Happy Women’s History Month! In honor, we will be covering our badass women in the Marvel Universe, the characters you probably haven’t heard of or are just getting to know. These women are evident of the comic book world’s movement towards diversity & representation. These characters in their most recent solo series are also written by women writers!
America
First up, Ms. America (also known as America Chavez). America is queer, young, and like most comic characters she comes from a rough past. A little angsty from her past, she’s proven herself and made it known she is indeed a superhero. Her nationality is a secret, however the writer of her first solo series indicates she is a Latina. She first made her debut in 2011 in Vengeance #1, and would later appear in Teen Brigade, Young Avengers, A-Force, Ultimates, Marvel: Rising, and then her solo series in 2017 that ran 12 issues. This month, America Chavez has returned in her new series titled “America Chavez: Made in the USA”. Her powers include punching and traveling through shaped dimensions, strength, speed, durability, flight, she can teleport, and her skin is bullet proof. She’s best friends with Hawkeye and Lady Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), and has been seen by fighting side by side against some of our more popular heroes including Captain Marvel, Captain America, and many more.
What makes America an incredible and inspirational woman is: she’s smart, driven, sincere, lives by her own world, and just is a total badass. She’s not big with her emotions or authority, but she’s demonstrated her leadership skills, and in her first solo series you see more of her. Her series showed her vulnerability as she handles her past with losing moms, past girlfriends, and what it’s like to be a superhero in university.
Ironheart
Next up is Ironheart, also known as Riri Williams. Riri is a teenaged, black woman. She hails from Chicago, Illinois, and like our first hero she also has a rough past. As part of this, she witnessed the death of her father and her best friend. She is known for her incredible intelligence as she created her own suit of Iron (similar to Iron Man), and was at M.I.T at the age 11. Riri made her debut in Invincible Iron Man (2015/2016), where she takes up the mantle for Iron Man when he disappeared. After that, she got her first solo series in 2018. This series also lasted 12 issues. She then appeared in Infamous Iron Man, Secret Empire, Marvel Legacy and is a member of the Champions. She’s still new to the scene, but she is backed by Tony Stark all the way and has worked with some of his personal team, has fought alongside Black Widow, and then she joined the Champions. Luckily we are still seeing her in the comic book world. Disney+ also announced she will have a show coming soon.
What makes Riri an incredible & inspirational woman is: she’s a legit genius, has experienced trauma & still continues to make the world a better place. Her intelligence is indeed a gift along with her wanting to make a difference in the world. Her brain power demonstrated when she created a suit similar to Tony Stark while working with an artificial intelligence. It’s all pretty incredible, and yes, badass!
Spider-Woman
Our last hero being featured in honor of Women’s History Month is Spider-Woman. Spider-Woman has been around much longer than our first two. She made her debut in 1963 with the Avengers, and did have a cartoon show in 1979. She was born in England but raised in Transia. Spider-Woman has also had a rough past that started with getting exposed & poisoned by uranium at age 7. She was then given a spider-derived serum and placed in a genetic accelerator for several decades. The exposure and serum is what gave Spider-Woman her powers. She’s worked with and been brainwashed by Hydra, as a detective, a member of S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D., and the Avengers, while also going through a lot of traumatic events! In her current series, she focuses on motherhood while also still kicking major ass. Her powers include super human strength, speed, endurance, bioelectrical energy (also known as venom blasts), strong senses, and like our many Spider friends out there, she can stick to and crawl across any surface. She is also very skilled in martial arts. She’s been featured in: Avengers, New Avengers, A+X (Avengers & X-Men), and several solo series that range from 2004 up til her current series that began in March 2020.
What makes Spider-Woman an incredible & inspirational woman is: she’s vulnerable, tough but also kind, and strong both mentally and physically. However if you’re a villain, watch out! She will not let you harm those she protects. She’s gotten treatment for her past and admitted she needed help. It proves even heroes need help, and that’s incredible. Lastly, she’s a single mom and still saving the day!
Well that’s it for now on our women superheroes. If you would like to know more or want to chat about comics or board games, feel free to contact me on Instagram @AJW987.
Keep saving the day my friends!
Links to resources
https://www.marvel.com/comics/discover/1026/america-chavez; https://www.marvel.com/characters/miss-america-america-chavez/in-comics; https://www.marvel.com/characters/ironheart-riri-williams/in-comics/profile; https://www.marvel.com/characters/ironheart-riri-williams/in-comics; https://www.marvel.com/characters/spider-woman-jessica-drew/in-comics; https://www.marvel.com/characters/spider-woman-jessica-drew/in-comics/profile; Lastly, the comics for America (2018), Ironheart (2018), & Spider-Woman (2020)
*Photo Credit: Allison J. Walker
What are some of your favorite examples of Women in Comics?
