The Marvel Cinematic Universe has released 20 movies till now, and at this point one might think how are they going to keep things interesting? And lo and behold, Captain Marvel drops from the sky, punching grandmas and sending fans into a frenzy.
Considering how this is the first female-led superhero movie of the MCU and an introduction to one of the most powerful beings in the franchise, people were genuinely excited. However, one overtly sexist viewer’s opinion was quite the opposite.
YouTuber and Twitter user @TFMonkeyYoutube complained that Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel didn’t smile enough in the trailer and even made alterations to her face to make a point.
https://twitter.com/TFMonkeyYouTube/status/1042171852221763584
Now, if you’re wondering that why would a brain-washed super soldier and a former U.S. air force pilot would smile, you’re absolutely right! She doesn’t need to. The reason why this Twitter user is saying so is because he’s trying to reinforce the age-old (and extremely bigoted) notion that “pretty girls should smile more”.
While the sexist post received a fair amount of backlash from fans, none of the responses were as good as Brie Larson’s.
.@brielarson put these pics on Instagram story. Legend #CaptainMarvel pic.twitter.com/jjSv643I7d
— Geeks of Color #BlackLivesMatter (@GeeksOfColor) September 20, 2018
Brie Larson put up a few pics of Marvel’s leading men, leering like psychopaths, just to show how odd it looks when superheroes (or anyone) smile in serious situations. And most importantly, she proved her point that how sexist it’s to ask a female superhero to smile just because she’s a woman, while her male counterparts have been sulking for the past decade.
Fans absolutely loved Brie’s response and hailed as her as a superhero in real life.
1. 10 points for that!
Yo I don't care if she smiles or not, as long as she's prepared to take out Thanos, coz I don't think you have to smile to do that.. And if you want to see her smile check her out when she's not a marvel character
— Nwaeze ALI (@FonsusAli) September 21, 2018
2. Laugh at em, Brie, laugh at em.
— MarvelThaiFan (@Marvel_TH) September 20, 2018
3. That’s what she said.
— God of Pantheon (@thanatologist) September 21, 2018
4. Super duper kudos, in fact.
https://twitter.com/Kai_A521/status/1043263375076155393
5. Every MCU fan is loving it.
This made my day!
— Ron Maskell (@RonFromMontreal) September 21, 2018
6. That’s what she was trying to show.
All the teeth is just creepy AF HAHAHA https://t.co/ZBd0KXKvYz
— LividEye Yoshikawa (@LividEye) September 22, 2018
7. Can’t deny that.
Those are creepy. https://t.co/5wlJIhNdYr
— Mistykari (@SCWilsonPhoto) September 20, 2018
8. Don’t mess with Brie!
Critics: "Brie Larson as Captain Marvel needs to smile more."@brielarson: https://t.co/4OzWEMDq2E
— Austin Grimes (@xHigherThanZeus) September 21, 2018
9. That’s an unspoken rule.
If you ever say "you need to smile more" to anyone you should just quit talking to people. https://t.co/xAMZErhcRh
— Steve Stebbing (@theStevilDead) September 21, 2018
10. Everybody should join for this slowclap session.
/slowclap https://t.co/ICHrZA7g7z
— Mat Gilat, the Ever-Tired (@Matan_gilat) September 21, 2018
11. She’s as badass as her character.
I fucking love @brielarson https://t.co/dENXAafye9
— 🌙 The Ghost Jackiebot👻 (@jackietherobot) September 21, 2018
12. Amen to that!
Full disclosure, I'm not in the Marvel demographic at this time but never ever tell a woman to smile more or photoshop her images. Brie Larson looks fierce and badass, smiles aren't needed. https://t.co/AJ4qkP85TQ
— Ashley Buck (@AshleyBuck7) September 21, 2018
13. Can’t agree more.
.@brielarson is the hero we deserve https://t.co/zKMiAd0K3o
— Brenna Ce'Dria (@BrennaCeDria) September 21, 2018
14. She’s a natural.
She already nailed the MCU jokes around here https://t.co/eI6XXLsYls
— MasamiRogers (@herunulhakim) September 21, 2018
15. Same!
Brie is rapidly becoming my new favorite MCU person… https://t.co/0qoqOYciRy
— Alahmnat (@alahmnat) September 21, 2018
Brie Larson as Captain Marvel looks like she has jumped straight out of the comics and onto the silver screen. All she needs to do now is kick Skrull ass and be an inspiration for girls all around the world. She, or any other woman, doesn’t need to smile if she doesn’t want to and especially not when it’s requested by a sexist person.