My Favorite Superheroines (and bad girls)

Catwoman
Selina Kyle is slinky, lithe, playful, smart, independent and the dangerous type. She’s worn a variety of get ups; somehow she makes anything look good on her. A great character and foil/love interest for the Bat. I like the way Adam Hughes drew her, she looks a little like Audrey Hepburn (facially). While her feature film was a bomb, Michelle Pfeiffer in "Batman Returns" and Julie Newmar on TV have portrayed her nicely.




Emma Frost
Marvel hottest bad girl. Independent and gorgeous -villain turned X-Man- Emma can turn her skin into rock hard diamonds and has mental powers to rival Jean Gray. I like that she's her own woman, she makes the rules. You might think you got her figured out then she'll do a complete 180.

Black Widow
Her costume is a basic black cat suit with wristbands that shoot out lines of rope or a shock (called the widows bite) Russian agent Natasha Romanov is sexy, strong willed and crafty. Even in the crowded Alpha male world of the Avengers she stood out, tough and an equal to all. And Widow only sees men who can keep up with her - Hawkeye, Daredevil and Tony Stark (Iron Man). I'm looking forward to seeing her on film.

Supergirl
Kara has gone by many names and been seen in many forms. I've always preferred her to her cousin Clark. Maybe because she's flawed, more relatable. I love what Sterling Gates has done with her. She's still maturing so she stumbles here and there, but is always striving to do and be her best. I also loved Bruce Timm's version of her in the JLU. Younger, impulsive and trying to live up to her name - I got a kick at the way she'd stick her tongue out at someone who displeased her

Stargirl
Under Geoff Johns careful guidance, Courtney has grown into one of DCs best. First, teamed up with her Stepfather (S.T.R.I.P.E) and later as a vital member of the JSA. Johns created a teenager, who acted like a teenager. We watched her mature and go through her highlights and heartaches. She's got spunk and though young, she has great resolve and delivers in a crisis! I like her sporty costume and the staff bequeathed to her from the former Starman.

Black Canary
Gail Simone helped turn Canary into a great character in her run on "Birds of Prey". Sure, Dinah Lance looks great in that uniform, but more importantly she's tough as nails, a confident leader as well as a compassionate friend and able team-mate. Trained by Wildcat, she’s an exceptional hand-to-hand fighter and has that cool canary scream that can waylay the mightiest foes.

Harley Quinn
I don’t like clowns and I’m tired of the Joker’s shtick (Though he does bring out the best in many actors and voice over performers) But Harley is the exception. She’s ditzy and dangerous and somehow... cute in that get up!

Phoenix
When John Byrne drew Jean Gray as Phoenix, it was amazing. Her change into a stronger character was an improvement. But when she became Dark Phoenix she got even cooler. That bird flame thing that surrounded her, the dark red costume, the sash. Beautiful and bad-ass as anything out there.

Giant Girl
This version of a younger Janet Van Dyne was one of the highlights of the early "Marvel Adventures Avengers" series. She was a lot of fun as she had an interesting, cute, clever personality. Plus she’s a giant. I Love giants, I love how they look towering among the skyscrapers and picking up small baddies like they were dolls. I love this cover too, Giant Girl as the 60 Foot Woman.

Batgirl
There have been many versions of Batgirl, my favorite resides in Bruce Timm’s animated universe. While I've liked all the women who wore the cowl, no one surpasses Barbara Gordon. Who now puts her keen mind to use as Oracle, the mentor and helper to Gotham's heroes as well as the leader of the "Birds of Prey".

Elektra
Frank Miller did a wonderful thing when he introduced Elektra to the pages of Daredevil. What a superb, well rounded love story, what a superb well rounded character. This was the first time I ever saw sai’s, very cool. Too bad her movie wasn't up to snuff.

Deadly Girl
She didn’t come from a comic book, but was rather born on film as a member of “The Specials” – This was a pretty funny comedy and Deadly Girl was my favorite character. A snarky Goth girl who can enter the world of the dead. She can also summon forth demons, but sometimes that goes awry. Actress Judy Greer nailed it, she made DG stand out amongst a crowded and talented cast.

Rogue
The troubled Rogue was a different character in the films - in the comics she was proactive, she flew and brawled with the best of them. That white stripe in her hair stood out, as did her 'primarily' green uniforms. Later she hooked up with that Cajun guy, but I was a fan long before he came on the scene

Wonder Woman
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Wonder Woman – Diana was never one of my favorites, I didn’t care for the costume, but her character is what eventually made me a fan. She's a warrior who kowtows to no one, but she’s also a loving and loyal person. Princess Diana is intelligent and a smart tactician and a talented writer/artist who understands that can use this to stage some memorable fight sequences. Watch the "Justice Leagues Crisis on Two Earths" DVD and note the battle with Superwoman. She might be matched in brute strength, but she is without peer as a tactician. She beats Superwoman because she’s smarter, more skilled - more than just muscle.

Caitlin Fairchild
Created by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi for their Gen 13 comic. I loved the early stories of this team, and Fairchild stood head and shoulders above the rest as my favorite. She was not only an attractive red head, but super strong and smart as a whip. I actually didn’t care for Adam Hughes muscle bound version of Caitlin and prefer J Scott Campbell’s lanky, lean, Amazon look. I felt it was a unique way to portray a powerhouse figure.

The Huntress
Helena has been seen in many guises; my favorites were with her teamed up with Canary in Birds of Prey and in the animated JLU. The episode "Double Date" was one of the series best, and was the first pairing of her with the Question. The 2 made a strange, but nice couple.

Honorable Mention: Ms Marvel - Always liked the costume, she made a good Avenger and I enjoyed her in Iron Man's comics (though I hate how some writers have treated her. That thing with her and Marcus was messed up)

Honorable Mention: Ghost - The first time my eyes were awed by Adam Hughes gorgeous artwork, was in the pages of Ghost. A character from the "Dark Horse" superworld Arcadia. This mysterious pistol packing heroine was trying to solve her own murder, and would later been seen teaming up with characters such as Batgirl and Hellboy

Favorite Non-Super: Gwen Stacey - Peter Parker might have been a picked on nerd, but he sure dates the prettiest women. Gwen was the best, she was a sweetie. Man, how it broke my young heart when she died. I've also got to give a shout out to Tony Stark’s gal pals, Bethany Cabe and Pepper Potts. Two smart, confident, cool women that made the pages of Iron Man a much better place.

How many is too many superhero movies?

When it comes to the question of comic book flicks, many critics and bloggers are like a needle stuck on an old record album, repeating the same thing over and over and over. Every year they bitch about their being too many comic book films. Frankly I’m sick of hearing it, so I decided to put it to the test.

First off: Lets be truthful, when people use the word ‘comic book movies’ they really mean ‘superhero flicks’. I’ve yet to read a complaint about Eastern Promises or Road to Perdition being released (just 2 of several non supers comic book based film).

Anyway - I used the year 2008, because it had the most superhero releases. I did a count, and give or take a movie I might have missed or miscounted, here’s what I found.

Of the roughly 445 films released to theaters in 08, 10 were Superhero films (including Wanted, which doesn’t have a cape in sight, but I’ll include it. And Jumper, which was a book not a comic, but it did display extraordinary powers).

10 - about the same number of animated children’s features that where released in 2008.

And both those were surpassed by the 25 or so scary movies I saw listed that year.

But no one says, "God why do they keep making of all these cartoons and horror flicks!"

10 super flicks out of 445 releases, that's too much -- That's a glut of one genre? I have to ask, what's the real problem here, folks? Is it the hype? Is it that they make money and get so much attention? Are you simply tired of hearing about a type of movie you personally can’t stand?

Okay, I get that. But lets keep it in perspective. This handful of crime fighting flicks isn't ruining filmdom, any more than the Western or the Sci-fi, or the Arnold/Willis/Stallone action oeuvre did at their peak. The capes aren't the only game in town. In truth they are vastly out numbered by comedies and dramas etc. You have literally hundreds of options, a veritable cornucopia of genres to choose from each year. The are indies and art films and foreign fare... it's all still out there, superhero’s didn’t make them go away.

This film season will offer us 3 - Kick-Ass, Iron Man and the Green Hornet. But somebody, somewhere will inevitably whine about them too.. I gather all I can do is close the haters out and sit back and enjoy the ‘super’ ride while it lasts.