One thing Marvel‘s otherwise mixed Multiverse Saga does deserve praise for is massively increasing the number of women in lead roles in this franchise. Unless you’re one of the “M-She-U” haters, of course, in which case it’s a crime on par with Quantumania. From WandaVision to Agatha All Along, many of the MCU’s movies and TV shows post-Endgame have featured prominent female characters at their core.
It’s gotten to the point that it’s tricky to name who the greatest female characters in this cinematic universe are. Back in the day, it was Black Widow or no one at all. All this is to say that the backlash one Marvel fan received when they decided to share their own personal “Mount Rushmore” of MCU women is kind of a good thing, actually. It proves how spoiled for choice we are these days.
X user @CovenofChaoss made themselves as unpopular as Wanda Maximoff in Westview when they shared their top four MCU female characters. Their picks had an unsurprisingly witchy flavor for an account with an Agatha reference for a username. Namely, their Mount Rushmore picks were Scarlet Witch, Agatha Harkness, Rio Vidal/Death, and… Clea from Doctor Strange 2?
You remember Clea, right? Charlize Theron turned up as the interdimensional sorceress for one whole minute in Multiverse of Madness‘ post-credits scene back in 2022 and we haven’t heard a peep from her since. Needless to say, putting Clea alongside Marvel’s other Madam Presidents on this MCU Mount Rushmore is inspiring some Illuminati-eradicating anger.
To be fair to the OP, they soon realized they had made a goof in picking Clea over other iconic characters, owning up to the fact they made a grievous error of judgment.
Specifically, several replies managed to convince them that Yelena Belova absolutely deserves a spot on Marvel Women Mountain.
As for why Natasha Romanoff isn’t on here, the OP argued that they were only including active/alive characters. And, fine, we’ll allow it.
What we can’t allow, though, is the shocking snub against Carol freaking Danvers. Brie Larson didn’t face misogynistic backlash for years only for Captain Marvel to lose her spot on this Mount Rushmore to 30-Second Theron.
To be entirely fair to Clea, there’s every chance she may deserve her exulted spot eventually. The heroine has a long history in the comics — she’s the heroic nice of Dormammu and she has been the Sorcerer Supreme herself. She’s also typically Strange’s main love interest — so sorry, Rachel McAdams but you’re getting replaced. Theron herself is naturally an absolute powerhouse so, provided Doctor Strange 3 actually gives her something to do, she could easily make everyone’s Mount Rushmore of Marvel women one day.
When that day will be is hard to discern right now, as we have no idea what Marvel is planning with the third Doctor Strange outing. At this point, it’s likely coming in 2027 at the earliest, so it probably won’t make a landing before the end of the Multiverse Saga. In the meantime, thank you to Clea’s #1 fan over here for reminding us she was even part of this franchise already.