my heart and again… PAUL RUDD. He is constitutionally incapable of NOT being charming.
Glad to see Michelle Pfeiffer’s character actually being a brilliant and strong scientist instead of just a memory.
Not sure how this actually scored so high on the Bechdel test, because there is literally nothing notable about representations of women here, but circumstances being what they are, it earned a 3.
Big shout out to Lawerence Fishburne who always brings great depth and heart to all his characters.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018 movie)
Bechdel Score: 2.5… the “man” who is often talked about by the women is Thanos… who needs to be discussed since he is literally trying to wipe out half of all life in the galaxy… so yeah…
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man
Honestly, by this point I was just ready to be done with these films and then I saw that Infinity War was 2 hours and 29 minutes and I committed to finishing over 2 days. That’s just too long for this killjoy to do in one evening.
Some thoughts:
How DARE they kill Loki in the opening scene! My Tom Hiddleston!
Peter Parker/ Spiderman (Tom Holland) and Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) have a really sweet “father figure” thing going, and their efforts to save Dr. Strange (Cumberbatch) are inevitably fruitless (or so it seems). Watching Stark’s face when Parker turns to dust at the end of the movie was heartbreaking and actually moved me. Who gets “moved” by the MCU?!
I’m still pretty creeped out by Wanda (Olsen) and Vision (Bettany), but when she has to kill him in the end of the film and then it DOESN’T WORK it was genuinely really sad… tugging at my heartstrings once again!
Peter Quill (Pratt) sucks. EVERYONE else can keep their shit together, but Quill can’t and as a result half of ALL LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE is wiped out.
And women are “too emotional!” Boy, please!
Now let’s finish this…
Avengers: Endgame (2019 movie)
Bechdel Score: 3!
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
For those just tuning in, Black Widow (Johansson), my absolute favorite Avenger, has to die to get her own movie. Pardon me while I aggressively roll my eyes.
We knew she would sacrifice herself for Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), whom she genuinely loves as a friend, so that he can bring his family back, but come on! This is what a woman has to do to get top billing in the MCU?!
Chris Evans’ Captain America was back and that brought joy to my heart and the idea of Hulk (Ruffalo) being the big green guy all the time was actually adorable. CGI has come a LONG way!
EVERYONE comes back for the final battle in this one… even my dear Captain Marvel (Larson) (with a fabulous new hair cut).
Much has been made of the final battle scene and how long and drawn out it was, but I want to focus on what was my absolute favorite moment in ALL the films thus far:
CAPTAIN MARVEL: (to Spiderman who is holding the Gauntlet which houses all six infinity stones) Hey Peter Parker. Got something for me?
PARKER: I don’t know how you’re gonna get it through all that (looks at the seemingly infinite Thanos armies coming towards them).
WANDA: (flying in) Don’t worry…
(VALKYRIE flies in)
OKUNE: (flying in) She’s got help…
PEPPER POTTS in her iron suit joins, as does MANTIS, and SHURI then WASP and GAMORA and finally, NEBULA. They all run at the oncoming Thanos army as the front line.
And then they ARE ALL AMAZING!
See below:
Honestly, I nearly cried at this moment. Imagine a group of women, banding together, and just being strong, brave, and fearless.
We don’t get to see this in movies. We just don’t. I have literally no memories from my childhood where I got to see this. I was genuinely jealous of the all the young women (and men) who get to see a moment like this and feel represented.
And yes, Captain Marvel, Wanda, Pepper Potts, Wasp, and Nebula are white… but Valkyrie, Mantis, Gamoa, Okune, and Shuri are ALL WOMEN OF COLOR.
I didn’t need anyone or anything else… not even Paul Rudd, not even my favorite Chris (Evans). I could have watched only these women for the last 20 movies and would have been so much more engaged and interested.
Let women be strong in movies. It’s spectacular.
The end of the movie was sad and I legitimately cried at Tony Stark’s funeral as I watched Pepper Potts and his young daughter say goodbye (I love you 3000), but it made sense and felt “right” given the scope of the films and the development of his character.
Finally, when Captain America travels through time to return the Infinity Stones, and doesn’t return I knew what he had done and was so happy for him. He got to be with the love of his life, Agent Carter, and I didn’t really even care about the fact that he probably totally messed with the fabric of space and time to do so.
When Old Cap. gives the shield to Falcon and NOT Bucky, it felt right to me.
A Black Captain America is what the world needs right now.
WandaVision (2021 - Disney+ series)
Bechdel Score: 3(!)
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
Really, the show that started it all for me. Kathryn Hahn as an evil witch was everything I needed in life, and watching Wanda Maximoff (Olsen) find her power as the Scarlet Witch totally worked for me.
Having to give up her family to save all the innocent people she’d had unintentionally (and then intentionally) enslaved to her TV world was incredibly sad and I genuinely felt her pain.
Getting to see a strong black female lead in Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) was terrific, even if I was completely confused by her character since I had not yet seen all the MCU films.
Finally, can Kathryn Hahn PLEASE get her own series as Agnes??? Please, please, please.
The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021 - Disney+ series)
Bechdel Score: 3
1. Two women with names X
2. Who talk to each other X
3. About something other than a man X
While I watched WandaVision first, and then began watching all the MCU movies, I concluded by watching this series and may I just say… WOW.
This is a series about deconstructing race, privilege, and the consequences of toxic masculinity though the vector of male friendships.
It was about human rights, nativism, border politics and immigration, and the corruption of absolute power.
And it’s on TV. And people watched it.
This show was about super heroes, sure, but it was about REAL SHIT.
A diverse cast, (very male-centered, but it was so great I didn’t care), a complex and complicated villain who truly believes that she is doing work for human rights, and a frank analysis of the consequences of nativist policies on minoritian bodies.
At the center are Sam Wilson/ The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) whose friendship began with their mutual friend, Steve Rogers/ Captain America (Evans) which is torn apart by Falcon’s choice not to take up the shield. When it’s given to an entitled white boy things fall apart and the show becomes about Falcon’s reluctance to take up the shield—a symbol of power and whiteness and to make it his own (and the speech he gives about it was ON POINT); and for Bucky, the show is about learning how to make amends to those he harmed while he was a brainwashed slave to Hydra— and to learn to trust people, starting with Wilson.
It’s a story of acceptance and dealing with trauma and it was beautifully done and genuinely touching.
And in the end, it’s a Black man who is empowered to save the world:
“Hell yeah! That’s the Black Falcon there! I tell ya.”
“Nah, that’s Captain America.”
In Conclusion:
Now that I’ve made it this far (and if you’re still here with me reading, you rock!) will I watch the new Loki show [yes] and the new Hawkeye show [probably], the new Thor movies [sure] and the Black Widow film [obviously], because now I know these characters and while some films were a bit of a slough to get through, I look forward to visiting the MCU again one day.
One of the most interesting things about watching in chronological timeline order, as opposed to release date order, is that you can watch these films become more and more thoughtful over time when it comes to the representations of women and people of color, beginning with a film from 2011, jumping to 2019 and forward and back again—you can feel when they were made. While Valkyrie thus far is the only character who hints at queerness (and this is much due to Tessa Thompson’s presence in the role as a queer woman herself), I’d hope that in future films, shows, and explorations we get to see men-who-love-men, and women-who-love-women kick some inter-galactic ass as well.
