Page sits down for a chat with Agent Melinda May herself, Ming-Na Wen! They discuss May as a role model, Ming-Na’s status as a Disney princess, and how May has grown over the course of the show.
8. Ming-Na Wen as Melinda May As seen in: Marvel’sAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-present) One look at this supercut of Melinda May’s fight scenes from the first two seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and you’ll be going “powers, shmowers.” As Phil Coulson’s onetime right-hand woman, this expert pilot and martial-arts specialist raises the question time and again of, “And a man is in charge of this team because …?” After taking out three large men with her bare hands in a recent episode, May herself had no qualms about pointing out to her victims that “a tiny little Asian woman kicked your ass.” Ming-Na Wen’s performance proves that you don’t need any sort of superhuman abilities to save the world, and that a small, non-Caucasian woman rocking a Blondie T-shirt is long overdue as an ass-kicking superhero.
Melinda May is a complicated character, I guess that’s why I’m drawn to her.
When I first saw Agents of SHIELD, I immediately got interested in her, simply because of her silence. I immediately started wondering what her story was and where she came from because you practically didn’t know anything about her in the first few episodes. Her being this cold, stoic, serious warrior, who never smiles, on the outside and then as the series continues to learn what happened to her, how she became this way and how she used to be and acts different around Coulson is extraordinary. All together it is super exciting to me to see her interact with the other characters on the show because you always see everyone respecting her so much, almost scared of her because of this story about Bahrain being passed on incorrectly.
I also love how the audience gets to see her facade crack here and then and gets to learn who this silent, mysterious woman is and was before the incident. (Even though I ship Philinda 4 LIFE, I got so excited when Andrew started working with SHIELD again.)
She’s by far my favorite character on AoS and I think that’s because she is this wounded warrior, silent but deadly, cold on the outside, fluffy teddy bear on the inside and of course her MASSIVE fighting skills! (Words can’t even describe how satisfying it was to see her kick Ward’s ass in the end of season 1)
She matters to me because she makes me super excited for every episode even though she might not even say anything. The way Ming-Na Wen can communicate, only with looks, is incredible.
Any scene with May in it has this sort of tension because you never know what to expect…silence? Beating the crap out of someone? You just know it’s going to be awesome either way. :)
Melinda May is one of the strongest and most amazing women ever and that’s why Melinda May matters!
“ Agent May is straight up kick ass. I have said to friends and family that if someone were to make a biopic of me, Ming Na Wen’s demeanor as Agent May would be perfect to portray the way I think I’m kick ass and that poker face cranky cat meme all at the same time. Agent May is a breakthrough Asian American character on primetime tv because she’s hooked up with some hot men of color and takes crap from no one. Wen’s ability to display sympathy and heartbreak in a snarl is a testament to her adept acting abilities.
We love Ming-Na Wen. We know you do, too. How do we know? Cause you guys sent us a bunch of letters stating that fact! Enjoy an hour of us gushing about the greatest badass in the history of everything, courtesy of our listeners and posts culled from the Melinda May Matters Project (http://melindamaymatters.tumblr.com).
“She matters to us, and in turn, it is my hope that that matters to you.”
Volume Two is up! Read it here, or download it here.
With much love and thanks to all who contributed, and a special thanks to onaperduamedee for the gorgeous cover art, and stardust-rain for the equally gorgeous cover design. We hope you enjoy.
“She matters to us, and in turn, it is my hope that that matters to you.”
Volume Two is up! Read it here, or download it here.
With much love and thanks to all who contributed, and a special thanks to onaperduamedee for the gorgeous cover art, and stardust-rain for the equally gorgeous cover design. We hope you enjoy.
Just a quick reminder that today is the last day to send something in for the Melinda May/Ming Na Wen podcast that Level 7 Access will be doing – see details at pagebranson‘s Tumblr here!
In late August, Level 7 Access Podcast will be doing a Melinda May & Ming Na Wen lovefest episode, and they’re looking for submissions from you! Level 7 Access is one of our favourite Marvel podcasts, and we’re thrilled that they’re doing a lovefest episode for our very favourite characters.
We’ll be sending in quotes from the soon-to-be-published Volume Two of Melinda May Matters, but we’d love to see as much love going Melinda’s (and Ming-Na’s!) way as possible, so between now and August 14th, please do take the time to drop a short love note to the character, actress, or both to level7accesspod@gmail.com.
For inspiration, take a listen to Level 7 Access’ Phil Coulson/Clark Gregg lovefest episode here, and see our entries at melindamaymatters too! Level 7 Access can be found on Twitter here, and as always, we can be found here - come say hi and share in the love!
ETA: See more ideas about what to contribute at pagebranson‘s post here! (She’s a gem, so definitely check out her blog and her art while you’re over there :))
Love Melinda May? Tell us about how she matters to you. Tag your post with #melindamaymatters, click submit above, or email us at melindamaymatters@gmail.com!
