movie report: I Am Number Four (2011)

Book Report: The Supergirls, by Mike Madrid

This book traces the history of female super-powered characters from the 1930s to today. It's a remarkable fact that, although society has tended to deny power to women, women with amazing powers began to appear shortly after the introduction of Superman and Batman. Indeed, as the book points out, female superheroes have often been role models for girls and women, representing in many cases women having powers beyond men and women triumphing over men. One theme of the book is how this image of power has changed as the roles of women in society have changed.

Madrid has done a remarkable job in reconstructing the early history of female superheroes, considering that most of the original stories have been out of print since the 1930s and 1940s. At first, these characters were simply adventuresses and female detectives, but it wasn't long before women with genuine superhuman powers began to appear and gain popularity.

This isn't dry history, however. Madrid's style is funny, insightful, and clever. He points out for example, how The Wasp was, in fact, a W.A.S.P., as well as a flighty character. Similarly, he notes how Invisible Girl truly was invisible to her male team members of the Fantastic Four, and how she ultimately overcame their neglect.

Another major theme of the book involves the range of positive and negative images of female superheroes. Positive images portray characters as warriors, angels, or goddesses. Negative images include tramps and vigilantes. One major point he makes is in the power of costume to transform the image – and the behavior – of female characters, turning a person with a shy personality into an aggressive crime-fighter, for example.

A continuing thread in the book is how representing the physical appearance of female superheroes is problematic. Of course, part of this goes with the superhero territory. Just as male superheroes, such as Superman and Batman, must be handsome, female superheroes must be beautiful. Just as male superheroes' skin-tight costumes reveal every muscle (and they'd better be rippling), so do female costumes show every curve. Granted, it's hard to see the functional need for stiletto heels and peek-a-boo blouses, except possibly to distract male adversaries before knocking them senseless. However, given that the readership of superhero comics is overwhelmingly male, it's amazing how modest most outfits have been. Female costumes that are too revealing tend to be unpopular and receive negative criticism. Indeed, Invisible Girl, for her first few years, appeared to be wearing a garment bag, and not a very stylish one at that, and no one minded except the bored artists.

One interesting aspect of costumes is that the outfits of female characters tend to reflect current styles far more than male outfits do. Superman and Batman are wearing essentially the same duds that they did in the 1930s, while Wonder Woman and Supergirl receive regular makeovers.

Madrid notes the recent trend toward developing distinctly female styles of interactions and motivation. It's only recently that female superheroes have started having other women as friends, helping each other to grow, just as in real life. All-women groups are also becoming popular. (A good example of both of these trends is the Birds of Prey series, which has NO male super characters, and which features the friendship between wheelchair-bound mastermind Oracle and martial artist Black Canary as they solve mysteries together.) Other characters explore – finally – the maternal aspects of womanhood, with female characters appearing as mother figures and mentors to other characters, as well as dedicated and formidable protectors of the innocent.

I recommend this book highly, but I'm aware that few share my enthusiasm for all things superheroic. Still, if you're interested in superheroes, or in the changing roles of women in society, you'll enjoy this book.