Super Heroines, But Still in the Shadow

Mary Marvel, Bulletgirl, Miss America, Namora, Golden Girl, Doll Girl, Batwoman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Fly Girl, Hawkgirl, Power Girl, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Woman, even She-Hulk … the female knock-off version of the dominant male superhero is a venerable tradition, one that paradoxically paralleled American society’s growing recognition of female power even as it condescended to the idea. The trend even continued outside comics, with Six Million Dollar Men inevitably spawning Bionic Women.