Marvel's Most Iconic Woman Character Is...

[WebLurker]

In short, currently Marvel has no "female lead character".

Black Widow, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

(Don't really know why I put it that way, since I never saw that movie. Oh, well.)

[Lindsey]

I think a case can be made for Sue Storm as the most Iconic. Though if I was forced to choose I would say it's Storm. After those two it's not even close.

[ed2962]

I'd say Storm, Invisible Woman, and then perhaps Black Widow because of the movies.

[chongjasmine]

I think Storm is most iconic.

[Lutecius]

Depends on what you mean by iconic.

Storm used to be hugely popular and is still is the most recognizable.
Invisible Woman and MJ are the most classic Marvel women but I don't think many know who Sue is outside of comics, especially in the younger crowd.
Currently Black Widow is better known because of the movies.
Captain Marvel is nowhere near the top. That might change if the film is a hit but somehow I doubt it.

[daBronzeBomma]

Marvel just isn't built to have One character be the clear- cut dominant Alpha of Alphas type character, unlike DC.

1960s-1970s: Invisible Girl/Woman
1980s-1990s: Storm
2000s: Elektra?
2010s: Black Widow
2020s: Captain Marvel?

That's an incomplete listing. Obviously, just a guess with the next decade, but who was the most dominant Marvel super - heroine from 2000-2009? And when was She-Hulk at her peak?

[Iron Maiden]

Marvel just isn't built to have One character be the clear- cut dominant Alpha of Alphas type character, unlike DC.

1960s-1970s: Invisible Girl/Woman
1980s-1990s: Storm
2000s: Elektra?
2010s: Black Widow
2020s: Captain Marvel?

That's an incomplete listing. Obviously, just a guess with the next decade, but who was the most dominant Marvel super - heroine from 2000-2009? And when was She-Hulk at her peak?

I generally agree with this list. Except She Hulk was probably at her height in the 1980s and early 90s. John Byrne was fond of the character and he added her to his Fantastic Four team when Ben decided to stay behind on Battleworld. She also had her first solo title in the 1980s something that Storm never had back then, and a She Hulk graphic novel. Then a second She Hulk title done by Byrne started in 1989 that lasted longer than the first. So maybe you could call the 80s for She Hulk and 90s for Storm.

Storm has the same issue as Susan Richards...they're more known as being part of a team and can't seem to break away with their own title.

[MajorHoy]

Black Widow, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

(Don't really know why I put it that way, since I never saw that movie. Oh, well.)

Much as I love Natasha,

* she's currently dead
* she began her Marvel comic book appearances as a criminal / foreign spy
* she hasn't been as influential for a long enough period of time in Marvel's overall history

Wonder Woman has the benefit of being a Golden Age character, and if you wanted to default to Supergirl over at DC, she had a strong presence there beginning in the late 1950s.
When did Black Widow really start becoming a key character for Marvel?
It probably wasn't until sometime in the +/-1990s that she really started to be used much more than as a co-feature in a comic book or as Daredevil's sidekick or a member of a third-string superteam.

[Hizashi]

The thread title asks who Marvel's most iconic woman is, which is up for debate. However, the OP mentions Wonder Woman, which I think we can all agree is in a class all her own, there's no contest.

[Crimz]

The thread title asks who Marvel's most iconic woman is, which is up for debate. However, the OP mentions Wonder Woman, which I think we can all agree is in a class all her own, there's no contest.

Yep. I don't think there are any male Marvel characters on that level besides probably Spider-Man and even he's a big maybe. It would take decades of pushing a character for them to be that iconic. Also, I believe some are mixing up iconic with popular which are different.

If someone asked me who was Marvel's most popular female character currently, I'd probably say Black Widow because of the movies. But for the most iconic things get more blurred.

[PattiLaBelleStormfan]

Storm is the most easily recognized out of the bunch. So I would say she is still their most iconic female heroine.

[Xalfrea]

I'd say that, taking all Marvel mediums into account, it's a tossup between Storm, Black Widow, and MJ. Though, if we're talking about Wonder Woman level of iconic, good luck with that. Even with Captain Marvel's movie coming up, it'll be a long uphill battle for any Marvel female character to get to the level of Wonder Woman.

[MajorHoy]

Storm is the most easily recognized out of the bunch. So I would say she is still their most iconic female heroine.

But Storm only has recognition by the general public (and some comic book readers) as part of the X-Men.
That's pretty lame for being a company's "most iconic" female character.
(Granted, the same might be said for Invisible Woman and her membership in the Fantastic Four, but Sue at least has almost a fifteen year jump on Ororo.)

[El_Gato]

Marvel just isn't built to have One character be the clear- cut dominant Alpha of Alphas type character, unlike DC.

1960s-1970s: Invisible Girl/Woman
1980s-1990s: Storm
2000s: Elektra?
2010s: Black Widow
2020s: Captain Marvel?

That's an incomplete listing. Obviously, just a guess with the next decade, but who was the most dominant Marvel super - heroine from 2000-2009? And when was She-Hulk at her peak?

2000's was definitely Elektra. She was everywhere in outside media. She had a lead role in Daredevil and her very own movie, some merchandise, plus she was the main female of the Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Nemesis games, though she fell off the radar when Black Window came around.

[MajorHoy]

2000's was definitely Elektra. She was everywhere in outside media. She had a lead role in Daredevil and her very own movie, some merchandise, plus she was the main female of the Ultimate Alliance and Marvel Nemesis games, though she fell off the radar when Black Window came around.

Considering Black Widow (Natasha version) first appeared in comic books in 1964 while Elektra didn't make her first appearance in the pages of Daredevil for more than fifteen years (in 1980) after Natasha first showed up, I think you should reword that "when Black Widow came around" part.