My Top Ten Women in Comics

Here’s a story, of a set of lovely ladies.

Who were more than meets the average eye.

They were faster than the Flash, and better than Batman.

But no one seemed to want to give them a try.

Still one day these ladies hit the big screen

In one grand MCU extravaganza!

Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and the Wasp.

But what about the rest?

Okay, that’s clearly enough of that. The point is, there are TONS of women in comics neglected over the years because, let’s face it: Comics are a man dominated universe. Sure, we have a spare few who have come up the ranks from the beginning. Black Widow, Invisible Woman, Marvel Girl (all from Marvel), then you have Batgirl and Wonder Woman (on the DC side of things). But who do I think has the most bang for the buck?

Who do I rank as the top women in comics? Well, it’s a bit of a hard list to go through, and I’m going to keep it down to ten.

10. Harley Quinn. The famous, spectacular… okay, so she’s loony and insane. But she’s also incredible. She started out as a therapist who just fell for the very wrong guy (please stop showing it as a ‘perfect couple’ meme—it really isn’t). She did a lot of bad things for love, and what did she get? Abused. Mentally and physically. We first got a look at her in a cartoon, and then they tossed her into comics, and finally (FINALLY) we got to see her done up pretty on the big screen. Someday I’ll do a movie review of Suicide Squad and you can hear my full opinion on Margot Robbie as the fabulous Ms Quinn, but for right now let’s just stick with the fact that Harley Quinn is a queen. She went from being a simple cartoon side character to one of the world’s favorite female comic book characters. Few characters can say that.

9. Donna Troy, the sister of Wonder Woman. Wonder Girl, one of the first side-kicks in DC comics. She fought hard through her entire career to get out of her sister’s shadow, just to end up dying to save the world. She was a genuine hero through and through. But she also saw the good in everyone. Before the mass reboot (or one of them), my favorite bit was her befriending Jason Todd. No matter what everyone else thought of him, she saw something in him. A hero that just needed a chance to show it. She wanted to give him that chance, no matter what it did to her. She was like that with everyone.

8. Sue Storm-Richards, was the first comic book character that I really fell in love with. I thought she was the perfect role model. She was a smart woman who didn’t need to rely on her husband for anything. She could do everything herself, and she had superpowers that were top-notch strong. None of the movies released have done her any justice. She’s a mother of two super powered children, has had to deal with the death and loss of her parents, took care of her younger brother, and has a husband who ignores her for science. Yet through all that, she’s kept her head held high. She’s never let the weight of her life bring her down, and she’s used her powers as a shield to protect her family, even if they never give her the acknowledgment she deserves.

7. Squirrel Girl. Now, before you all laugh at the name, remember this minor fact: She is the only character known to have beaten both Galactus and Thanos. She might have some silly name, but Doreen Green is not a silly character. She’s a real girl in the hero world. At first glance, you’d think she was a mutant, but this is, in fact, not true. She isn’t a mutant. She was just born with powers like a squirrel. When she was ten, she called herself the Unbeatable, and boy was she right on the nose. You wouldn’t think that a woman with squirrel like abilities could do so much, but she has. I wasn’t kidding when I said she’s beaten Galactus and Thanos. She has. The watcher was witness to the events with Thanos and even confirmed it was really him. She’s seen as a joke, but she’s no joke. She’s got a great heart, and she’s a staple in the Avengers comics. I hope someday we will get to see her on TV, but sadly for now, she’ll just remain in the pages of the comics. (Stupid marvel saying New Warriors was “too gay” whatever… Milana Wayntrub will get her day to shine as Doreen someday!)

6. Janet van Dyne, better known to most people as The Wasp. No, I’m not talking about the older woman that was shown in the movies, though hats off to Marvel for including her as I didn’t think that would happen given the way things in her story are. What I mean by that is that Janet is a victim of abuse. It was during a time where Marvel was big into writing about hard-hitting stories and wrote about Hank Pym hitting his wife, who was Janet. They ended up splitting up because she didn't take his shit for a long time. She’s more than just Hank’s wife, though. She’s a fashion designer and a genius for costumes. There was a time in comics where nearly every hero was wearing a Van Dyne original. This woman stood up when she was beat down and said no before anyone else did, and was a statement for women everywhere to do the same. She, of course, was also responsible for helping to destroy the Avengers, but we won’t get into that. Let’s just focus on the fact that Janet is an amazing woman, in and out of the comics, and I hope they keep going with showcasing her in the MCU.

Half way through the list and I’d like to take a moment to talk about a few who won’t be joining the ranks here. I know it’s a bit of a spoiler for the top five, but it’s my list and this is how I want to do it.

First up, I want to talk about a villain who has been on both sides of the heroic world. Selina Kyle (Catwoman). Selina is your average jewel thief who becomes ten times more when she gets wrapped up in the crime of Gotham City. In some stories, you see that her upbringing wasn’t the best. The current origin story for her has her having a drunk for a father and a sister who was not mentally sound. She proved at a young age that she would do anything to survive, no matter the cost, and being a thief was just her way of doing things.

But she’s jumped into heroics from time to time too, and her on again off again relationship with Bruce Wayne shows her love for a man who lives in such a dark world. She had a great heart and has been through a lot as a woman. But she just misses the list.

Next up is Kamala Khan, who didn’t make my list because I’m saving her for another article after her series debuts later this year. She’s a young girl who came up in a time in comics when people hated anything to do with Inhumans, becoming something even her father turned their noses up at. But she loved heroes and longed to be the best she could be. She has proven that she can do it, and I hope her series proves she can. From the trailer (which was released today 3/15/2022), you can see that she is ready to step into the name she’s about to pick up. I have high hopes for her, and I can’t wait to see what Disney+ has in store for her.

Another young hero who just missed the list is Kate Bishop. From my Young Avengers article, you know I adore her. She’s a strong woman in her own right and a future star in the hero world. Her appearance in the Hawkeye Disney+ show proved that the MCU is ready for her, and in the comics she’s on her what third run for comics? She’s a force of human nature and has been through her share of trauma. From being assaulted as a young girl, to being told that she couldn’t be a hero, she has proven the world wrong and has stood up and said: “Yes I can” louder and louder the more people say no.

My last runner up on the list is Stephanie Brown, Spoiler, former Batgirl. The daughter of a super villain, who went against her dad, and tries to stop him on her own. She wanted to protect her mother and her boyfriend, even though her boyfriend was Robin and he didn’t want her to do anything. She didn’t have any actual skill, but she had the heart. In Gotham, of course, that comes to bite you in the ass, and the former backstory for her had her meeting a sad fate (while faked to prevent her from really dying—it was a rude thing to do but understandable as well). She lost her role as Robin and Spoiler in one dangerous move and then stepped into the shoes of Batgirl. While everyone told her, she couldn’t do it and she wasn’t ready, she proved to them she was. She was brave and willing to learn, and honestly, that is more than anyone can ask of a young hero. Remember, she was only sixteen when she started out. What sixteen-year-old would risk life and limb to protect a boy and his dark, brooding family? None that I know.

5. Rachel Roth is probably not a name you’ve heard, right? How about Raven? That one I’m sure you have. She’s the daughter of a demon lord and a priestess, but she’s more than that. She put together a new team of Teen Titans to help bring down her father and prep the world for his arrival, all the while fighting off his influence. DC comics have a lot more mystic world woven in it than the Marvel one does at the current time, but seeing Raven fight her father while she’s all demonic is one of the best bits you’ll ever see on the page. Thankfully, you got to glimpse it the Teen Titans TV show, and again in Justice League vs Teen Titans. Besides her interactions with her father and fighting off her demonic brothers, she is a kind and caring girl who just wants to find a place to fit in. She’s found a home with the Teen Titans and found friends and even love. It’s a pleasant tale of a young outcast who finally feels secure, and she enters my top five because I felt like I connected with her on that level. Being the outsider in the world while growing up, and then finally finding people who didn’t see me as a freak. Raven found those people, and so did I. It just took the both of us time, and a little bravery.

4. Natasha Romanoff. She’s better known to the wide world as the Black Widow. A femme fatal, who used to be a Russian spy/assassin. She turned towards the good guy’s side by Clint Barton and started working for SHIELD. Well, that’s the story they gave you in the MCU anyway, and it’s the main one you want to stick with. Her comic origins are darker than that. While they mentioned it a bit in the movies, they never really reach out on everything. This woman has walked through literal hell and came out the other side a hero. She dips and weaves her way through the Marvel Universe and has touched so many people. When she died in the movie, you saw how crushed the Avengers were. But in the comics? It was more than just the Avengers who were affected. She is a staple throughout comics, and it’s for this reason she’s making the list. The only reason she’s so far down the list is because the others on it… well, they’ve done more. And well… she isn’t really one of my favorites.

3. Barbara Gordon is the daughter of the Gotham City police commissioner, Jim Gordon. She was a smart girl who loved reading and adored her baby brother, and father. She wanted so badly to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a cop, but her dad was set against it. She could still help him, however, when she could put on a mask and became Batgirl. She was one of the first young women in comics to be showcased as more than just a sex symbol. Her costume wasn’t revealing (it’s completely covering everything cause she’s a bat), and she was still using her brains as she fought. But the silver lining of her story comes after a tragic event. She is shot by the Joker and paralyzed from the waist down. Did this stop her? No. In fact, it spurred her on to help even more. She took up the name Oracle and set to work to become a force of nature on the cyber network of the world. Oracle took one just as many bad guys as Batman and his team did, and her being in a wheelchair never seemed to be an issue for her. She worked around it. It became one with her, as it should have been. DC writing her back out of the chair again, hurt. I loved the Oracle character, and I was sad to see her return to her Batgirl form without a good explanation (a magic surgery just doesn’t feel right). But I’m not discounting everything that Oracle has done and accomplished and it puts her in my top three.

2. Wanda Maximoff was one of the first characters that I actually hated in comics. For the longest time, I couldn’t stand here. I was reading the Avengers Disassembled book and the House of M and seeing this horrible side to her, and I hated every bit of her. But then I looked backwards. I saw what led up to those points and realized she was just a victim in all of it. Wanda Maximoff was a tool being used by others for all of her life, and when she finally put her foot down and said NO, she was treated like a villain, and I felt like I was too blamed for some of that myself. When Marvel released the Young Avengers and you finally got to meet her twins, and finally we got to see Wanda back to the hero we all cared for again, it clicked in my head. This woman reminded me of my mother. She had been abused by her father, shunned by her family (minus one who cared deeply for her even if it never was in a good way), and had children who she lost. Wanda Maximoff was a champion for waiting so long before she finally snapped. A lesser person would have done so from the get-go. The MCU really has its hands full with her, and so far they have done her very well. I look forward to the next seven years and to what the wonderful Elizabeth Olsen can do with her.

1. Jean Grey was one of the First Class. No, I’m not backing down on that fact. She was Charles Xavier’s first student. No matter what any of those movies will tell you. He went and seen her, first. He brought her into his home, first. She was the first student. While she wasn’t the first X-Man (that was Scott), she was so scared and alone. Her powers had connected with a friend of hers as she held her while she died. As a young girl, that is traumatizing. Instead of getting therapy or seeking help for their daughter, the Greys wanted nothing to do with her. They wanted her to be normal again and shunned her. They would fuel the fires that would burn inside Jean’s heart that would call to the entity that would come to her later. She would die multiple times, and she would lose her husband to another psychic, but the worst she has to deal with… is the Phoenix. While on a mission in space, she uses her powers to save her friends and; she gets possessed by a cosmic entity. This entity haunts her for the rest of her days. Jean is a tragic tale, of a woman who dies a hero just to be reborn a villain. She dies a villain to be reborn a hero and again dies to be reborn again. When she finally returns for real, luckily she has control of the Phoenix and can take control of her life again. She breaks the cycle it has placed her in and can continue with her life. She’s also one of the most powerful mutants and people in all of Marvel. The only downside is that no one has done a good job yet of turning her into a live action character that is decent. But with the X-Men coming to the MCU, there’s still hope.

So there we have it! My list of who I think are the top ten women in comics. I might not do another top ten list, as this one took a lot out of me. But I might review some comic story lines in the future. Maybe even some upcoming TV shows too! Just… stay tuned!

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