Meet the Superheroines | golden-age-superhero

Meet Some of the Female Superheroes of the era

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is probably the best known of the ladies of the Golden Age. She is often referred to as the leading lady of comics. This is simply because, while she wasn't the first, she's been around the longest. Created in December of 1941, she's shortly gained her own solo title which she is still starring in today! Princess Diana of Paradise Island is chosen to represent the Amazons in man's world and help fight back the evil Nazi aggression, but most importantly to show man there is a better way.

The picture is from her short lived comic strip that appeared in newspaper publications acrros the US. Part of the reason the strip was so short lived is because William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman's creator, wanted to have complete control over Wonder Woman. He was just not able to keep up with the Sunday strip while writing monthly and bi-monthly comics.

Nelvana of the Northern Lights

Nelvana of the Northern Lights is Canada's very first female superhero*. She erupted onto the scene based off inuit legends and stories. Nelvana was a demi-goddess, daughter of Koliak the Mighty of the Northern Lights and a mortal woman. She could fly, become invisible, was telepathic, travel at the speed of light, and fire a heat ray. She was accompanied by her brother, Tanero, who was trapped in dog form.

Nelvana was created because at this time period, Canada banned the importation of materials especially from the US. This included comic books. So Canadian creators and publishers started to create the first ever Canadian comic books. Unfortunatelly, after the ban was lifted, these publishers slowly disappeared, taking with them their original Canadian heroes.

*Orginally I had stated that Nelvana was Canada's first superhero period. Come to find out, I was wrong (I'd read it a few places, just can't remember where). She was predated by a male hero named Iron Man (not the one from Marvel comics) by a few months). Sorry for the incorrect information.

Young debutante and senator's daughter, Sandra Knight, decided to don a racy costume and explode onto scene as Phantom Lady. Armed only with her blackout light (which would change forms over the years), her detective skills, and judo, Phantom Lady would take down bad guys for nearly a decade. Her blackout light would allow her to make them think they were blind temporarily, which gave her an amazing advantage

Phantom Lady is also well known for being risque. As seen in the cover to the left, you can see her nipples through her costume. She also had the staying power other female heroes lacked. Her unique perspective as a crime fighter with her sexy costume. She also changed publishers regularly because she wasn't owned by a publisher, but by a comic production company.

Phantom Lady

Miss Fury

Marla Drake was a rich debutate who was given a black leopard skin suit from Brazil. She would don that suit and become Miss Fury. The drawback is according to legend, every time one wears the black leopard skin, misfortune will befall them. Marla's adventures start straight superhero and slowly become more of a soap opera or drama until the point where Miss Fury would no longer appear in the comic at all and it would shift focus to her villain, Bruno.

Miss Fury would be the first female superhero created, written, and drawn by a woman. She is also the only female superhero on this list to appear in comic strips before making her way to comics in the forms of reprints.

USA the Spirit of Glory

USA the Spirit of Glory was a young woman who was gifted a piece of the flag while Betty Ross was making it. She would gain magical powers and use the US Flag to help battle the enemies of the US.

USA would be a very short lived superheroine. She would appear as a response to the very popular Captain America, who had appeared during this time. All of the major publishers were trying to create America themed heroes.

Elizabeth Belle "Libby" Lawrence would erupt onto scene was Liberty Belle. She would fight her way back from Europe back into the United States during World War II. Originally, she had no powers, but she would eventually meet a young man named Tom Reeve, a guard at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, who would give her a relipica of the Liberty Bell that was suppose to be a piece of it as well. When the bell was rung, Liberty Belle would gain superhuman strength and speed.

Liberty Belle followed in the wave of patriotic themed heroines, but unlike all the others, she wouldn't don the flag. She would instead, wear the symbol of liberty for America. She would eventually earn billing on Star-Spangled Comics and is one of the few female superheroes to survive this time until today. She is also one of the few that remains relatively unchanged and has had a daughter, who took on her mantle. She married fellow Golden Age hero, Johnny Quick, and together they had a daughter named Jesse. Any connection between the comic book heroine and the B-17 Flying Fortresses is unknown.

Liberty Belle

Fantomah

Fantomah is a unique heroine. She never had a secret ID and was the self-proclaimed guardian of the jungle. She would appear as a beautiful blond and warn away evil men who want to cause harm to the African Jungle. When they refused to heed her warnings, she would reveal her dark skull face and destroy them in odd and dark ways. She once turned two men trying to steal from a sacred spot into lizard/bug men then forced them to return to their home as these creatures.

Fantomah is the first female superhero and once of the strangest. Her powers knew no limit except those her creator could come up with. She would always offer some sort of strange justice that is not always logical, but works. Unfortunately shortly after her creator left the title, she would be slowly turned into another jungle woman like a female version of Tarzan. She would last like that for a few years before disappearing all together.

Mary Marvel

Mary Batson would be the twin sister of Billy Batson, Captain Marvel aka the Big Red Cheese. Like her brother, Mary could transform from pre-teen girl to superpowered heroine by shouting the word Shazam! She would gain the grace of Selene, the strength of Hippolyta, the skill of Ariadne, the fleetness of Zephyrus, the beauty of Aurora, and the wisdom of Minerva. She would help her brother and his sidekick, Captain Marvel Jr, along with a motly crew of animals and others to form the Marvel Family. She also would prove to be different than her brother or the other members of the Marvel Family as she would rely more on her wisdom and grace than her physical abilities. Mary would be one of the first female versions of a male hero and she would get her own series that would last until the company closed.

Captain Marvel was designed to be Fawcett Comics's version of Superman. Unfortunately, he would be a tad too close and DC would sue Fawcett for copyright infringement. This battle would continue until Fawcett Comics went out of business.

Black Cat

Linda Turner, a Hollywood starlet and daughter of another Hollywood star and a stuntman, stumbled across a Nazi spy, she decided to do something about it. Doning her black costume and mask, Linda became Black Cat. She would just use her athletic abilities and martial arts to fight various bad guys. She would be accompanied by a male reporter and her sidekick Black Kitten.

Black Cat would be a very popular and successful Golden Age superheroine. She lasted longer than most probably due to her sexy costume and her fun attitude. She'd also star in her own comic for 30 issues. She, like Phantom Lady, would change as the popular genres changed. Her title would become Black Cat Western and Black Cat Mystery, she would become a wild west heroine and solve mysteries to relate to the title. She's also one of the few female superheroes to have a male sidekick.