Who's the best superheroine and why?

[herogirl]

I think Wonder Woman is one of the best heroines because she's not a spinoff of a male superhero. So, of course, any originals like that are pretty kick-ass too.

[Shellhead]

The very best female character in the history of comics might just be Agent 355 from Y the Last Man. She was quite original, with surprising depth, and she also kicked much ass. But she wasn't a superhero.

Wonder Woman is a little problematic. Her weakness to bondage is kind of silly and demeaning, and she has had long timespans of being written blandly or poorly. But you are correct in pointing out that she wasn't based on a male counterpart, like Supergirl, Batgirl, She-Hulk, or Spider Woman were.

Instead, I would say possibly Black Canary. She has been written well for a long time now by Gail Simone, and was even retconned (for a while) into Wonder Woman's place for all the early Justice League stories. With and without superpowers, she always held her own against villains, without ever going through the degradation heaped upon Wonder Woman during the early '70s.

[DoctorDoom]

I personally like Spider-Woman, and her complexity as a character.

[StoneGold]

Speedy, natch.

[herogirl]

Yeah, Black Canary is wickedly awesome. To be honest, though, I have no idea what StoneGold said.

[Shellhead]

Yeah, Black Canary is wickedly awesome. To be honest, though, I have no idea what StoneGold said.

Speedy is a teenage female hero with AIDS. "natch" is old person slang for "naturally."

[herogirl]

Thank you so much, Shellhead.

[moebius]

Instead, I would say possibly Black Canary. She has been written well for a long time now by Gail Simone, and was even retconned (for a while) into Wonder Woman's place for all the early Justice League stories. With and without superpowers, she always held her own against villains, without ever going through the degradation heaped upon Wonder Woman during the early '70s.

Tortured in fishnet stockings?

I would go with Storm. She was a "strong" female character long before it was popular and commanded the respect of the (X-)men she led for many years. In all of her incarnations, there's been remarkably little deameaning to happen to her and most of her stereotypical behavior stems from her African heritage, not her gender.

[DoctorDoom]

I also like the Cassandra Cain Batgirl. She can hold her own against many a tough opponent.

[Shellhead]

Tortured in fishnet stockings?

I would go with Storm. She was a "strong" female character long before it was popular and commanded the respect of the (X-)men she led for many years. In all of her incarnations, there's been remarkably little deameaning to happen to her and most of her stereotypical behavior stems from her African heritage, not her gender.

Gah, I forgot about that torture scene in an otherwise good run.

Storm is a pretty good choice, except that Claremont really failed to develop her personality in a believable manner during his extremely long run. And her current status as T'Challa's trophy wife is sad.

[Paul McEnery]

The answer is obviously Power Girl.

[StoneGold]

Speedy is a teenage female hero with AIDS. "natch" is old person slang for "naturally."

Actually, in this case, it was more of a heroin riff.

[Paul McEnery]

Actually, in this case, it was more of a heroin riff.

Because she did superheroin!

Ha! Ha ha ha!

Oh, my sides!

[Aaron Kashtan]

Phantom Girl, with pigtails and bellbottoms.

[Sanagi]

Black Canary would be my choice. She's a fairly unique character with a distinct personality who makes a fine example of a superheroine without being easily contained in that stereotype.

Honorable mentions - Zatanna, Vixen, Wolfsbane, Big Barda, Katie Power.

Wikipedia has a handy list that helped me remember a few candidates: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_superheroines

[Tommy]

Sue Storm, AKA the Invisible Woman.

First off she runs a multi billion dollar corporation. One so large it privately funds the Fantastic Four. She manages to keep the entire Fantastic Four running, and has been acknowledged by Reed to be at least twice as smart as anyone thinks (obviously she;d have to be to run her corporation with the skill she does). Not to mention she's the most powerful member of the FF.

[bfrank]

Storm followed closely by old school Donna Troy and Wonder Woman.......

[DubipR]

This little superheroine
http://www.supersimpsons.com/clobbergirl.jpg

She's smart, quick witted and plays a mean sax

[howyadoin]

To be honest, though, I have no idea what StoneGold said.Don't sweat it. The rest of us often feel the same way.