While we continue to wait for the much-fabled Wonder Woman film (a project that has literally inspired decades of online gossip—which will reportedly come to an end when she finally appears in Batman vs. Superman), another female superhero, one who even lacks actual superpowers, has quietly begun to command a lot of interest and fan support.

In this week’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Black Widow (played effortlessly by Scarlett Johansson) continues to dominate much of the action, after appearing in the most Marvel film franchises of any of the current slate of characters: she has donned her black leather suit and kicked butt in Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Captain America 2 and next year, she will again appear in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

It was also announced that the Marvel Powers That Be are considering a film for The Black Widow all by herself, which would be an (overdue) first: if we choose to forget the ill-fated Halle Berry/Sharon Stone bomb Catwoman, which wasn’t really a superhero movie at all, this would mark the first ever sleek, big-budget major motion picture for a female superhero. The question is, why has it taken this long?

As Captain America rolls out for its second installment, most people want to know what The Black Widow is up to, and what her image means to young female moviegoers. She is at once a confident and empowering character, with a dangerous edge. Scarlett enjoys playing her in particular because, says the actress, “she uses her feminine wiles as part of the job, but doesn’t rely on her sexuality or appeal to get the job done. She’s a leader with a lot of foresight.”

Well put, Scarjo! We can’t wait to see which dastardly villain she’ll be up against in her own film.