lethetiber

[lethetiber]

Wanda and Pietro’s Jewish Heritage

Okay, I know I’m late to the party, and this’ll prolly be considered a hot take, but I never really understood the whole “the Maximoff Twins were whitewashed” argument in 2015 when Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor Johnson were cast. Comic Wanda is a Romani Jewish woman. Romani on her mom’s side and Jewish on her dad’s. However a lot of her comic depictions are pretty pasty. Also, Jewish doesn’t necessarily mean tan. While the Jewish religion sprouted in the Middle East, and biblical/historical Jews were definitely not white, Jewish people as a race have experienced multiple diasporas (the first one being the Babylonian Exile in 586 BCE). In the modern world, there are many different types of Jewish people from very different places, whether that be Ashkenazi, Sephardic, or Mizrahi (just to name a few). In the MCU, Wanda and Pietro are probably Ashkenazi Jews, which resided in Europe. Since Sokovia is considered an Eastern European country akin to Ukraine, Belarus, or Latvia, her family was probably moved to Sokovia by Russia in the 40s (like how they moved Jews to Chernobyl) and that’s where they’ve been ever since.  

While I do wish the MCU would’ve mentioned Wanda’s culture more (if at all) in WandaVision, or that Jewish actors were cast for the role of the twins in AoU, I still love Elizabeth Olsen and I don’t think the word people are looking for is “whitewashing.” Also any fic that properly depicts MCU Wanda as Jewish have my heart. 

#wanda maximoff #wandavision #age of ultron #marvel #captain america #captain america civil war #cacw #elizabeth olsen #aaron taylor johnson #judaisim #jewish #whitewashing

[lethetiber]

Natasha Romanoff and Motherhood

I’ve been thinking a lot about Nat in Age of Ultron, and how much contention the fandom had for Joss Whedon when he had her say she felt like a monster for not being able to have kids. While this anger at Joss is completely warranted, since there is a history of women being devalued or even demonized for not being able to bear children, Nat having genuine concern about her infertility is completely valid. 

Now hear me out. To my understanding, Nat feels more like a machine who was only bred for killing, and not one who even has the chance to create life. As well as being a stone cold assassin rather than a nurturer. She’s probably always wanted to be a mom, which isn’t uncommon for young girls to aspire to be, but that option was forcibly taken from her in order to enforce the standard of the KGB that the mission always comes first. 

However, I like the idea that Nat is a lot more maternal than people give her credit for, herself included. After all, she’s great with the Barton kids, and (to my interpretation) even mothers Wanda a little in CA:CW and Infinity War. I also like the fact that this desire to be a mother grounds her in a way that isn’t immediately aligning with popular feminist ideals that aspiring to be a housewife or a mother should be frowned upon. Frankly, it’s just another lifestyle. And while it may not fit well with Earth 616 Natasha, I think it works for Earth 19999 Natasha.

However, Joss Whedon definitely did a poor job by using the term “Monster” and the term “Sterile” in the same breath. Infertility is a very real internal struggle that women have, however that doesn’t detract from their ability to be nurturing and it especially doesn’t detract from their humanity. 

#natasha romanov #blackwidow #Avengers #The Avengers #joss whedon #age of ultron #natalia romanova #marvel #mcu

[lethetiber]

Game Night at the Compound

- Clint and Natasha are insanely good at Charades (Tends to happen since they both know ASL) and Steve, who does not know ASL, think they’re cheating because “there is no way you could’ve guessed Die Hard like that!”

- It’s become an inside joke among the other Avengers to let Steve stew over not knowing ASL. 

- Tony thought he was going to be a boss at Monopoly but no, it’s Scott. 

- Sorry! and Candyland are forbidden because Wanda is a little shit and gets way too competitive over it. She and Nat have unintentionally turned those games into contact sports.

- God forbid anyone brings out a deck of cards because everyone fights over what games to play.

- Wanda is also banned from playing Poker after reading Tony’s bluffs one too many times. They figured out she was cheating, and then subsequently figured out Tony was counting cards.

- Sam has damn near killed multiple Avengers while playing Spoons. He is completely willing to vault over the table if he has to. 

- Nat hates Just Dance. The woman danced for most of her young life but somehow can’t hit any of the moves. 

- Vision is a total bore on game nights. He doesn’t find the appeal in them and tends to sit off in the corner until everyone fights over him for Trivial Pursuit. 

- One would think people would want Bruce for Trivial Pursuit because he has all those PhDs, but he actually really sucks. Tony learned this the hard way and has yet to let Bruce forget about it. 

#avengers #the avengers #steve rogers #natasha romanov #wanda maximoff #bruce banner #tony stark #scott lang #sam wilson #captain america #ironman #thehulk #blackwidow #gamenight #marvel