As is becoming a seasonal regularity, the biggest media event in the world right now is the new release from MARVEL Studio's ongoing Cinematic Universe, this time their first female-fronted film - Captain Marvel. Even if you haven't seen the film yet and don't generally follow This Stuff, you're probably aware that Carol Danvers' debut is both a landmark and an unfortunate battleground.
While the film is an absolute smash hit, it's been the target of "fan" backlash for months (if not longer) leading up to its release, largely engineered by the same sort of sad hateboys who still can't stop complaining about The Last Jedi. The film's audience ratings were targeted by trolls for mass tanking (a practice by which user engagement scores are manipulated to make it look like a thing is massively unpopular just because A Number On the Internet says so), and while critical response has been undeniably positive, it's slightly muted compared to the past several entries in the MCU. Even the praise has been largely tinged with a brush-off of "well, it's solid enough, but it's just a standard MARVEL origin movie." It's a sentiment I've heard in various forms from a lot of, well, mostly dudes.
And I'm here to call bullshit on that.
