Avengers movies gather superheroes like Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Black Widow and Hawkeye. They fight villains and save the world. It all began with 2012 film “The Avengers” and went through four phases to epic “Avengers: Endgame.” The films dive into character backstories and relationships, with plenty of action and snappy dialogue. Fans love it all. It is a cultural phenomenon.

Meet the heroines

Black Widow

Black Widow is this razor-sharp, quietly explosive spy who somehow manages to be both ice-cold and oddly warm at the same time. She moves with purpose — lethal, graceful, always several steps ahead — but will also smuggle dumplings and tea into the safe house like it’s no big deal. There’s a deep ache behind the eyes, a past she carries like a scar, and yet she laughs in the middle of firefights sometimes, which is… honestly iconic. She’s loyal to a fault, the kind of person who will step between danger and the people she loves even if she pretends not to care. Also, minor detail: she keeps a tiny notebook full of spy notes and bad poetry, and no, that doesn’t make sense, but neither does her having a soft spot for stray animals — I adore her.

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch is walking raw emotion with cosmic-level power — like, she’s grief and glamor and absolutely terrifying all at once. Her magic is beautiful but messy, reality-bending and paint-splattered, and she will rebuild a town and then cry into a burnt cookie, because of course she will. Wanda’s fiercely protective, sometimes to a dangerously stubborn degree, and she’s the kind of person who’ll make you breakfast out of love and accidentally rewrite your memories. There’s this sense of loneliness that clings to her like an old sweater, but also she collects old radio frequencies and hums lullabies in the middle of chaos (true or not, I choose to believe it). She can be both terrifyingly powerful and achingly vulnerable in the same breath, which is why you never quite know whether to run or hug her — and that’s the point.