The hunt for the kick-ass Viking girlboss

Male writers complained about female Norse warrior – but were they fantasising?

One of most recent films I took my children to the cinema to see was Black Widow, part of the enormous Marvel franchise which, if I’m honest, all blurs a bit in my head. I’ve seen Thor, and at least one Avengers film, although I’m not entirely sure if I’ve seen the same one twice or one of the sequels. Spiderman was my favourite character as a kid, although I prefer the earlier incarnations; my children and I are all fans of Tom Holland, just different variations of the genre.

One of the recurring themes of the Marvel Universe is the kick-ass female, a woman who matches her male adversaries in strength and stamina. Black Widow at one point has Scarlett Johansson engaged in a sustained and brutal one-on-one combat with a man, which I found it strangely unsettling, even with my brain being completely desensitised to movie violence.