In my rundown of what comic-based heroines we were going to see onscreen in 2010, I managed to leave out a really cool one: Bethany Cabe of Iron Man 2, who will be played by Kate Mara. When Mara was cast in an "unspecified role" last April, I wondered if she would be playing Cabe and that's since been confirmed by IMDB and Empire. For once, I was right! But I'm less thrilled about that than I am about what this could mean for future Iron Man installments. Cabe is no slouch in Tony Stark's world, and while she may not have the spin-off possibilities of Black Widow, she'll probably be kicking some ass.

Not surprisingly, Cabe first appeared in the pages of Iron Man as most women do -- as a hot chick that Tony wanted to sleep with. They began dating, and initially she was just one of those pesky people Tony had to hide his Iron Man identity from. But then came a scuffle with a sleazy oil company, and Cabe pulled a Vesper Lynd. She had ties to the government, and was a bodyguard working for Cabe and McPherson Security Specialists. (Her own company!) Everyone thought Tony could use a little help, and he was quite grateful they sent him extremely gorgeous protection.

Still unaware of Tony's secret suit, she rescued him from not one, but three supervillains: The Melter, Whiplash, and Blizzard. But Cabe was pissed that Iron Man was engaging in battle for Atlantic City instead of protecting Tony. Apparently, Atlantic City is less important than Stark and while there's probably some aspect of that story I've forgotten, Cabe's continued issues with "Iron Man never helps you!" seemed like a cheesy way to break them up. Which, of course, they did. Tony needs to be free, or the young readers get bored with his icky boyfriend stuff.


Cabe and Stark quickly reconciled when Tony began hitting the bottle. She helped him through his addiction, partly out of true love, and partly because her former husband had been a drug addict. Helping him battle the booze still wasn't enough for Stark to tell Cabe that he was Iron Man, though. Call me crazy, but if a girl has acted as your bodyguard and cleaned up your puke, then you can tell her your secret identity. Eventually, a supervillain (another chick actually -- Madame Masque, who just can't get enough Tony lovin') proudly revealed it to her ... only to have Cabe say "Meh. I figured that out a few weeks ago when the Iron Man suit smelled like Winston Canadian Whiskey."


But eventually, Cabe became more than his bodyguard, counselor, and girlfriend. She became an Iron (Wo)Man. Because Tony was out of commission, Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes recruited every tough Stark Industries employee he could to join his Iron Legion, and help battle the giant robot Ultimo. Cabe suited up in Tony's own Armor Wars suit, and was the only one left standing alongside War Machine. Impressed, Tony promptly gave her a promotion to Head of Security at Stark Industries. No one could say she got that by sleeping with the boss then! Eventually, Cabe received her own War Machine suit, and often assists Rhodey in battle. She's a go-to kind badass.


Now, it's possible that Cabe could be nothing more than an Easter Egg in Iron Man 2, a name only diehard Iron Man fans will recognize and geek out over. But Mara isn't the kind of actress you recruit for a wink and a nod, at least not in my book. Her casting suggests that Cabe might just be something more in the franchise, particularly since she has gone up against Justin Hammer and Whiplash, both of whom are in Iron Man 2. There's also future films to consider. Both Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. have hinted that the Demon in a Bottle storyline will factor into Iron Man's cinematic mythology at some point. Favreau has also said that the Mandarin will be the overarching villain of the films, and Ultimo was controlled by Mandarin. Cabe is a pretty important (though not vital) character in both. It's hard to imagine they'll promote her at the sake of Pepper Potts, though. But perhaps Cabe is simply being groomed as a back-up to Pepper, and she'll become Tony's rock in the event that Gwyneth Paltrow is uninterested in continuing.

We'll have to wait and see. But one thing seems certain -- Iron Man is poised to be loaded with girl power. Pepper, Black Widow, and Bethany Cabe have all seen their share of action in the books (and not just the kind Tony favors), and all could make a believable and awesome transition to the big screen. (Oh, to see a War Machine movie that let Bethany Cabe fly right alongside him!) And all three are redheads! What more could you want out of a superhero franchise?