5 Female Superheroes Deserving Greater Acknowledgement6

By Dan Billings, Feb 17, 2012 in Offbeat, Pop Culture

When asked to name their favorite superheroes, most people pick a male character, like Superman or Spider-man. Regrettably, these peeps are missing some great, and certainly super, female characters that are all too often passed over in popular culture. In the brand new comedy series Super Knocked Up, now premiering on KoldCast TV, kick-ass super-villain Jessica James gets (you guessed it) knocked up by her nemesis, the womanizing superhero Michael Masters. While the sex was undoubtedly super, Jessica must learn how to raise the baby with her nemesis. And while Jessica is the super-villain in the story, any mother will tell you that their task requires skills which, when well executed, qualify them to be superheroes in their own right.

Super Knocked Up – One Night Stand

Here are 5 female superheroes that deserve greater acknowledgement for their contributions in the comic world.

Wonder Woman

One of the original female superheroes, Wonder Woman was created by William Marston, the inventor of the lie detector machine. With an invisible plane and a lasso of truth (Marston liked truth-telling), Wonder Woman left her birthplace of Themyscira, where the Amazons live. When Steve Trevor, an army pilot, crashes on their island, Wonder Woman’s mother, Queen Hippolyta, announced a competition to determine who would return Trevor to America. Despite being forbidden to participate in the competition, the Queen’s sexy daughter Diana wins the competition and heads to America wearing a bustier and small bikini trunks – both incredibly comfortable clothes to wear when defeating evil – and becomes the comic book legend that we all know.

Most people probably remember Wonder Woman as she was portrayed by Lynda Carter in the 1970s television series of the same name. Using a body spin, Diana Prince would transform into Wonder Woman to find Nazis, and other enemies, with Steve Trevor (played by Lyle Waggoner). Recently, television writer and producer David E. Kelley attempted to revitalize Wonder Woman with a new show starring Adrianne Palicki. However, the pilot did not get picked up.

Supergirl

Following in the footsteps of her cousin, Superman, Kara Zor-El came to Earth under similar circumstances. Her father, Superman’s uncle, sent his teenage daughter to follow her baby cousin and look after him, like a good babysitter. However, she arrives on Earth much later and, due to suspended animation, she is far younger than the grown up Kal-El. Unfortunately, and for reasons unknown to this writer, Supergirl becomes an easy target for DC Comics writers to kill, which they did, in the crossover Crisis on Infinite Earths with an iconic picture of Superman crying while holding the remains of his cousin. However, the character name didn’t die with Kara Zor-El.

In a relatively strange story that didn’t yield one of the best examples of female super heroics, Lex Luthor helped create a Matrix that took the form of Supergirl. In a memorable scene in the Death of Superman storyline, this Supergirl, named Linda Danvers, gets punched by Doomsday and becomes a pink blob. Not the most fearsome superhero. However, Supergirl Linda did have some interesting adventures, including developing angelic powers and fiery wings. Eventually, due to the ability of comic books to change things around anyway they want, a new version of the original Supergirl now appears in a monthly Supergirl series.

Batwoman

Although Batman likes to pretend he is a loner, he has quite the family. In addition to multiple Robin’s, Alfred the butler, and Batgirl, there is Batwoman. To combat allegations of homosexuality between Batman and Robin, Bob Kane, Batman’s creator, created Kathy Kane, the Bat-Woman, to serve as a romantic interest for Bruce Wayne. She appeared for several years in the 1950s and 1960s but disappeared when a younger, Batgirl came onto the scene. However, years later, a new Batwoman came to life. Kate Kane was a wealthy daughter of Gotham City who had been expelled when her sexual orientation was revealed by the Army due to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. With the help of her father, Batwoman now patrols the streets of Gotham City frightening many supernatural villains, including, in a comic book twist, her own twin sister.

She-Hulk

When you think of handsome leading male superheroes that need an attractive counterpart, the Incredible Hulk is probably low on the list. But when Jennifer Walters gets shot, doctors could only call one person to donate compatible blood – her cousin, Bruce Banner. Due to his radioactive blood, Jennifer Walters is transformed into a green monster with many of the same powers as her Incredible cousin. Since Jennifer’s transformation, She-Hulk has gone on to be a member of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and most recently, the Fearsome Four, with Howard the Duck. In her off time, Jennifer/She-Hulk is a licensed attorney who every so often has to defend superheroes, including her cousin, the Hulk. Generally, She-Hulk has been a humorous counterpart to her more destructive cousin, but that sometimes hurts her popularity as a strong part of the Marvel Universe. She-Hulk was the last major character Stan Lee created at Marvel Comics.

Jean Grey/Marvel Girl/Phoenix/Dark Phoenix

Very few characters have died and come back from the dead as has Jean Grey. As a founding member of the X-Men, Marvel Girl has telepathic and telekinetic powers and was generally the reason why the X-Men got into a lot of problems. She fell into the stereotype of the damsel in distress who needed men to save her. But as times changed, she became a stronger character. To save the X-Men, including her boyfriend, Cyclops, she steered a damaged spaceship back to Earth and died in the process. Then she came back from the dead as Phoenix with newer and more powerful abilities, but these abilities turned her evil as she transformed into the Dark Phoenix and once again died. This storyline was featured in the movie X-Men: The Last Stand. But death could not keep her down as she was again revived. However, her crimes as Dark Phoenix, including acts of genocide, had to be erased.

As her character moved past these actions, she grew to be one of the leaders of the X-Men, including during Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run. One of the major subplots of his story arc was a love triangle between Jean, Cyclops, and Emma Frost, a mutant with telepathic powers as well as the ability to transform her skin into diamond. Throughout the story, she began to gain control of her Phoenix powers again. But in one final battle with Magneto, she is killed, again, with Cyclops mourning the loss of his love. Currently, the Phoenix force is on the move in the Marvel Universe, setting up a battle between the Avengers and the X-Men. Could Jean be returning again? Since it’s the comics – probably.

Dan Billings lives in Mt. Prospect, Illinois. When he’s not running and listening to BBC podcasts, he’s reading comic books. He likes to consider himself a successful funny man, but that may only be true compared to the other legal writers that he spends his days with. On occasion, he writes on his own personal blog at rockthewesternworld.com.