James Gunn casting his wife in his movies is hardly a new phenomenon, with the filmmaker ensuring his then-spouse and The Office alum Jenna Fischer appeared in his feature-length directorial debut Slither way back in 2006, but Jennifer Holland has been coming in for a great deal more criticism.
So much, in fact, that the current co-CEO of DC Studios was forced to point out that it wasn’t his decision to have her make a cameo appearance in the post-credits scene of Shazam! Fury of the Gods alongside fellow Peacemaker alum Steve Agee, although he doesn’t quite have the same excuse when it comes to her extended cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Gunn wasn’t responsible for putting her in Black Adam, either, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran’s penchant for placing his nearest and dearest into almost all of his projects has become a recurring bugbear nonetheless. However, Holland may have added more fuel to the fire by not just sharing behind the scenes images from her MCU debut, but revealing her character’s name Kwol is an acronym for Kick-Ass Woman Overlord in the caption.
“Don’t have enough reasons to see @guardiansofthegalaxy in theaters? Meet Administrator Kwol. Aptly named, this acronym stands for Kick-ass Woman OverLord. I’m not sure if @jamesgunn , who named her, knows that is what her name stands for… but obviously it’s true. Watch #gotgvol3 in theaters now and see for yourself!”
Showing up in her husband’s MCU swansong and embracing the power of femininity?!?!? Those are two things a certain section of the comic book fandom – particularly those furious at Gunn’s ascension to the top role at DC – simply can’t abide, so it’s no surprise the comments have ended up being filled with bile and vitriol.
