In light of Marvel’s announcement that the new Thor will officially be Jane Foster, the seemingly ceaseless debate around female superheroes has raised its ugly head again.

Some people still don’t believe that women make believable superheroes. In 2019, there is no excuse for thinking this way, but scrolling through comments on a recent photo posted by Brie Larson, who plays Captain Marvel, reveals that this ugly and toxic mindset is still unfortunately common.

In the photo, Brie holds a prop of Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer. Many of the comments posted are negative. Would this be the case if a male Marvel actor posted a similar photo? Unfortunately, it seems unlikely.

In light of this negativity, let’s celebrate some of the amazing female superheroes we already have!

Captain Marvel

Brie Larson played Captain Marvel amazingly in the recent film, where she was portrayed as strong and unflinchingly powerful. The film absolutely embraced (and mocked) the outrage some fans had about a highly competent female main character.

Valkyrie

Canonically bisexual hero Valkyrie is presented in Thor: Ragnarok as a heavy drinker with the sort of interesting back story often saved for male heroes. She is furiously, amazingly powerful. (Plus Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson working together are absolute goals.)

Wonder Woman

The DC cinematic universities hasn’t quite achieved the same glory as Marvel’s offerings, but Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Diana, the immensely good and indomitable Wonder Woman, stands out as being particularly enjoyable. She is shown as a character whose patience and benevolence are strengths.

Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff first appeared in the Marvel films in Avengers: Age of Ultron. The comic book favourite often features on lists of the most powerful Avengers, and fans can look forward to seeing more of her in the recently announced show about Wanda and her partner Vision.

All of these women are strong and inspirational. It is ridiculous that we even need to talk about “female superheroes” separately in 2019, but until the argument stops, let’s wave the flag for these strong women. There are many more inspirational female heroes not listed here, for example Black Widow and Agent Carter, and more classic kickass women like antihero Tank Girl.

Although generally, things are getting better for representation of women in films and TV, the superhero genre does still seem to suffer from a lot of unpleasant opinions from some fans. It is important to remember that these people’s views are the minority, and to focus on the positives.

There are exciting things ahead: the new Disney streaming service is promising several new series, including heroes not yet portrayed on screen in the current universe, for example Muslim hero Ms Marvel. With no signs of the genre slowing down or losing popularity, we can get excited about seeing many more female characters treated with the same complexity traditionally reserved for male protagonists.

We need to keep talking about this issue until there’s no reason to talk about it anymore; when heroes of all genders are simply accepted as ‘believable’, this debate can finally stop.

Who is your favourite female superhero?

Cole/@lordcoledemort