'Black Widow Flash Mob' Petitions Marvel and Disney: See Top #WeWantWidow Tweets
You may have felt a surge in The Force on Saturday, June 6. That was the day a multi-city "Black Widow Flash Mob" was organized, with cosplayers dressed as Scarlett Johansson's "Avengers" character, and fans tweeting #WeWantWidow. Why? The goal is "to send a POSITIVE message" to Marvel and Disney that fans want Black Widow to star in her own movie, get her own apparel, and be featured with her own action figure.
According to the group's press release, the flash mobs were set up in 16 locations from Seattle to Boston in the U.S. and Canada to Australia internationally. Fans are continuing to tweet #WeWantWidow, not to demand more but to request it as fans/consumers.
Here's a statement on the event from the organizers:
It's no secret than many fans and feminists alike feel Avengers: Age of Ultron completely dropped the ball with Black Widow. We were all excited to see where this bad-ass assassin would go in her character development in the latest film, and were all pissed when screen time that COULD have been spent on further character development for Natasha, was wasted on a sudden romance subplot. [...] Black Widow is an important female superheroine in the Marvel universe and she deserves to be more than just a love interest at this point. She is a trained assassin with an incredible background story, turning from Russian espionage to joining the Avengers and saving the world. She should have her own movie and merchandise and Marvel should be proud at the opportunity to develop a character that girls can look up to. Unfortunately, even with all the Hulk-smashing internet outrage, it seems that Marvel and Disney are still not listening.
So they took action themselves with #WeWantWidow, and here are some of the tweets:
#WeWantWidow#Seattle Because women and girls are heroes too. pic.twitter.com/5LGK1iFp7P
— Jennifer K. Stuller (@InkAmazon) June 7, 2015
#WEWANTWIDOW in pics http://t.co/V5Wv9lnGZEpic.twitter.com/Uj693N0bFz
— Pop Culture Uncoverd (@PCUncovered) June 6, 2015
#WeWantWidow because she's such an interesting and complex character and there are far too many male superheroes
— princess frisbee ✨ (@ughfitz) June 7, 2015
#WeWantWidow because diverse stories, characters, & toys expand opportunities for everyone! pic.twitter.com/PlLsmGruoa
— Ali Mattu, Ph.D. (@AliMattu) June 7, 2015
Women were accepted as action stars before they won the vote. We've gone backwards. @Marvel@Disney#WeWantWidowpic.twitter.com/3LBsAdP5rX
— Movies Silently (@MoviesSilently) June 6, 2015
Black Widow #Cosplay by @ButerflySamurai#WeWantWidowpic.twitter.com/Ke2g9bxjqp
— SuperheroesInColor (@HeroesInColor00) June 6, 2015
#WeWantWidow#WheresNatasha Heroic girls in Sacramento! pic.twitter.com/o5Is3euQwo
— Heroic Girls (@HeroicGirls) June 6, 2015
@Marvel@MarkRuffalo@HasbroNews#WeWantWidow spread the word pic.twitter.com/tg4qcueetr
— Aitch is Trubble !! (@DreddedDeuce) June 6, 2015
#WeWantWidow so here we are...! @Marvelpic.twitter.com/e3rrngV5fz
— Black Widow (@rikkuriffic) June 6, 2015
I support #WeWantWidow today but let's be clear: I want equal representation for all the other female superheroes AND especially WOC.
— Bria (@chaosbria) June 6, 2015
There needs to be more Black Widow! There is so much of the male Avengers but no where near enough Widow #WeWantWidowpic.twitter.com/2QBwTajNPA
— Lee Scion (@Cosplay_Scion) June 6, 2015
#WeWantWidow: Marvel fans demand respect for female superheroes (and some cool - http://t.co/TdQT4ANm3U
— Steven Rerani (@StevenRerani) June 8, 2015
It's great to see both genders represented in the campaign, and you can keep checking the hashtag to follow the ongoing responses. Of course, the ball is in Disney/Marvel's court, so we'll have to see if this campaign has any real effect.
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