Top Five Women: Marvel TV Shows

Since I did a Top Five for female characters in Marvel’s film properties, it’s only fair to do the same for their TV shows.  Some great characters to choose from here – with only a Top Five, there are some excellent ones who don’t make this list, which, in my book, is a good problem to have.

By the way, Marvelous Wednesdays will no longer be a regular feature on the blog.  Not that I won’t still talk about Marvel stuff – obviously, I will – but I’ve talked about enough Marvel stuff already that I’m running out of things to write about on a weekly basis.  Just like I phased out Buster Mondays but still get in the occasional Buster Keaton fix, my MCU posts will now come on an as-needed basis.

Melinda May (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Oh, May – she’s been there from Day One of Marvel’s TV adventures, making an unassuming emergence onto the scene in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., “just the pilot” for Coulson’s team until she inevitably shows off her mad fighting skills.  May is reserved and highly professional, but she’s not the coldly-detached super-agent some people think she is.  While she doesn’t mess around when it comes to her work, her team means a lot to her and she will go to great lengths to protect them.

Jemma Simmons (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Simmons has developed and changed quite a bit since her initial introduction as an endearing science whiz, and not all of that change has been positive, but I appreciate the complexity and recognize that she doesn’t always have to be easy to like.  Still, Simmons is pretty awesome.  Straight-up genius, way tougher than you’d imagine when you first look at her, and someone who’d do anything for those she cares about.  Her life with S.H.I.E.L.D. has put her through the ringer, but no matter how intense the danger or damage, she ultimately pulls herself up and presses on.

Peggy Carter (Agent Carter)

Recent additions to Marvel’s movies, like Thor:  Ragnarok and Black Panther, meant bumping fine characters like Peggy, Nebula, and Wanda from that list.  Luckily, though, Peggy has a foot in both the movie and the TV camps, so at least I can bring her around here.  A smart, gutsy, capable woman forging her way ahead in an era that doesn’t know what to make of women like her, Peggy is awesome in Captain America and spectacular in Agent Carter – she knows her value, and I love her so much for that.

Jessica Jones (Jessica Jones)

This one’s a no-brainer, of course.  Peggy was Marvel’s first woman with her name in the title, but Jessica was the first superhero.  Strong and determined but very damaged, Jessica’s story is one of a young woman with powers struggling to cope with her trauma.  Thinking about it now, her story is a little similar to Valkyrie’s, someone who’s tried to get out of the game of being a hero and is drowning her painful memories in alcohol, but the two characters both have their own distinct feel.  I love rooting for Jessica:  to let others help her, to work on healing her scars, and to reclaim the agency that was taken from her.

Misty Knight (Luke Cage)

I debated between quite a few characters for my final slot, but in the end, Misty takes it for me.  Like so many TV cops before her, she struggles to work toward justice in a system that often seems rigged against it, and she certainly has her temptations to bend it in her favor when it won’t cooperate, but she recognizes those impulses in herself and usually resists them.  Additionally, the superhero world was never meant to be her thing, but she works well within it, being an ally to Luke on the force and fighting alongside the Defenders despite having no powers of her own.