In two of the three Iron Man movies, Pepper is the one to take out the big villain. And, actually, with the direction the series was taking, I wouldn't be surprised if a fourth movie had Tony be more of a Q to her James Bond.

Natasha (and Clint, to be fair) need more credit for being productive members of the team when the rest of the team consists of guys who could lift a truck with one hand. This means they've got powers that extend beyond being good at hitting stuff.