Thoughts on Troupe Leads.. And Will She-Hulk Become a Defender and NOT an Avenger?.. (TL:DR)

 Hi

Firstly, a little background..

Background

I really have enjoyed She-Hulk.. a couple of times I got worked up and impatient waiting for Daredevil, but once that anticipation was met, I loved that episode. Looking back.. it is what it set out to be.. a comedy.

Acting troupe's have 'leads/captains'.. people who lead and set the tone for the other actors; for the larger MCU it was Iron Man/RJD, for AOS it was/is Coulson/Clark Gregg, for the Defenders it's Matt Murdock/Charlie Cox.

Think of them like a captains of a sports team.

I enjoyed seeing Daredevil/Matt in She Hulk's episodes.. it REALLY felt like a 'Defender's Blessing' on the show and Disney+ in general. But more than that..

The show also draws themes in to view for the audience.. and while I am very far from being a feminist.. 

(I believe in gender equality and third generation feminism is merely female supremacy, unlike second generation feminism which was women righteously fighting for the rights they deserve.. third generation feminism is about women having MORE than men. If people believe in gender equality they fight for men's rights also, which these feminists do not.)

I started to think about how few woman troupe leads the MCU has.

Right now, Marvel has two divisions that can have troupe leads.. I would argue Charlie Cox is the troupe lead for the TV side of things.. but if you wanted to point to someone else.. (cough Clark Gregg cough) I probably wouldn't disagree with you too hotly.. but there is however an open position for the lead troupe actor for the MCU movies..

While Tony and Steve shared this, both are now gone.

I think after watching She Hulk this should go to a woman.. 

Do I have any suggestions?.. many who would fit the bill either have left or have character conflicts..

My first choice would be Gweneth Paltrow as 'Rescue' / Pepper Potts.. it makes a lot of sense to me, equally she was there at the beginning, she is very intelligent and has a suit just like Iron Man, also when a family are grieving they often turn to another family member to fill the role of the one they lost. She has access to both Stark money and Stark tech.

But then again.. Pepper is SO very Anti-Super Suit.. how could that make sense for her character..? 
Even despite this, without a doubt she is my first choice to become troupe lead for the MCU, as the rest lines up to perfectly.

Could this be a character arc for her? She is torn between 'doing the right thing and suiting up' and 'resisting what the power makes her become'? And what of her grieving for Tony.. how could she ever don a suit again?

Questions I don't have the answers for..

Black Widow is gone.

Scarlett Witch.. while still alive is MIA. Elizabeth Olsen has earned the right to be troupe lead.. I don't question that at all, but her story arc is a mess right now, with her being half hero half villain. Perhaps if Ms. Paltrow took the lead for now they could have a joint lead in the future? I don't know.

You could say Brie Larson.. but the fact that she's new and the rumors surrounding her that she hates men.. adopting a brand of 'militant feminism' .. and on top of that she seems unpopular with the rest of the wider MCU cast.. no, I wouldn't put her in the forefront.

I do enjoy the idea that Monica/Spectrum (may) be the opposing voice to Captain Marvel.. and in a small way oppose the views of Brie Larson while giving others who oppose Ms. Larsons views a voice. But again Ms. Parris is too new. Excellent actress though! great in Wandavision and can't wait to see her again.

In conclusion for this section.. I don't have an answer.. not a perfect one anyways.. 

but after all the male captains it should rightly next go to a female.

I didn't want to go too deep in to gender politics.. and besides I'm from Scotland, we have ALWAYS had strong women and it's not a big deal here.. we are also the descendants of the Gaulish Picts who had gender equality (Gauls in Scotland 7000 BC to around 600 AD).. but She Hulk had many of these themes and so kindly, I felt pretty justified.

The Defenders

Is She Hulk really going to join the Defenders??.. I can't help but sqee like a valley gurl.. but really could she?

The Defenders are much darker in tone than She Hulk was.. MUCH darker! I don't see it all fitting together, at least not smoothly. Fourth wall break during a Daredevil episode? erm.. no, that doesn't work for me.

We already have Luke Cage doing the heavy lifting.. wouldn't She Hulk joining the team make him redundant?

I love all the Defenders series.. my favorite being Jessica Jones.. I recently watched it again for the fourth time from start to finish. The Punisher first series and the JJ first series being masterpieces in the art of not just television storytelling; but any storytelling.

I would enjoy She Hulk becoming a Defender instead of an Avenger.. striking out in her own way and not just following her cousin's path.. but I am short on answers on how that would work.

Daredevil/Matt Murdock is the closest we have to Spider-Man..  that Marvel can use without rights woes.. within the MCU, I hope Marvel expands this, but I do worry about them turning him in to a clown version in his upcoming series.

Those are my thoughts.. I hope it made you think also :)

Dava

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I'll take a guess.. stab in the dark..

Julia Louis-Dreyfus will be the lead for the Thunderbolts. The first time the MCU has make a female lead for an ensemble cast of supers.

Kristen Ritter is an excellent actress.. can't wait to see her for a fourth series! Ohw.. I hope Hellcat/Trica does a Dark Defenders.. :D (I mentioned this before in another post)