A Girl's Favourite Superheroes
(4 minutes reading time)
My Number One Daughter has a variety of tastes. She goes with what’s on trend to what she really likes for herself and that’s amazingly cool.
I of course have had a hand in feeding her a diet of superhero tales. For a while I told her every superhero origin story I had in my head as bedtime stories. So she likes superheroes. To her superheroes encompass the typical to the simply extraordinary heroes. From Wonder Woman to Princess Mononoke.
Thanks to her, I have a greater appreciation for the superheroines out there as I try to show her as much of the female superheroes as I can and that has meant paying more attention to them myself. So in a way we’ve been discovering who the great superheroines are together.
The main source of her favourite superheroines are the animated series. Here are her current favourites.
The Huntress
I suspect Huntress is in favour because of her funky 70s inspired costume. With its billowing cape, generous dappling of purple and mega-long thigh boots. And she’s sassy.
Black Canary
The episodes that my girl has seen of Black Canary feature a lot of her fighting. She is an awesome fighter and no wonder. She’s the daughter of a superhero, the original Black Canary. She’s a student of Wildcat’s and is Green Arrow’s sparring partner (well, partner). Destined to be a prodigious warrior. With such fighting ability, she rarely needs to break out her powerful supersonic scream. As far as my girl’s concerned Black Canary just kicks ass.
Catwoman
Batman The Animated Series is loaded with wonderful episodes. The ones my girl likes best are the ones that have either Harlequin, Poison Ivy, Talia, or Batgirl. But she especially likes Catwoman. I hope it’s because she likes Selina’s classiness and sophistication. She’s a strong character who’s complex but also beguiling.
However I suspect the truth is that my eldest shares Catwoman’s weakness for shiny jewels.
To me she is Batman’s greatest love (other than Wonder Woman). She’s often portrayed as his wife in alternate realities and possible futures.
The screenshot above is from Gotham Girls where Batgirl and Catwoman team up. It’s my girl’s favourite from the series. She’s just cooler than Batgirl.
## Birds of Prey
Those of you in the know would realise that the three above are the muscle to Oracle’s brains in Birds of Prey. They are also the stars of a favourite episode of Batman Brave and Bold. This episode hit the sweet spot for my eldest as the trio perform a jazzy ditty. The sirens sing of how when Batman needs help, great as his team ups are, none are better than when he joins with the Birds of Prey.
What about the Big Three?
It’s interesting that my girl originally wasn’t that keen on Supergirl, Batgirl or Wonder Woman. It’s quite possible that she finds their personalities dull. Yes Barbara is a strong minded character, but she’s a goodie two-shoes librarian. Diana can be really straight laced. Supergirl hasn’t had that much exposure to my eldest.
She will say though that she likes them as she has a Batgirl costume and loves it. She also has a t-shirt that has the Batgirl logo. She has a Supergirl t-shirt logo t-shirt too, but the real reason she warmed to her is that Justice League Unlimited episode. The one where she teams up with the Legion of Superheroes and falls in love with Brainiac 5. But more than that it’s how Supergirl beats Green Lantern and all of the Legion then saves the universe!
Then there’s Wonder Woman. She’s the champion of female superheroes. The one that wasn’t created as the female conterpart of a male hero, she is a superhero in her own right. Yet I can’t quite figure out why Number One Daughter likes Wonder Woman. I again suspect skimpy clothing, but perhaps it’s the fact she’s a princess so unlike the Disney ones. Perhaps because she’s a regal warrior and inspiring for it.
I think most of all it’s because Wonder Woman is impressive. Even Batman thinks so.