Scarlett Johansson

It was a common complaint after Avengers: Age of Ultron opened in theaters: women of all ages went looking for products featuring their favorite female superheroes and found precious little. Black Widow was left out a toy set based on a scene where she was one of the main characters. Even Avengers star Mark Ruffalo had enough, asking Marvel for more toys for his daughters. Finally it seems as if Marvel has gotten the hint and for the upcoming Captain America: Civil War merchandising line, they’re promising a “big focus” on new products for women.

Captain America: Civil War seems like it could be another Avengers installment with so many members of the MCU reprising their roles for Cap’s third outing. But that’s kind of the point, since this film is primed to make major waves in the Marvel universe, completely altering the future of our heroes. New set photos definitely confirm how much of a superhero party this is, with Jeremy Renner, Robert Downey Jr., Paul Rudd and more hanging out on set.

ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie/TV news items. From Marvel to DC and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, check out a key showdown in Captain America: Civil War, get you latest fuzzy look at Jared Leto’s Joker and learn about whatever happened to the Lobo movie.

It seems a bit foolish for Marvel to heap easy cash into a giant dumpster and set it on fire by continually teasing a Black Widow solo movie we’ll never get. They have Scarlett Johansson, one of the most bankable actresses on the planet, playing one of the coolest, most interesting Avengers (and even more badass than the boys since she has zero superpowers), and yet, while we’re practically begging the studio to take our money for this, they’re just like, “Nah, we’re good.” We may never get that Black Widow movie, but one fan has put together a pretty sweet title sequence for one, which isn’t exactly satisfying our craving — it just makes us want a Black Widow movie even more.

Here we go again. As we’ve reported before, there is a major lack of Black Widow (and Scarlet Witch, for that matter) featured in Disney’s officially licensed Avengers: Age of Ultron merchandise. Even with Mark Ruffalo asking Marvel for more female superhero toys for his daughter to play with, the companies refuse to take a hint. Further stirring the pot, Disney and Marvel have left Black Widow out of new toy sets featuring one of her most badass moments in Avengers: Age of Ultron. It’s like they’re doing this on purpose or something — oh wait, they are.

Scarlett Johansson is probably the most interesting actress working right now — the reigning queen of sci-fi and ass-kicking Black Widow has smartly strayed from comedies in recent years, but let’s not forget that she’s got some genuine comedic chops. After all, this is the third time the actress has hosted SNL, and I kept my fingers crossed for the return of Fred Armisen for another hilarious Mike sketch. Did Johansson and SNL make my dreams come true? (Spoiler: No.) The episode is top heavy with comedy, but stumbles in the back-half, which is unfortunate given Johansson’s previous stints on the show. Read on for this week’s SNL sketch rankings.

It’s not coincidence that Scarlett Johansson guest hosted SNL on the same weekend that Avengers: Age of Ultron opened in theaters, so of course the show had to do a Marvel sketch of some kind. And unlike the previous Avengers sketches cooked up for Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner, this one is actually a pretty effective dig at the Marvel movie machine. More importantly, it’s very funny.

After a few scant weeks off, SNL will make a triumphant return to bask in the second coming of The Avengers with Scarlett Johansson at the helm, along with musical guest Whiz Khalifa. The Black Widow’s third hosting promos have arrived as well, and we’ll give you three guesses why Kenan is sporting an eyepatch.

The superheroes at the center of Avengers: Age of Ultron resonate so strongly with so many people because they’re so deeply entrenched in popular culture. Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk were around for years before Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo were even born. These aren’t just characters – they’re icons. And while serious comic book nerds know how much Earth’s mightiest heroes have changed with the times, taking a look back at what the likes of Black Widow and Hawkeye and the Vision used to look like is both entertaining and (dare we say it?) educational.

Typically while doing press rounds for any film that’s perceived as male-oriented, actresses are often asked the dumbest, most sexist questions over and over and over again, while their male co-stars get to answer the awesome questions. Women get asked about their diets, outfits and makeup, while men are asked about filming action sequences and their opinion about the film’s headier concepts. But one very clever reporter flipped the script in a recent interview with Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson, and the results are hilarious.