Joss Whedon, I Am Disappointed! 5 Ladies Missing from ‘The Avengers’

Comic Con is over for another year. And the awesom Mark/Panasonicyouth got us some great coverage and sweet pictures of the ups, downs and…ews…of the pop culture event.

Sadly, none of them are of Gerard Way’s hair. Or wait, that might be a good thing.

ANYWAY, part of this year’s con was the announcement of the cast of The Avengers, based on Marvel’s version of DC’s Justice League. When news came out that Joss Whedon, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Dollhouse, was directing it, I figured, hey, this will be awesome. We’re sure to get a few kick ass ladies in there and a great ensemble, right? After all, Joss has to find SOME WAY to put Summer Glau in there!

Then, I saw the photo from the cast announcement.

Okay, so, we’ve got Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), Clark Gregg (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson) Scarlett Johansson (The Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Mark Ruffalo (the new Bruce Banner/Hulk)…

Wait. Wait. We’re only getting ONE female Avenger? And it’s Black Widow?

Okay, here’s 5 major arguments against that:

Spider Woman/Jessica Drew:

Not to be confused with SpiderMAN, Spider Woman’s powers involve shooting bio-electrical webs from her hands. She’s also got super speed, stamina, strength and can fly. The whole package.

Hellcat/Patsy Walker:

The character was originally part of Marvel’s old romantic “girly” comics, but was brought into the superhero continuity in 1973 under the guise of “Hellcat.” She originally gets superpowers from her suit, but later incarnations of the character have given her psychic powers.

Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers:

Super strength, durability and flight, Ms. Marvel is one of those trademark Avengers. She’s also dealt with issues involving alcoholism and self esteem. Oh, and you know Rogue? From the X-Men? Put her in a coma for a couple of years. Accidentally. That kinda pissed her off.

Jessica Jones:

After obtaining powers in a car accident that claimed the life of her parents, Jessica Jones grew up to become the superheroine Jewel. Unfortunately, she wasn’t very good at it and quit. Then she became known as Knightress, retired from heroics again and founded a detective agency known as Alias investigations. Had a baby, continues to kick ass. She’s got super strength and flight (though she’s been shown to be not so good with flying, especially while drunk) and a foul, foul mouth. While only recently becoming a full fledged Avenger, she’s the sort of character I would have loved Whedon to handle. Also, I might fangirl her. Just a bit.

Janet Van Dyne/Janet Pym/Wasp:

She can fire energy blasts, shrink to incredibly small sizes, fly (obviously) and did I mention SHE’S ONE OF THE FOUNDING MEMBERS OF THE AVENGERS?

I understand there’s already a large ensemble cast. I totally get that. But if there is anyone who can handle an ensemble cast well, it is Joss Whedon. Firefly was pretty much pure ensemble and it is probably his strongest show character-wise. And honestly, with Ed Norton turning down the chance to reprise his role as The Hulk, you’re telling me there was no way you couldn’t just cut that character and add in another girl? YOU COULD HAVE EVEN USED SHE HULK, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. And adding Hawkeye instead of a founding member of the team? REALLY?

Possibly the biggest part of this is that Joss Whedon made his name with a show about a strong female character who was actually based on a Marvel superheroine: Kitty Pryde of the X-Men. So the fact that his Avengers movie features one female character becomes even more upsetting. Joss, between this and the total fail of Dollhouse, you are on warning.

And I’m just saying: you could probably sneak Eliza Dushku in there as Jessica Jones.