Tessa Thompson pitches all-female superhero team to Marvel Studios head
Tessa Thompson (Image: INQUIRER.net Stock Photo)
Tessa Thompson is warrior goddess Valkyrie in “Thor: Ragnarok.” It is also the first Marvel movie to feature a female villain, Hela, played by the inimitable Cate Blanchett.
With the powerful female characters in the latest “Thor” installment, the “Westworld” actress wants to take it one step further: why not have an all-female team?
“The other day with a bunch of ladies, we happened to be somewhere for a photo shoot, but we pitched to Kevin Feige a team-up of a lot of women,” Thompson told IMDB.
And the team name? “The ‘Lady Liberators’ or ‘the Liberators,’ so that would be good.”
The name is no accident: The Lady Liberators is a superhero team that appeared in “The Avengers” comics in 1970.
The writer, Roy Thomas, intended it to mock the feminist movement. This was Valkyrie’s first appearance in the Marvel universe, and in the end she turned out to be the villain of the story.
The team consisted of Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Wasp and Medusa, who were out to smash the patriarchy, a laughable thought for Thomas.
According to Nerdist, the comics turned out to be a cult hit because of the heroines’ radical feminism.
Valkyrie also gets her redemption as “Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi and Thompson collaborated to ensure that she is a powerful force for women and the rest of the world.
Feige said in a “Ragnarok” press conference, “It was a pretty amazing moment to… have your shoulder be tapped, and turn around and find every female hero we have is standing there going, ‘How about it?’ And I said ‘yes.’”
“Thor: Ragnarok” rumbles into theaters Nov. 3. Niña V. Guno /ra
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