The Female Movie Superheroes That Came Before Captain Marvel: From Catwoman to Black Widow

Brie Larson is the first woman to headline a solo superhero film for Marvel as Captain Marvel, but while the actress is making history, she's following in the footsteps of other leading ladies who kicked butt before her
By Alexia Fernandez
March 08, 2019 10:27 AM

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Jennifer Garner as Elektra

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Garner starred as assassin-for-hire Elektra in the 2005 film of the same name. It is a spinoff from the 2003 film Daredevil starring her character Elektra Natchios and Ben Affleck’s Matt Murdock.

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Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

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Johansson has played Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff since 2010’s Iron Man 2. She’s since reprised her role in The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and is set to appear again in this summer’s Avengers: Endgame.

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Halle Berry, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman

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All three actresses have portrayed Catwoman, with Pfeiffer memorably portraying the character — also known as Selina Kyle — in 1992’s Batman Returns. Berry played the character in 2004’s Catwoman film, while Hathaway got her chance in the 2012 film The Dark Knight Rises.

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Evangeline Lilly as The Wasp

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Lilly portrayed Hope van Dyne (AKA The Wasp) first in the 2015 film Ant-Man, although she didn’t actually appear in full Wasp costume until the 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp.

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Chloë Grace Moretz as Hit-Girl

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Moretz’s career breakthrough also came in the form of the superhero Hit-Girl in 2010’s Kick-Ass. She reprised her role in 2013 for Kick-Ass 2.

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Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett

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All four actresses captivated audiences in 2018’s Black Panther. Nyong’o portrayed Nakia, Wright played the intelligent and dynamic Shuri, while Gurira played knight Okoye. Bassett portrayed Wakanda’s Queen Ramonda.

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Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

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Gadot was first seen onscreen as Wonder Woman in 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. She followed that up with a solo film in 2017 Wonder Woman and in the ensemble movie Justice League that same year.

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Dafne Keen as X-23/Laura

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Keen broke through in the 2017 film Logan opposite Hugh Jackman. As X-23 (also known as Laura), Keen portrayed Wolverine’s clone and stole the show with lines in both English and Spanish.

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Jessica Alba, Kate Mara as Invisible Woman

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Both Alba and Mara portrayed the Fantastic Four’s Invisible Woman, albeit in different films. Alba first brought the superhero to life in 2005’s Fantastic Four, while Mara portrayed her in the 2015 film Fantastic Four.

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Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry

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All three ladies starred together in the original X-Men film series: X-Men, X2, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Janssen portrayed Jean Grey, Paquin played Rogue and Berry played Storm.

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