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Ladies Who Pack a Punch: Our Favorite Butt-Kicking Women in Movies

From Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games to Scarlett Johansson in The Avengers, these fierce femmes bring the pain (22 Photos)

Tom DiChiara on May 3, 2012 at 5:50PM

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Ladies Who Pack a Punch: Our Favorite Butt-Kicking Women in Movies

Walt Disney Pictures

Scarlett Johansson in 'The Avengers' & 'Iron Man 2'

Although Scarlett Johansson tackled her first action role as the obligatory hot girl in a Michael Bay's 2005 movie The Island, it was her turn as saucy S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. the Black Widow, in 2010's Iron Man 2 that proved she was truly a force to be reckoned with, bashing bad guys alongside Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark/Iron Man. She reprises the role in The Avengers (in theaters May 4), playing the lone female amongst a gaggle of male heroes -- including Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) -- out to save Earth from otherworldly villain Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

To hold her own against all that testosterone -- and to be able to slink into her form-fitting black leather suit (which she likens to wearing "sweaty pajamas") -- Johansson had to work out like a beast... and it shows. The actress did many of her own stunts for the action-heavy film, taking out baddies with her fists and some very acrobatic kicks. Not exactly moves she needed for Lost in Translation or The Girl With the Pearl Earring.