Marvel's Unsung and UnderUsed Female Heros?

[electr1cgoblin]

So there's a whole thread asking if Carol Danvers should be Marvel's flagship female character, and I won't dig deeper into that than has already been done.

But it made me think, what characters are out there that should get more attention and time? She Hulk, Sue Storm, Ororo, Rogue, Black Widow, Squirrel Girl and even Wanda are getting fairly good play at this point, but what about the ones who have been lurking in relative obscurity for a while and shouldn't be? Who would make your persona list?

Mine would include:

1) Red Sonja: Yes, I know the costume is a PC nightmare, but it's been ages since we've had a decent sword and sorcery book, and if you think of the word "strong", this lady pretty much defines it.

2) Valkyrie: Yes, she's going to be in Thor 3, but really who cares? With all the characters that have slated for that film, she's unlikely to get much real time. I think she could at the very least be on a team book, maybe leading to a solo for a bit. Again, a very strong and imposing character with a neat backstory.

3) Tigra: Probably never happen unless they tone down the fur bikini, but she's got a very long history, a cool origin and ties to just about everybody.

4) Spiderwoman: She's around, but not being highlighted. At least three different incarnations, if I recall correctly. I'd prefer Jessica, but any will do. Some variation on the original costume, please, with Wundagore ties fully intact.

5) Thundra: No way is she going to get a solo, but a superstrong feminist with an attitude has got to fit in somewhere; imagine all the great interplay she could have with Tony, Thor, Natasha, etc.

6) Satana: She had a nice run back in Parker's THUNDERBOLTS, but since then, not much. Great powers, personality, and right now there is no premiere MCU "anti-heroine"; she might do the trick.

[Valamist]

It would be great to see Valkyrie back in the spotlight. Loved her in Fearless Defenders. I suspect Marvel are planning this anyway what with her Thor 3 appearance, and she just guest-stared in Hellcat recently.

Jessica Drew has her ongoing Spider-Woman book at the moment. No idea how well it is selling, but its a great series! They re-did her costume just before Secret Wars, kinda prefer the original but its still great.

[Frontier]

The Wasp.

Founding Avenger, first female Avenger, and had just as storied a tenure leading the team as Captain America, yet she's never been promoted that heavily.

Granted, with the Ant-Man and Wasp movie coming up, that seems to be changing to some degree, but I wouldn't be a surprised if a lot of that promotion goes to the new Wasp instead of just Jan.

[Seren]

Definitely Spider-Woman Jessica Drew. I actually prefer her new costume over the old one myself - her comic is fantastic, but I'm not sure it's selling as well as it should. I hope her showing up Jessica Jones recently and the upcoming Captain Marvel title, along with the Hobgoblin arc will turn the tide for the better. It really is underrated.

[electr1cgoblin]

It would be great to see Valkyrie back in the spotlight. Loved her in Fearless Defenders. I suspect Marvel are planning this anyway what with her Thor 3 appearance, and she just guest-stared in Hellcat recently.

Jessica Drew has her ongoing Spider-Woman book at the moment. No idea how well it is selling, but its a great series! They re-did her costume just before Secret Wars, kinda prefer the original but its still great.

Spider-Woman sold about 17,000 copies in September, ranking #124. So not too good. But she's a neat character, and I'm sure we haven't seen this last of her. And yeah, the original costume is the best. I also liked Julia and Mattie Franklin, for that matter.

Maybe they could do a "Spiderwomen" book? Yeah, probably not.

[Crimz]

I don't agree that Sue is getting any attention at all. She is the most neglected of the Fantastic Four, and is only used by writers as motivation for Reed.

[electr1cgoblin]

The Wasp.

Founding Avenger, first female Avenger, and had just as storied a tenure leading the team as Captain America, yet she's never been promoted that heavily.

Granted, with the Ant-Man and Wasp movie coming up, that seems to be changing to some degree, but I wouldn't be a surprised if a lot of that promotion goes to the new Wasp instead of just Jan.

Yeah, that's why I didn't list her because she's getting some love in the movies. I'm with you, though; to me, there's only ever going to be one Wasp, and that's Jan.

[electr1cgoblin]

I don't agree that Sue is getting any attention at all. She is the most neglected of the Fantastic Four, and is only used by writers as motivation for Reed.

Good point. I guess I was factoring her appearances in three films in the last 11 years, but yes, comics wise, we could use more Sue, and in fact, all of the FF.

[Huntsman Spider]

I would consider Black Widow in her current and last run more of an anti-hero. She's largely trying to atone for the crimes and misdeeds of her past, and the revelation of said crimes and misdeeds to the whole world has put her on the outs with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. She's nowadays more of a lone wolf trying to survive and stay one step ahead of both enemies and former allies alike long enough to clean up all the red on her ledger, so to speak. If that's not an anti-hero, at least not in the context of the modern Marvel Universe, I don't know what is.

I do like your list, though I would mention that Red Sonja no longer belongs to Marvel Comics; the character is now with Dynamite Entertainment. Valkyrie having her own comic series would be excellent, especially for the potential to expand the world of Asgard and Thor with a different perspective now that Loki's title has concluded, and she could easily interact with both Thor Odinson and Thor Jane Foster. Thundra is a character I'm somewhat fond of as well, though mostly because at least one version of her has a genetically engineered daughter with the Hulk's DNA named Lyra, a.k.a. the All-New Savage She-Hulk, that I'm deeply fascinated with. Given the beating feminism as a concept and an ideology has taken in recent years, a Thundra title would be good for exploring that issue in a more modern context, since Thundra was initially written as more of a misandrist than an actual feminist, being literally at war with men.

With Tigra, they could give her a costume that still covers the minimum necessary for the sake of not overheating her, but looks more like something a professional athlete would wear as opposed to a bikini model. Satana would definitely be a great hook into the supernatural arena that's finally starting to get explored again with Doctor Strange's books, Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. (R.I.P.), Scarlet Witch, and the upcoming Ghost Rider title featuring Robbie Reyes, and a team-up with Magik of the X-Men or the Scarlet Witch wouldn't hurt, either. As for Spider-Woman, it wouldn't be too hard to combine both of her costumes into an outfit that works for everyone, and with Mattie Franklin coming back in Dead No More (clone or not) and Web Warriors' conclusion, it'd be a great time for Jessica, Julia, and Mattie to join forces again (with Anya Corazon and Cindy Moon/Silk thrown in) and maybe have an ongoing team-up title like Spider-Man and Deadpool have.

[lilyinblue]

It would be great to see Valkyrie back in the spotlight. Loved her in Fearless Defenders.

Ditto. I have a soft spot for Valkyrie and Fearless Defenders was such a great book.

[electr1cgoblin]

I would consider Black Widow in her current and last run more of an anti-hero. She's largely trying to atone for the crimes and misdeeds of her past, and the revelation of said crimes and misdeeds to the whole world has put her on the outs with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. She's nowadays more of a lone wolf trying to survive and stay one step ahead of both enemies and former allies alike long enough to clean up all the red on her ledger, so to speak. If that's not an anti-hero, at least not in the context of the modern Marvel Universe, I don't know what is.

I do like your list, though I would mention that Red Sonja no longer belongs to Marvel Comics; the character is now with Dynamite Entertainment. Valkyrie having her own comic series would be excellent, especially for the potential to expand the world of Asgard and Thor with a different perspective now that Loki's title has concluded, and she could easily interact with both Thor Odinson and Thor Jane Foster. Thundra is a character I'm somewhat fond of as well, though mostly because at least one version of her has a genetically engineered daughter with the Hulk's DNA named Lyra, a.k.a. the All-New Savage She-Hulk, that I'm deeply fascinated with. Given the beating feminism as a concept and an ideology has taken in recent years, a Thundra title would be good for exploring that issue in a more modern context, since Thundra was initially written as more of a misandrist than an actual feminist, being literally at war with men.

With Tigra, they could give her a costume that still covers the minimum necessary for the sake of not overheating her, but looks more like something a professional athlete would wear as opposed to a bikini model. Satana would definitely be a great hook into the supernatural arena that's finally starting to get explored again with Doctor Strange's books, Howling Commandos of S.H.I.E.L.D. (R.I.P.), Scarlet Witch, and the upcoming Ghost Rider title featuring Robbie Reyes, and a team-up with Magik of the X-Men or the Scarlet Witch wouldn't hurt, either. As for Spider-Woman, it wouldn't be too hard to combine both of her costumes into an outfit that works for everyone, and with Mattie Franklin coming back in Dead No More (clone or not) and Web Warriors' conclusion, it'd be a great time for Jessica, Julia, and Mattie to join forces again (with Anya Corazon and Cindy Moon/Silk thrown in) and maybe have an ongoing team-up title like Spider-Man and Deadpool have.

I didn't read Lyra's book, but your mentioning her reminded me of another superheroine I'd love to see more of (but almost certainly never will): Red She Hulk. That was a very underrated and way too short-lived title.

[Flash Gordon]

Jessica Drew, with no ties to other Spider-characters.

[Crimz]

Good point. I guess I was factoring her appearances in three films in the last 11 years, but yes, comics wise, we could use more Sue, and in fact, all of the FF.

I can understand that, I prefer to pretend those movies don't exist.

But even in them she was treated less than the others. In the first two she was there to fuel Reed and Dooms rivalry, she was just a glorified trophy. For someone who was meant to be a genius in her own right, she did next to nothing. And in the recent one, she wasn't even there for their first exploration when they get their powers. She was an afterthought at best.

[Seren]

Spider-Woman sold about 17,000 copies in September, ranking #124. So not too good. But she's a neat character, and I'm sure we haven't seen this last of her. And yeah, the original costume is the best. I also liked Julia and Mattie Franklin, for that matter.

Maybe they could do a "Spiderwomen" book? Yeah, probably not.

I actually asked about about a sequel to last springs Spider-Women crossover at NYCC - it's been talked about at Marvel a few times but nothing concrete.

Those sales numbers make me sad. I hope the next arc does better!

[electr1cgoblin]

I can understand that, I prefer to pretend those movies don't exist.

But even in them she was treated less than the others. In the first two she was there to fuel Reed and Dooms rivalry, she was just a glorified trophy. For someone who was meant to be a genius in her own right, she did next to nothing. And in the recent one, she wasn't even there for their first exploration when they get their powers. She was an afterthought at best.

The last time I really liked the way Sue was portrayed was at the tail end of Peter David's run on the She Hulk title, when she was part of the "Lady Liberators", along with Thundra, Valkyrie, and Jennifer. Always thought there was a potential for a good book, there. But then again, for me there's never enough Peter David books to choose from.