On International Women's Day, we're celebrating the women of Marvel, from Black Widow to Captain Marvel
For International Women's Day and Month, women across CBS Interactive have teamed up to spotlight the fierce ladies pushing Marvel ahead, both on and off screen.
Black Widow takes out a room of men -- while tied to a chair. Gamora wins an electric sword fight with her sister Nebula. Okoye points a spear at her own husband after he charges her down on a rhino. The women of Marvel , needless to say, are fearless.
CBS Interactive, which CNET is part of, is celebrating the March 8 release of Captain Marvel, and all of International Women's Month, by highlighting the powerful women of Marvel movies and shows. We're focusing not only on the incredible women of the MCU , but also on Marvel comics and their impact on pop culture.
Multiple CBS sites have come together to produce this special report on the women of the Marvel universe. CNET has a mega-bracket showdown of powerful women; Entertainment Tonight is profiling prominent women behind and in front of the camera; and TV Guide will look ahead at the future of Marvel's strong characters on the small screen.
Highlighting the scope of talented women who work at CBS Interactive, women throughout the company wrote, edited and produced every article, gallery and video in this collection -- from our long-running compendium of Marvel movies to our roundtable of women talking about more strong ladies and our Q&A with Danai Gurira, Black Panther's General Okoye, for CNET Magazine.
Captain Marvel sets the stage
Brie Larson stars as Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, the 21st MCU movie now open around the world. For anyone unfamiliar with Captain Marvel's backstory, check out GameSpot's comic book history of Captain Marvel. CNET's Patricia Puentes called the film "two hours of pure female empowerment packaged with all the visual power you'd expect from a Marvel blockbuster."
Additionally, Entertainment Tonight's Meredith B. Kile reviewed Captain Marvel, noting that its "origin-story-in-reverse structure allows Captain Marvel to do away with many of the more overdone origin story tropes." As the film opens, GameSpot will feature more explainers, spoilers, and breakdowns of how Captain Marvel (and those post-credits scenes!) will tie into Avengers: Endgame.
More from GameSpot: How the Skrulls change everything and Why everyone's talking about Goose the cat
International Women's Month
The first National Women's Day was observed in the United States all the way back in 1909, many years before we'd celebrate Women's History Month. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 to be National Women's History Week, and by 1987, Congress had passed a statute designating March as Women's History Month. We continue to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8. Did we mention one or 100 times that's the day Captain Marvel, the first female-led film in the entire MCU, comes out?
Since the '90s, the United Nations has focused on an annual theme for International Women's Day. This year's theme is "Think equal, build smart, innovate for change." That's why it feels appropriate for us to look to the women of Marvel who've been working in innovative ways, both on screen and off screen, to get more seats at the franchise's proverbial table.
More on Entertainment Tonight: Women of Wakanda: The Female Forces Behind 'Black Panther's Historic Oscar Push
Women of the MCU making magic
Captain Marvel may be taking the lead right now, but many other women have been key to making magic happen in the Marvel universe. CNET's Patricia Puentes talked to costume designer Ruth E. Carter, who just won an Oscar for costume design for Black Panther. Entertainment Tonight looks at the women of Wakanda, aka all the women behind Black Panther, making Oscar history. And there'll be much, much more Marvel flying your way.
More on iDaily: Can you name all 25 of these Marvel women?