Joss Whedon
After the success of 'Avengers: Age of Ultron', director Joss Whedon is likely to try his hands in 'Star Wars' movies.Reuters

Joss Whedon, whose brilliance shines behind iconic shows like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Firefly" and most movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been off the grid on Twitter since 4 May, Monday.

The "Avengers: Age of Ultron" director said goodbye to his 1.15 million followers on Twitter with the message, "Thank you to all the people who've been so kind and funny and inspiring up in here."

Many reports suggest that the decision comes in response to the huge backlash against him for using Black Widow (Scarlett Johannson) in a typical "damsel in distress" role in key scenes of "Avengers: Age of Ultron". Although he did not address the Black Widow criticism directly, his fans are directing their rage at the online bullies for forcing him to give up on the online community.

People like Space Midget (@SpaceMidget75) and HammersmashZach (@ombranox) called him out for being a hypocrite. While the former said, "@josswhedon So... was Black Widow being weak as a character "not your fault", or are you simply a massive hypocrite?", latter said, "Not a single gratuitous shot of Black Widow in Avengers 2. I guess feminist Joss Whedon was tired of being called a hypocrite."

However, Homer Ruglia Beoulve (@ramzaruglia) felt that giving Whedon credit for the character Black Widow is uncalled for. "For the record #GamerGate, don't credit Joss Whedon for Black Widow too much. Thank Don Rico, Stan Lee and Deck Hall for creating her...Stop thanking Joss Whedon for Black Widow. Give credit where its due. Joss Whedon didn't gave her life, Stan Lee and company did. #GamerGate," said Beoulve.

Cas ‏(@fallenrogers) said, "I'd rather have no Black Widow movie than have Joss Whedon direct it and completely destroy everything left of Natasha"

Meanwhile, a few others were ashamed of the rowdy behaviour exhibited by the online bullies. Cinefilles (@Cinefilles) "Let's get serious, guys. Hating Black Widow in #AgeOfUltron does not give you permission to online bully Whedon." Meanwhile J. Olson(@cinemixtape) explained, "Misogyny is an enormous problem. If you think Joss Whedon's depiction of Black Widow is misogynistic, you have no idea what misogyny is."

A supporters were oozing sarcasm too: Dio Brando (@AssemblyProj3ct) said, "Oh no, character development that makes Black Widow a more human character?! Let's harass Joss Whedon off twitter!" #ComicGate #GamerGate" and Eric ‏(@ericsbadatnames ) said, "According to tumblr making Black Widow have emotions means @josswhedon is a misogynist. 10/10 perfect logic."

Meanwhile, Mark Ruffallo, who plays The Hulk aka Black Widow's love interest and the reason for her to be called a "damsel in distress", has said in a recent interview that he wishes there were more merchandise for the Black Widow. The merchandise line-up for "Avengers: Age of Ultron" reportedly has only three items for Black Widow, while the other woman Avenger, Scarlet Witch, played by Elizabeth Olsen, has none at all.

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