women super heroes
December 5, 2014 10:26 AM Subscribe
My 4yr old daughter recently dismissed super hero stuff as 'for boys'. I showed her a photo of the recent reimagining of Thor as a woman and she was very impressed. Can you recommend any comics/cartoons etc suitable for her age with women super heroes? Bonus points if in spanish. Since I haven't really kept up with the literature, please assume that I don't even know the basics)
The Powerpuff Girls still make me very happy, and are definitely ok for a 4 year old
posted by Mchelly at 10:39 AM on December 5, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by Mchelly at 10:39 AM on December 5, 2014 [5 favorites]
Sailor Moon might be iffy for a four year old, but decide for yourself.
posted by starbreaker at 10:44 AM on December 5, 2014
posted by starbreaker at 10:44 AM on December 5, 2014
The new Ms. Marvel is Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teenager living in Jersey City. She was in a couple of issues of Spider-Man recently, and my 3 year old was totally, totally obsessed with her.
posted by Oktober at 10:50 AM on December 5, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by Oktober at 10:50 AM on December 5, 2014 [4 favorites]
OK, this is not a recommendation, as much as a "this exists" notice. There was a very girly comic in the 80s called "Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld". Probably suitable for very young girls like yours, but check it out if you're interested. She looks more human than Powerpuff Girls and Sailor Moon (in the comics), but less realistic than Wonder Woman -- very colorful and pretty, there's a flying horse, other characters associated with various gems, magical mystery orphan plotline, etc.
I just discovered a set of shorts on YouTube which are much less interesting even than the comic, but they might be fun for your daughter for the 10 minutes the whole things lasts, so here you go.
It looks like someone made a new Amethyst book recently, too. Good luck :)
posted by amtho at 10:54 AM on December 5, 2014
I just discovered a set of shorts on YouTube which are much less interesting even than the comic, but they might be fun for your daughter for the 10 minutes the whole things lasts, so here you go.
It looks like someone made a new Amethyst book recently, too. Good luck :)
posted by amtho at 10:54 AM on December 5, 2014
Oh, soooo many!
Ms. Marvel
Captain Marvel
She-Hulk (the lawyerish nature of She-Hulk might be boring for the preschool set)
Batgirl
Squirrel Girl
Black Canary
Mockingbird
Black Widow
Hawkeye/Kate Bishop
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Namora
Blonde Phantom
Heroine/Gertrude Yorkes
Scarlet Witch
Isn't there a Latina superheroine in Marvel Comics. Ms. America? American Dream?
Here's a Wikipedia list.
posted by Sara C. at 10:58 AM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Ms. Marvel
Captain Marvel
She-Hulk (the lawyerish nature of She-Hulk might be boring for the preschool set)
Batgirl
Squirrel Girl
Black Canary
Mockingbird
Black Widow
Hawkeye/Kate Bishop
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Namora
Blonde Phantom
Heroine/Gertrude Yorkes
Scarlet Witch
Isn't there a Latina superheroine in Marvel Comics. Ms. America? American Dream?
Here's a Wikipedia list.
posted by Sara C. at 10:58 AM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Second Ms. Marvel so hard! Captain Marvel has also been great, might be a little over her head at points but it's kids friendly.
Also I don't know if she's into Adventure Time, but Seeing Red and Bitter Sweets isn't quite Super Heroes but has ladies kicking butt.
Bee and Puppycat also got a comic run recently thats been stellar.
Also seconding a lot of Sara C's list. I am avid reader of a bunch of the Marvel Lady-centric comics that might be over her head at points but are just fantastic. She Hulk (my personal favorite) is great.
The new Batgirl run seems really kid friendly thus far and is also excellent
posted by KernalM at 11:00 AM on December 5, 2014
Also I don't know if she's into Adventure Time, but Seeing Red and Bitter Sweets isn't quite Super Heroes but has ladies kicking butt.
Bee and Puppycat also got a comic run recently thats been stellar.
Also seconding a lot of Sara C's list. I am avid reader of a bunch of the Marvel Lady-centric comics that might be over her head at points but are just fantastic. She Hulk (my personal favorite) is great.
The new Batgirl run seems really kid friendly thus far and is also excellent
posted by KernalM at 11:00 AM on December 5, 2014
There is this lovely Tumblr Little Girls R Better at Designing Superheroes Than You, where an illustrator does drawings based on real photos of little girls dressed as imaginary superheroes. It is super cute and full of inspiration!
posted by aabbbiee at 11:02 AM on December 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by aabbbiee at 11:02 AM on December 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
Four was right about when my daughter fell in love with SheRa (Princess of Power!). I wasn't a huge fan of the show, but I was impressed with how it impacted her pretend play.
posted by instamatic at 11:12 AM on December 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by instamatic at 11:12 AM on December 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
Runaways had female characters but it would be over the head of a 4 y/o in my opinion. I was going to come here and say Ms Marvel, based on my skimming (about to pick up the first trade).
posted by phearlez at 11:20 AM on December 5, 2014
posted by phearlez at 11:20 AM on December 5, 2014
Isn't there a Latina superheroine in Marvel Comics. Ms. America? American Dream?
America Chavez, alias Miss America, part of the team for the 2013 Young Avengers run.
Also, while not a superhero book, I cannot recommend Lumberjanes strongly enough for exactly this sort of situation.
posted by majuju at 11:22 AM on December 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
America Chavez, alias Miss America, part of the team for the 2013 Young Avengers run.
Also, while not a superhero book, I cannot recommend Lumberjanes strongly enough for exactly this sort of situation.
posted by majuju at 11:22 AM on December 5, 2014 [3 favorites]
Did Jaimie Reyes as Blue Beetle run up against any latina heroes before the big ol reboot? I remember thinking that was a book that used latin families and settings w/o pandering or cliche.
posted by phearlez at 11:42 AM on December 5, 2014
posted by phearlez at 11:42 AM on December 5, 2014
Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade is a great graphic novel for young girls. There are a few other graphic novels on that Supergirl series.
Two other great graphic novel series for young girls are Zita the Space Girl and the Lunch Lady Chronicles. These two are not super-heroes per se, but they are comics.
posted by Flood at 11:42 AM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Two other great graphic novel series for young girls are Zita the Space Girl and the Lunch Lady Chronicles. These two are not super-heroes per se, but they are comics.
posted by Flood at 11:42 AM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Zita the Spacegirl graphic novels as mentioned
Teen Titans Go - Based on the first run of Teen Titans on Cartoon Network
Tiny Titans (DC comics)
Power Pack (Marvel Comics)
The Legend of Korra Animated show,but all kinds of awesome.
posted by exparrot at 12:07 PM on December 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Teen Titans Go - Based on the first run of Teen Titans on Cartoon Network
Tiny Titans (DC comics)
Power Pack (Marvel Comics)
The Legend of Korra Animated show,but all kinds of awesome.
posted by exparrot at 12:07 PM on December 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Maybe she would enjoy Steven Universe on Cartoon Network? The title character is a boy but he lives with 3 female super heroes who act as surrogate moms to him. It's pretty cute/light.
posted by Pizzarina Sbarro at 12:29 PM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Pizzarina Sbarro at 12:29 PM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Elsa from Frozen is totally a superhero. She freezes things with her hands and changes weather patterns!
posted by JuliaKM at 12:51 PM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by JuliaKM at 12:51 PM on December 5, 2014 [2 favorites]
Found via aabbbiee's link to Little Girls R Better at Designing Superheroes Than You, that artist is pitching a comic about Lucia Marquez-Miller called Spark! that looks pretty sweet. That link is their 15-page pitch comic, they're hoping it gets picked up.
posted by carsonb at 1:37 PM on December 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by carsonb at 1:37 PM on December 5, 2014 [1 favorite]
Tamora Pierce, but I guess she is too young for her books.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 1:45 PM on December 5, 2014
posted by LoonyLovegood at 1:45 PM on December 5, 2014
My kid is five and is right into genderswap. So her Marvel leggings show Iron Woman, Hulk Lady, and so on. It isn't as fun for her I think - lots of fights with cousins - but it gives her a way to participate without reading adult-audience comics.
(lots of her superheroes have ice powers, or magic hair, so princesses are great too)
posted by geek anachronism at 2:19 PM on December 5, 2014
(lots of her superheroes have ice powers, or magic hair, so princesses are great too)
posted by geek anachronism at 2:19 PM on December 5, 2014
Mark Crilley's Akiko.
posted by bile and syntax at 2:59 PM on December 5, 2014
posted by bile and syntax at 2:59 PM on December 5, 2014
The Radically Awesome Adventures of the Animal Princess by Pranas Naujokaitis is cute. It's a fun one-off.
Seconding Zita the Space Girl, too.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:30 PM on December 5, 2014
Seconding Zita the Space Girl, too.
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:30 PM on December 5, 2014
Mulan,it is a super hero for many chinese girls.There is a cartoon movie named"mulan" so you can ask her to watch it.A girl who join the army with men's clothes and nobody knows that she is a girl.Finally,she become a general because of her excellent kungfu and strong mind.It is interesting.
posted by janetian at 12:52 AM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by janetian at 12:52 AM on December 6, 2014 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for all your comments, I'll be exploring these options.
posted by dhruva at 10:11 AM on December 6, 2014
posted by dhruva at 10:11 AM on December 6, 2014
I did love John Rogers's run on Blue Beetle. (The run that introduced Jaime Reyes and his family).
The main character is male, a teenaged guy just coping with acquiring superpowers, but maybe there are enough excellent women in the supporting cast (Jaime's little sister Milagro, his mother Biance, his super-intelligent schoolfriend Brenda and local crime boss Amparo/La Dama) to hold your daughter's interest?
They're all out of print now, but pretty easily available second hand on Amazon. Here's the full list:
Book 1 - Shellshocked
Book 2 - Road Trip
Book 3 - Reach for the Stars
Book 4 - Endgame
The one disadvantage is the beginning: Jaime Reyes was first introduced during one of the big DC crossover events, so the first you see of him in Shellshocked is him getting back from that and his family and friends coping with his return. But it soon levels off into a great self-contained book.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:01 AM on December 6, 2014
The main character is male, a teenaged guy just coping with acquiring superpowers, but maybe there are enough excellent women in the supporting cast (Jaime's little sister Milagro, his mother Biance, his super-intelligent schoolfriend Brenda and local crime boss Amparo/La Dama) to hold your daughter's interest?
They're all out of print now, but pretty easily available second hand on Amazon. Here's the full list:
Book 1 - Shellshocked
Book 2 - Road Trip
Book 3 - Reach for the Stars
Book 4 - Endgame
The one disadvantage is the beginning: Jaime Reyes was first introduced during one of the big DC crossover events, so the first you see of him in Shellshocked is him getting back from that and his family and friends coping with his return. But it soon levels off into a great self-contained book.
posted by Pallas Athena at 11:01 AM on December 6, 2014
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I have no clue how she found out about them, but when her preschool goes to the public library she always likes to get 1 or 2 super hero books now.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 10:38 AM on December 5, 2014 [1 favorite]