The marvel cinematic universe is becoming largely female…but they are only female renditions of male characters. The pattern continues with the newest Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer that showcases an unnamed female taking on Chadwick Boseman’s role. Where are Marvel's stand-alone female superheroes?

Unfortunately, the answer lies in the marvel custody battle between Universal Studios and Disney. The original agreement was that Disney could have the rights to avengers characters so the preexisting successful X-Men, Spiderman, and Wolverine movies could be left alone. A significant portion of female characters belongs to the X-Men and the Avengers creating an argument about who gets which character. Keeping the new leading ladies as extensions of the original Avengers team in the cinematic universe is simply a clever way of avoiding a character contract battle.

The good news is that Universal is slowly losing the custody battle as Disney continues to create a successful franchise and even gains custody of other properties like the Simpsons. An example of a Disney character victory is Wanda Moximoff being able to take on the name of the Scarlet Witch and the powers that come with it. Wanda belongs to both the X-Men and Avengers, which caused implications with X-Men storylines if she reached her full power. Universal agreed to change the contract, hoping the inclusion of Professor Xavier in Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness would create traction for their older movies.

For now, most of our leading ladies will be renditions of their male predecessors but hope is on the horizon. Due to the existing Simpsons and Marvel lands at Universal Studios theme parks, there is a need to debate property rights. The original arrangement for Simpson's usage by Universal comes to an end around 2028. With Disney’s desire for more characters and rights to Marvel theme parks, compromises will be made. Disney has the power to force Universal to rebuild all Simpson-related attractions as a negotiation tactic for more Marvel rights. The custody battle ensues and the fate of more female characters hangs in the balance.

Writer & Artist: Alyssa Giaccone