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Jacqueline Rousseau
LIT 3383 Women in Literature
Professor Jessica Pitts
5 December 2014
Defining the Female Superhero
The superhero genre is one of escapism and ideals, defined heavily by the hegemony of
patriarchy. Because of this, it is easy to define the genre while excluding and undermining
women, which has been done for decades. Even Wonder Woman and Strom, two of the most
powerful and important female superheroes, could not withstand the development of the Comic
Code in 1954. With the creation of the Comic Code, rules were put in place specifically limiting
female involvement in comics by significantly reducing their characters and powers. Wonder
Woman and Storm were forced to occupy new roles, which emphasized the popular idea of what
femininity was: marriage and motherhood. This paper will examine the attitudes towards female
superheroes through the rise and fall of Storm and Wonder Woman, and discuss how a woman
can become a successful superhero under the current hegemony.
Hegemony refers to the systematic naturalization of the ruling classs values and ideas to
form mass consent of the established social order; it is how the ruling class maintains its
dominance without overt force. Key to hegemony is the role of ideology, which serves as a
unifying force in society. Under hegemony, ideology is regarded as an essentially conflicted and
dynamic process, which must continually absorb and incorporate disparate values to reproduce
itself and maintain its power Despite the occurrence of these challenges, much of the
opposition to the dominant ideology is still hegemonic because it takes place within a framework

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allowed by the dominant ideology. (Gordon, McAllister, Sewell). Patriarchy is the belief that
the father or eldest son is the head of the family and that men in general hold positions of power,
while women are largely excluded from it. To see patriarchal ideologys operation is though the
mass media, because their images of women teach society the patriarchys required rules of
femininity. It is easy to apply this definition to how all female superheroes are portrayed.
Because most cartoonists were men, it follows that they would reveal mens view of women,
which was domestic, moral, submissive, motherly, chaste, and dependent. Rarely ever did
cartoonists concern themselves with womens own feelings and desiresespecially for equality.
They were far more concerned with the threat these desires posed to their own comfortable way
of life. (Gordon, McAllister, Sewell).
The Golden Age of comics lasted from the 1930s to the 1950s, which was the time
period where most of the famous superheroes were being created and they were at their peak.
The archetype of the superhero was created, and characters such as Superman, Batman, Captain
Marvel, Wonder Woman, and Captain America debuted. The Silver Age began in 1954, with the
creation of the severely detrimental Comic Code, which placed severe restrictions on the kinds of
crime, violence, plotlines, and language that could be used in the comics. These codes also
severly restricted womens roles, by stating that the sanctity of marriage must be emphasized,
and that women could not be shown in inappropriate or dangerous lights and situations. The
Silver Age lasted until the 1970s, and then the Bronze Age was born. The Bronze Age is most
notable for rebooting comics that had lost their way, like Wonder Woman, and by starting to
mostly ignore the limitations of the Comic Code. It lasted until 1985. The Modern Age of comics
is still upon us, and is notable for rebooting almost all the traditional comic book stories, and the
Comic Code was finally abolished in 2000, under the premise that it restricted artist ability.

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Superheroes were created from pulp fiction novels during the Civil War, and the genre
has always been a representation of Americas obsession with masculinity and heroic figures.
Later on, heroes were used to emphasize cultural norms and provided an easy way for
immigrants to learn American values and assimilate. Though Golden Age comic book creators
provided Americans with new heroic narratives addressing concerns raised by modernity, they
fell back upon entrenched patterns associated with male superiority. (Chambliss, Donaldson,
Svitavsky). Silver Age comics started to fall back on the more traditional roles of straight,
middle class white men and their respective wives. This was a product of the post-WW2 era
masculine anxiety. Women had been out of the house and in the workforce, and men returning
from war were scared that they could not go back to their traditional roles. They were also
concerned with losing economic status and control of the money, whether it was only in the
home or in the economy as a whole. Since working enables a person to make their own money,
that allows them to have independence, which is something that the soldiers returning from war
did not want their future wives to continue to have. Any suggestion of a gender order that
reduced the privilege of straight white men was considered abnormal and fearsome. (Chambliss,
Donaldson, Svitavsky).
The three traits that define a superhero, according to Peter Coogan, are mission, powers,
and identity. He states that the superheros mission is what distinguishes them from other hero
typesthat is, to do good for the sake of doing good. Superheroes actively seek to protect their
communities by preventing hard t all individuals and to right wrongs committed by criminals and
other villains. (Coogan). This means that a superhero doesnt normally have personal gain or an
underlying motive to drive him or her to perform heroic deeds. They save the world over and
over because theyre doing what they believe is the right thing to do. According to him, a

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superheros powers are often put forward as the central, defining element of the superhero; they
put the super in superhero. These are often considered to be abilities that deft the laws of
physics and ordinary human talents, although they dont necessarily have to be. Superpowers
can come from extraordinary abilities advanced technology or highly developed mental and
physical skills Superpowers can also include mystical abilities that result from years of study
and training (Coogan). A lot of superheroes are undermined if they rely on technology and
futuristic equipment to accomplish their heroic feats, something which Batman has wrestled with
throughout his existence. Wonder Woman also faced a similar problem during her fall in the
Silver Age, when she opted to give up her powers to become a homemaker and businesswoman.
In order to keep something remotely super about her, she was mentored by a man in the ways
of martial arts. Critics argue that she lost her super" powers. Identity is a central piece of the
superhero genre. The identity is composed of two elements: the code name and the costume. The
code name typically conveys some aspect of the character, usually something about their past,
mission, or powers. Like the code name, the costume also conveys something about their
powers, personality, mission, or has something to do with their powers. Coogan also states that
the costume announces the hero, and makes an instant statement about why the superhero is
present, for instance, un-costumed heroes have to explain their presence and actions when
theyre challenging a villain, while the mission of a costumed hero is assumed. These three
elementsmission, powers, and identityestablish the core of the genre.
Along with these three characteristics, superhero stories tend to follow a similar plot line.
There are four distinct parts to the superheros story, as described in Joseph Cambells book,
which described the mans hero journey as a monomyth that consisted of a call to adventure,
separation from family and village, supernatural help which included initiation into secret

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knowledge, a magical boon, a series of trains, and eventually a triumphant return into the
community. (Lindow). Women were excluded from this journey, however, except in the
positions of virgins, temptresses, goddesses, earth mothers, and crones. These are weak
characters, whose main purpose is the further the male heros quest a long by providing advice,
or being detrimental. Temptresses and goddesses can cause the hero to become distracted though
seduction, and virgins often become damsels in distress, which the hero later marries. Lindow
also notes that people see their culture through one perspective- the males, and that the word
hero implies greater importance that heroine.
Defining the female superhero, then, becomes somewhat of a challenge. Jennifer K.
Stuller attempts to provide a slightly different, more personalized version for them in her book,
Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology. It outlines
four criteria that all superwomen must meet in order to be classified as heroes. First, the
narrative borrows from, or resonates with classical themes and/or elements of world mythology.
This means that the hero needs to have complex mythologies that appropriate and blend classic
tropes, legendary quests, and symbolic archetypes. For instance, some stories use a combination
of Roman and Greek mythologies to create hybrids of classic tales with modern politics, while
some modern series dont rely on stories of the common past and instead strive to create their
own unique mythos. Regardless of the origin, stories of superwomen tap into the tradition of
storytelling that allows humans to fantasize about their own potential, and the characters are
often an embodiment of a recognizable idea or ideal that people can readily identify with. The
second criteria that must be met is an element of the fantastic. Superwomen are often involved
in paranormal, mythic, or magical circumstances. For this section, it is important to note that
magic is often translated into or aided by science. A uniquely identifiable skill or power is

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third on this list, as superwomen are uncannily good at something that allows them to
accomplish their tasksoften with flourish. Their capabilities are not necessarily always
superpowers, but are often acquired through rigorous training and an innate ability. Finally,
female superheroes and heroes need a mission or purpose that benefits the greater good, lest
she risk becoming a supervillain. It is this mission that enables us to have a wide definition of
superwomen, as people who lack the traditional superpowers are still generally considered
heroes because of their mission of fighting for truth, justice, and the protection of the innocent.
This book also analyzes the importance of mothers in superwomens lives, as well as a femaleto-female mentorship and friendship.
In another essay, Stuller goes on to refine her definitions, and points out what makes a
female superhero different from a male. In What is a Female Superhero? she identifies some
main differences between male and female superheroes: collaboration, love, and mentorship.
Female heroes often work side by side with friends-turned-family, abandoning the lone wolf
mentality of male heroes. Love, be it platonic, romantic, filial, or as an ethic, is often a strong
motivator for female superheroes, whereas it isnt often for male superheroes. Superwomen are
almost always mentored by men, and there is a noted absence of a maternal figure in their lives.
The absence of a mother figure reinforces the idea that heroism is masculine in nature and that
female knowledge all too often has no value in the formation of a superwoman (though in
superwomen, the learned masculine power is, of course, feminized through the emphasis on
love.)

(Stuller.)
Punching Holes in the Sky: Carol Danvers and the Potential of Superheroinism by

Nathan Miczo discusses several limitations of superheroines: plotlines, fan reactions, and
objectifications. He also explores what makes superwomen threatening to men, and how they

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have to be written with care to avoid causing an uproar from the majority of their fan base-- men.
Superhero behavior seems to be defined as masculine, regardless of the gender of the hero
preforming it her simultaneous embodiment of the ideal conclude that, for female heroes, her
simultaneous embodiment of the ideal feminine physique and the ideal masculine/agentic
attributes allows her not only to be adored and admired as a woman, but also respected as a
man A superheroine can be strong, as long as she remains sexy objectification can be
overcome if competence, rather than appearance, is emphasized. (Bajac-Carter, Batchelor,
Jones).
He mentions that superheroes never die, and if they do, are quickly reborn or revived.
Precisely: heroes die, but legends live foreverthat is, heroes can die, but there is a class above
the hero, that od the legendary superhero, whose members can bypass permanent death. This
draws a sharp distinction between the hero and superhero, and that is a subtle yet important
differenceWhen heroes die, they stay dead; when superheroes die, they may well come back
from the dead. I found it interesting to note that throughout my research, a key difference
between male and female superheroes is deathmale supers dont die permanently, but female
supers often die in their own comic series and stay dead. Lewis also notes that all superheroes
are, in some way, touched by death. This could manifest through a loved one dying or being
threatened, or the superhero himself dying and returning (which is not the case for superwomen).
The absence of a mother figure is probably most prominent in The X-Men comics, which
have featured two of the most significant female superheroes: Jean Grey and Storm. Although
quite different, both characters were seen as powerful female figures until they were essentially
written out of their comics by becoming evil or being married off. In Representations of
Motherhood in X-Men by Christopher Paul Wagenheim, the reasons why many female

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superheroes lack a maternal figure is explored. He explains that the lack of a mother in many
comics is teaching the mostly male consumers that separating themselves from their mother is
an integral part of moving from boyhood to manhood. (Bajac-Carter, Batchelor, Jones).
Additionally, this chapter describes why Jean Grey, originally the only female X-Man, partakes
in this mother-separation process as a way of earning her status as a superhero (Bajac-Carter,
Batchelor, Jones).The importance of the Origin Story is discussed, and in each X-Mens story the
mother is seem as problematic, unreliable in their decision making, or ineffectual in the lives of
their children because in a genre obsessed with perpetuating a fantasy of hegemonic masculinity
the options for maternal roles are clearly limited. (Bajac-Carter, Batchelor, Jones).In many
superhero stories, the maturation process is a literal and figurative separation from the mother, in
what scholar calls the lesser known Oedipus complex (Bajac-Carter, Batchelor, Jones). This
chapter also examines Jean Greys chance to become more feminine and rejecting it, choosing
to stay a superhero rather than become just a woman. So then, by having Jean Grey trek the
same path as her male counterparts, readers are offered a single choice when it comes to
adolescent development: reject mom and the feminine and you too will be a man, an X- Man.
(Bajac-Carter, Batchelor, Jones). However, after the Comic Code was put into place, she started
taking on more and more submissive roles, becoming a healer and then finally a homemaker for
the rest of the X-Men, before becoming a supervillain that needed to be killed, essentially writing
her out of the comics.
Storm is a perfect example of how female superheroes lose their place in their comics via
marriage. In Negotiating Life Spaces: How Marriage Marginalized Storm by Anita McDaniel
examines how marriage essentially takes away female superheroes powers, and turns them into
the good woman. McDaniel describes how female characters are either made important or

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marginalized by the space theyre written into. The character Storm was written to be a coleader of the X-Men, and therefore wasnt portrayed as overly sexualized, as minor
superheroines often are. She had also been allowed room to grow and change her appearance, as
well as reach back to her ethnic roots in a way that most readers could relate to and understand.
Once she marries Black Panther and joins him as his queen, she loses her place in the X-Men
series and simply becomes the queen, relinquishing her powers and authority. Ironically, before
this transition was made, the other male characters in X-Men were mourning her leaving because
they wouldnt be able to score a date with her, rather than mourn the loss of their leader.
Dr. William Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman said, It seemed to me, from a
psychological angle, that the comics worse offense was their blood-curdling masculinity. A male
hero, at best, lacks the qualities of maternal love and tenderness which are essential to a normal
child as a breath of life. Suppose your childs ideal becomes a superman who uses his
extraordinary power to help the weak. The most important ingredient in the human happiness
recipe is still missinglove. Its smart to be strong. Its big to be generous, but its sissified,
according to exclusively masculine rules, to be tender, loving, affectionate, and alluring.
(Stuller). Wonder Woman is especially unique for straddling the boundary between masculine
and feminine. She combines all the strength of Superman plus the allure of a good and beautiful
woman and adds masculine strength to feminine tenderness combined in a single character.
Wonder Woman is equivalent to man, or at least she becomes different from other women. She is
also living between two worldsParadise Island and the World of Men.
With the death of Dr. Marston in 1947, Wonder Woman suffered a harsh blow.
Throughout the Silver and Bronze Comic Ages she is seen assimilating into what the ideal
American woman should be, and eventually relinquishes her superpowers to become a wife and

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mother. No longer having a feminist male as her creator and writer, the authors who took over
the comics changed her backstory and her mission. In the late 1950s, her comic was changed
again to feature a teenage Diana, known as Wonder Girl, who was given a boyfriend named MerBoy. Yet another comic was created, this time about Wonder Tot, and for a while the stories were
kept separate until all logic was thrown out in 1961 when a comic was released featuring all
three of the Wonder females together, which caused readers to lose interest. Wonder Woman was
now caught up in infantilein Wonder Tots case, quite literallyadventures rather than her
initial calling as a champion of female strength and love. At the end of the 1960s, Wonder
Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World and marry Steve Trevor rather
than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Wonder Woman begins using the
alias Diana Prince, opens a boutique, and acquires a Chinese mentor named I Ching, who teaches
Diana martial arts and weapons skills. Wonder Woman was used to empower and undermine
women at the same timestarting off strong and noble and going to correct the mistakes that
men had made, to giving up her powers once she realized that shed been confused her whole
life, stating that what she really wanted was to marry Steve Trevor and start a family: becoming
the ideal woman.
Superwomen have been present in comic books for as long as theyve been around, even
though theyve served very different purposes from the male characters. Under the hegemony of
patriarchy, superwomen were not allowed to become powerful and threatening to the dominant
male culture, and instead had to take a back seat to serve as characters that only further the
males progress. Feminine traits such as love, compassion, motherhood, and marriage were all
tools used to undermine women with the creation of the Comic Code, and that caused many
female superheroes to fall from fame, many of which are still struggling to regain their footing.

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Most notably, Storm and Wonder Woman were practically written out of their comics. To this
day, female superheroes can be successful if they learn how to blend the lines between masculine
and feminine in such a way that it does not threaten patriarchal ideology.

Works Cited
Bajac-Carter, Maja, Bob Batchelor, and, Norma Jones eds. Heroines of Comic Books and
Literature: Portrayals in Popular Culture. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. Print.
Chambliss, Julian C., Thomas Donaldson, and, William Svitavsky eds. Ages of Heroes, Eras of
Men. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars, 2013. Print.
Gordon, Ian, Matthew P. McAllister, Edward H. Sewell Jr., and. Comics & Ideology. Vol. 2. New
York, NY: Peter Lang, 2001. Print.
Rosenburg, Robin S. WHAT IS A SUPERHERO? New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2013.
1-59. Print.
Stuller, Jennifer K. Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern
Mythology. New York, NY: I.B. Tauris & Co, 2010. Print.

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