In Marvel Comics, female characters became more influential and relative to female comic readers. Since Sue Storm’s appearance as Marvel’s first lady in Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s The Fantastic Four back in 1961, many female characters have trailed behind the Invisible Woman. For six decades, each new generation of woman characters became stronger, smarter, and wiser.
Characters like Black Widow and Jessica Jones rose above abuse and made the best of their experience by protecting others. Their strength, tenacity, and intelligence shows how these heroines have the best-written lore in Marvel Comics.
10/10 Ghost-Spider Made Gwen Stacy More Interesting
Ghost-Spider, formerly known as Spider-Woman, is an alternate universe version of Gwen Stacy and exists on Earth-65. Following the primary Gwen Stacy’s death, her fans were excited to learn about this variant, who is arguably a cooler version of the original. She’s even in a band.
What makes Ghost-Spider so interesting is how Gwen failed to save Peter Parker after he transformed into the Lizard in an attempt to fight against his bullies. While the primary Gwen Stacy was not exactly a boring character, Ghost-Spider’s existence provides a story where Gwen has learned to live with grief and learned self-discovery, similar to Peter Parker’s Spider-Man.
9/10 Ironheart’s Experience Hits Close To Home
What makes Ironheart well-written is the way that her story arc relates to many comic readers. Before she became Ironheart, Riri Williams had suffered great losses after her father and best friend were killed by stray bullets in a drive-by shooting.
Like most superheroes, Riri learned to rise above the loss of the people she loved and used the experience to build herself up. Being a young, black, engineering genius from Chicago, Riri overcame plenty of obstacles to get into M.I.T. at the age of 15. Riri’s story is inspiring to many comic book fans because, for some readers, her experiences feel familiar.
8/10 Ms. Marvel Symbolizes Self-Identity
Kamala Khan was just a teenager who had to deal with juggling life between school, family, and her Muslim faith. With all the things Kamala had to balance with in her life, she suffered from self-identity. When Kamala first gained her powers, she shapeshifted into her favorite hero Captain Marvel and felt confident in someone else’s skin.
Eventually, Kamala followed her father’s advice and embraced who she is. What makes Kamala’s storyline great is how she had to jump through many hurdles to find herself. Though donning Ms. Marvel was inspired by Carol Danver’s former name, Kamala learned to be her own hero and became a figure that young, Muslim girls can look up to.
7/10 Shuri Modernized The Black Panther Mantle
Despite wanting to carry the Black Panther mantle, Shuri stood beside her brother T’Challa, but she did not stand in his shadow. Shuri could have been written as a typical princess who always needed saving, but instead, she was written as a warrior. Being that Shuri is a high-tech prodigy, she has many skills and uses her brains to specialize Wakandan tech.
When Shuri finally took on the Black Panther mantle, she didn’t completely follow in the footsteps of her predecessors. Instead, she used Vibranium tech to add cool specs to the Black Panther suit. Shuri is such an entertaining character because she took a legendary custom and made it technologically superior.
6/10 Gamora Displays Great Character Development
It’s no secret that Gamora had a tough life starting from an early age. After Thanos decimated her home planet leaving Gamora as the only person left of her species, The Mad Titan raised Gamora to be his daughter and head assassin. In her time as an enforcer, Gamora earned her the title of “The Deadliest Woman in The Galaxy,” but she eventually defied Thanos’ methods of madness.
Gamora’s story is engaging to comic readers because she learned to repair herself from a broken home led by a tyrant father. Being a prominent member of The Guardians of the Galaxy doesn’t make up for the damage that Gamora caused in the past, but it does express a well-executed character development.
5/10 Black Widow Went From An Assassin To An Avenger
Much like Gamora, Natasha Romanova was forced to be an assassin in a program known as the Red Room founded by The USSR. During her time in the Red Room, Natasha was mentally conditioned to be violent by nature and was provided with false memories.
Hawkeye helped Natasha break free of her psychological conditioning, but deep down inside, Natasha started to reject the violent tendencies which allowed her to break free. Natasha’s background throughout the comics has had various advancements that show how Black Widow grew from a heartless killer to a compassionate heroine.
4/10 America Chavez Breaks Barriers
America Chavez’s backstory is interesting and unique. Chavez’s ability to punch through star-shaped portals into different dimensions goes well beyond creativity and her personal experience is touching. With America losing both her moms, her experience connects to readers who lost both parents and had no one to turn to.
Being a Latina LGBTQ hero who wears patriotic colors that fit perfectly with her name, America Chavez symbolizes diversity and hope. America Chavez’s character is so dynamic because she doesn’t fit in just one space, she travels through different dimensions to help make a difference for everyone everywhere.
3/10 Captain Marvel Came A Long Way
Carol Danvers has been placed through many changes since her first appearance. Throughout over 50 years of her time in comics, Carol Danvers had several identities, starting with Ms. Marvel to her current name Captain Marvel, Danvers finally has a consistent storyline that readers find appealing.
With Carol Danvers being a former Air Force pilot, she was given a backstory that inspires young girls to take a leap and become anything or anyone that they aspire to be. Captain Marvel’s dedication to using her powers and her flight to save the universe is beyond admirable.
2/10 Jessica Jones Is A Realistic & Complicated Character
There is no character who suffered trauma quite like Jessica Jones. What was supposed to be an exciting trip to Disney World turned out to be the beginning of a tragic life when a truck containing radioactive chemicals killed her family, leaving Jessica an orphan with new superpowers.
Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos Alias series vividly delved into Jessica’s trauma with the loss of her family and Killgrave’s manipulation of her. As Jewel, Jones fought alongside The Avengers and wore a bright, sparkly suit, but after Killgrave’s abuse, Jessica started donning black leather and suffered depression. The fact that the Alias series contained mature content made Jessica Jones’s story more prevalent.
1/10 Storm Strikes Against Oppression
Being the first black female hero in Marvel Comics, it is surprisingly interesting how dynamic Storm was written. Even as an Omega-level mutant who is often depicted as a goddess, Ororo Munroe had moments in her lore that made her more relatable to an average human. Ororo was raised in Harlem by a Kenyan princess and an African American journalist who were murdered.
Ororo became an orphan and was manipulated by the Shadow King until Charles Xavier saved her and took her in. Storm is a humbled queen and member of the X-Men who still protects the very people who despise and abuse mutants despite being conflicted about feeling more of a burden to society as a female black mutant.
