Saturday, April 9, 2016

It's Superheroine Time on Supernatural Underground: Here Are 5 We Heart!

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Here on Supernatural Underground it goes without saying that we heart superheroines. Here are five of our favorites to liven up your weekend -- but we'd love to find out yours, and why you heart them, in the comments!
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Buffy Summers -- Slayer Extraordinaire of Sunnyvale

Always as ready with a quip as with a stake, Buffy spent seven wonderful seasons cutting a swathe through the supervillains of Sunnyvale (with the occasional away-visit to nearby Los Angeles.) Mostly fun but with serious elements, Buffy was distinguished by a great Scooby gang of sidekicks and suitably star, or gysy-cursed, crossed loves -- and proved her superheroine credentials by always saving herself when the going got tough.

Oh yeah, and she saved the world -- a lot.

The Black Widow, aka Natasha Romanova

She may be the only woman in the current The Avengers lineup,  but Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow, more than holds her own in the superhero stakes.  As smart as she is superlatively fit, Natasha like Buffy, is also quick with a sidecrack. We like her ability to give more than as good as she gets in the superhero rough and tumble, her easy camaraderie with and loyalty to Hawkeye, and her more complex relationsip with Dr Banner, aka The Hulk. Quite simply, the Black Widow is kickass.

Storm, aka Ororo Munroe

Among many cool characters in the X-Men movies, Storm is literally a force of nature and one of the most prominent and powerful of Marvel's "X-Men." Storm can fly as well as control the weather, and from her earliest inception in the Marvel universe she has always been a superheroine of African-American origin, including with the white hair. One of the strongest and most consistent of the X-team in the films, she is also one of the most stable characters, while in the Marvel story arc she is frequently a leader in both the X-team and the Avengers.

Elastagirl, aka Helen Parr

Elastigirl in The Incredibles is not only a superheroine but a supermom, and in that sense the most traditional of today's lineup. Her superpower is super and extended flexibility, but she is also quick thinking and resourceful, as well as being the Incredible with the strongest and most grounded sense of self. She puts her family first, both in trying to build a credible normal life for them in an anti-superhero world, and then in responding to the danger of the evile Syndrome. And when the chips are down, Elastigirl more than holds her own in the superhero showdowns of the film.

Rey

And then there's Rey, the latest superheroine from the Star Wars 'verse. As young as Buffy when the TV series started, she's brave, capable, independent, a "hot" space pilot -- and strong in the Force. Like Buffy, she doesn't wait around to be rescued either: when kidnapped and taken to a Death Star, Rey frees herself and breaks out to meet her would-be rescuers. Again like Buffy, she's a real person as well as a superheroine, so as viewers we see her confusion and doubt, and also understand her stubborn persistence, and longing, in remaining on Jakku in case her missing family return.

With the possibility of a TV series being made of Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel series, we'll also be very interested to see the characterization of Death -- but that is not only speculation for now, but going beyond the title five superheroines.

But if you have a superheroine or even another five to add, let us know in the comments! :)

6 comments:

Kim Falconer said...

I love this post, Helen.

I will be back to add more as I think of them but I love Olivia Moore from the DC Comic inspired iZombie. She's such a bad-ass in "full on zombie mode" and, you know, her whole mission for justice, despite the un-dead condition and side-effects of eating brains.


Thanks Helen!

Helen Lowe said...

"Side effects of eating brains" -- definitely a super-heroine by that definition alone! :D

Paul Weimer said...

I am going to go sideways and go with a videogame, and go with Lilith from the Borderlands series.

In Borderlands 1 you get to play her, a Siren, one of six people in the universe with rather unusual and frankly magical powers, which makes her the equal of the other characters you can play in that game.

In Borderlands 2, she shows up as an NPC whose powers, thanks to changes in the planet engendered in Borderlands 1, have gotten "awesome" (her words). At one point, your PC has to break up a crazy cult that's worshipping her as a goddess.

In Borderlands the Pre Sequel, she's now the head of the anti-Hyperion forces on Pandora, and more powerful and badass than ever.

Helen Lowe said...

Given that resume, I think we can all agree that Lilith is definitely kickass and a superheroine of note!

Thanks for commenting. :)

Kim Falconer said...

Paul, I have to google Boarderlands now. Lilith does sound awesome!

I'm also adding Agent May from the Marvel Comic universe, not just for her kick-ass abilities but because she's over the age of 40. Actually the gorgeous Ming-Na Wen who plays her is 53. A total inspiration!

Melinda Qiaolian May is an ace pilot, field agent, and former administrator who works for S.H.I.E.L.D.. She acts as second-in-command in Agent Coulson's team and for the organization as a whole. She totally kicks ass!

Helen Lowe said...

Yay for Lilith *and* Agent May -- we're starting to build our super-heroine numbers now.:)