Female Superheroes Who Deserve Their Own Movie

While once seen as something of a low-budget cinema ghetto, superhero movies have risen in stature and quality to rule the box office. Audiences can't get enough of big stars in tight costumes fighting evil and saving the planet from doom and destruction. And for every household name hero-turned-movie-icon (Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine), plenty of more obscure properties have graced the silver screen, such as Ant-Man, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Suicide Squad, for example. 

It seems like every possible superhero has been in a movie recently, but there's one major group of crimefighters Hollywood has conspicuously and largely ignored: female superheroes. While "Wonder Woman" and "Captain Marvel" have already raked in tons of money at the box office and "Black Widow" finally gave Natasha Romanoff the starring vehicle she deserved (with a few others, like She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, debuting for now on the small screen via Disney+), here are some more superwomen ready for their big-budget, big-screen arrivals.

The first "Deadpool" movie was primarily a solo effort: Ryan Reynolds played the Merc with a Mouth on a mission to retrieve his kidnapped girlfriend, Vanessa. In "Deadpool 2," he assembled the X-Force squadron of warriors, some with more impressive and amusing powers than the others. That set a foundation for a whole series of possible X-Force movies, a comedic comic universe to rival the "Guardians of the Galaxy" films. So who better to get a solo film than Domino, the mutant mercenary portrayed by charismatic "Atlanta" star Zazie Beetz? 

Domino approaches the world, and even the riskiest of tasks (facing off against Cable, storming an orphanage for mutants), with supreme confidence because of her unique ability to always have luck on her side. Beetz shined in the role, and audiences would love to see her star in a hilarious, action-packed, guns-blazing, Deadpool-free adventure. The idea of an extremely lucky person navigating and manipulating the world around her is such a rich premise. And there may be room for it: Beetz recently told Decider that she doesn't appear in the upcoming "Deadpool 3."

First appearing in DC Comics back in 1964, and subsequently appearing with the Justice League and Constantine over the years, Zatanna isn't just a cool superhero, she represents a great idea for a character. She works as a stage magician — a woman thriving in a business where women are usually reduced to a "lovely assistant" role — but she also possesses actual magical powers inherited from her father. 

She primarily uses recited incantations to control and alter the world around her, which is a supreme ability. That's a characteristic that could be used for CGI-enabled feats of wonder ... or utilized for its innate comedy of errors. Zatanna has a duality of character like Superman/Clark Kent, only her two identities are seriously blurred. She's a complicated individual, and while she's turned up in many animated DC projects and on "Smallville,"it would be lovely for this slightly off-kilter, slightly obscure character to get a full two hours to herself. There have been rumors of a Zatanna film over the years, although it remains to be seen whether she has a place in James Gunn's plans for the revamped DC Studios.

What with "The Avengers," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Suicide Squad," and "Justice League," moviegoers never seem to tire of comic book team-ups. Image Comics' "Rat Queens" series is just dying to be made into a hilarious, thrilling, and totally bonkers movie. Like a lot of fantasy fiction, "Rat Queens" is set in medieval times, in a world in which humans interact with dwarfs, monsters, halflings, and Orcs. Unlike most fantasy fiction, the central band of crusading characters are women — and modern, unabashedly flawed women at that. 

Hannah is a magical elf, Violet is a cool dwarf warrior, Dee grew up in a monster cult, Betty is a drug-loving hippie "smidgen," and Braga is a powerfully strong Orc who's also transgender. Together they fight assassins, other adventurist collectives, and tentacled monsters that mean to harm their homeland of Palisade. Not only did "Rat Queens" win the love of the comics community — it received an Eisner Award nomination for Best New Series — it was also recognized by the GLAAD Media Awards for its commitment to diversity and representation. How is this not already a movie?

Unlike most other cinematic superheroes, She-Ra didn't originate in the world of print comic books, but rather the world of syndicated children's television. In 1985, Filmation, flush with the success of the "He-Man and the Masters of the Universe" cartoon and toy line, spun off "She-Ra: Princess of Power." Geared toward young, female fans of action, adventure, sci-fi, and sorcery, She-Ra, a.k.a. Princess Adora, is He-Man's twin sister, who leads a revolution against tyrant Hordak and his brutally fascistic Evil Horde to free the planet Etheria. She-Ra is assisted in her quest by various magical and superpowered allies, including her flying unicorn Spirit, a witch named Madame Razz, and the light-controlling Glimmer.

Basically, the She-Ra universe is a dazzling, engaging combination of the mysticism of "Doctor Strange," the magical animals of "The Chronicles of Narnia," and the themes of "Star Wars." It would make for a fantastic live-action movie series, and could bank on the both the nostalgia of fans of the original 1980s series as well as viewers of Netflix's more recent revival. Another bonus: It's one of the few fantasy/sci-fi intellectual properties out there with a predominantly female cast of characters.

Disney+ subscribers have seen She-Hulk in her own streaming series, but does that mean a feature film is off the table? Let's hope not. After all, Hollywood has tried to make an Incredible Hulk movie twice, and both received a lukewarm reception. Perhaps it's time for a different character who turns from mild-mannered human to super-strong green monster, especially one who's already shown she can carry her own TV series.

Making her Marvel Comics debut in 1980, Jennifer Walters is a successful lawyer who acquires Hulk-like abilities after receiving an emergency blood transfusion from her cousin Bruce Banner — except instead of flying into a blind rage, she gains strength while maintaining control over her intellect and emotions. A movie based on the character raises some intriguing possibilities — think "Erin Brockovich" meets "The Incredible Hulk." There's also a lot of crossover and universe-building potential with She-Hulk, as we've already seen with some of the guest cameos on her Disney+ series. At various times in the comics, the character's also been affiliated with well-known institutions such as the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and even S.H.I.E.L.D., so she should be able to make the leap to the big screen with little effort.

Like most of the other characters in the MCU's Thor movies, Lady Sif originates in Norse mythology — she's a goddess of death. In the Marvel movies, the character was reimagined as a powerful warrior nearly as mighty as Thor himself. After all, she does leave Asgard in order to help the Warriors Three save Thor and overthrow Loki, and then fights off those meddling Marauders. She's a tremendously skilled and fearsome fighter, and worthy of a solo movie in which she saves the universe single-handedly. 

Jaimie Alexander has portrayed Sif in three of the four "Thor" movies, a couple of episodes of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D," and in an uncredited cameo during Season 1 of "Loki" (she also voiced the character on two episodes of the animated "What If...?" series). She's long been established as a reliable, bad guy-slaying presence in the Marvel world. Plus it's always fun when the MCU looks in on its Asgardian characters, who live in a unique realm ruled by magical, mysticism, and mythology (and fight with cool weapons like swords and hammers).

In 1980, Marvel tried to capitalize on the popularity of disco by teaming up with Casablanca Records (home of Donna Summer and the Village People) to debut Dazzler, a new character with the mutant ability to convert sound into light. The backstory: a law student named Alison Blaire quits school to become a disco singer. (Thanks to her superpowers, she can also provide her own stage show.) She also roller-skates a lot, because roller discos were briefly popular in the late '70s. In more recent years, the disco/skating side of her persona has been downplayed in favor of a tone more in keeping with the current Marvel Universe, but a Dazzler movie seems like the perfect excuse for a fun period piece.

A ton of retro music, little-known characters without huge fanboy expectations, and a comic, often self-deprecating tone: these are some of the things that made "Guardians of the Galaxy" a hit, and "Dazzler" would have them all. (They even tried it once, and hoped to lure Cher and Robin Williams to star.) This one could be unabashedly campy, ridiculous, and a ton of fun. Call your agent, Sydney Sweeney!

Ms. Marvel's origins have always been a little complicated, but in the old days, Captain Marvel was a dude, and the current Captain Marvel — Carol Danvers — went by Ms. Marvel. After the Captain moved off-canvas, the powers that be decided "Ms." Marvel had earned the right to go by "Captain," and the "Ms." was retired — until Jersey City teen Kamala Khan acquired shape-shifting superpowers and took on the Ms. Marvel mantle to rave reviews. She's young, totally relatable, and her Muslim background brought a breath of fresh air to the Marvel Comics universe, making her one of the company's most popular newer characters.

Since then, Kamala has made her live-action MCU debut in her own Disney+ series, "Ms. Marvel," while also getting a promotion to the big screen in "The Marvels," opposite her idol, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), and "WandaVision" breakout Monica Rambeau/Photon (Teyonah Parris). Surely the next step for Kamala would be her own movie, unless she returns to Disney+ for a second season. But not all the news is good for Jersey City's homegrown superhero: at press time, it was revealed that the character was being killed off in the pages of Marvel Comics in summer 2023.

If they can use CGI to realistically bring Rocket Raccoon to the screen, then they can certainly do it with Squirrel Girl. A bright and breezy character that debuted in "Marvel Super-Heroes" in 1992, the sometime Avenger (also known as ordinary college student Doreen Green) is part squirrel and part girl, boasting a four-foot-long tail, huge buck teeth that can chew through wood, and the ability to run across tree branches. She can also speak and understand squirrel language (powers that are actually quite useful).

Her recent comics run is among Marvel's best-reviewed titles, and there have also been rumors of a movie, or least public campaigning in that direction. In the meantime, she has appeared in several animated Marvel properties, although sadly the long-gestating "New Warriors" series, in which Milana Vayntrub was set to voice her, was canceled while in the midst of production. We'd still like to see her team up with Ms. Marvel.

For a very long time, the comics weren't particularly woman-friendly, but that's changed a lot in the last decade or so — and Marvel has been a big part of that, courtesy of some changes that have also had an impact on the heroes we see on the big screen. 

The publisher made headlines in 2014 when Thor became unworthy of wielding his hammer. It was ultimately picked up by a new, female Thor, who was eventually revealed to be the Avenger's ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster. Jason Aaron's acclaimed series — or least the basic premise — found its way to the MCU in 2022, when "Thor: Love and Thunder" arrived in theaters. The film featured the return of Natalie Portman reprising her MCU role as Jane, only this time wielding Mjolnir and known by the name given to her in the comics as well, The Mighty Thor.

As in the comics, Jane has cancer and her powers as The Mighty Thor prevent her body from fighting it. Although Jane succumbs to her illness by the end of the film, a post-credits scene reveals her being welcomed to Valhalla by Heimdall, so perhaps we haven't seen the last of The Mighty Thor just yet.

In 2016, Marvel announced that the comic book iteration of Tony Stark would suffer a near-fatal injury in action and give up the Iron Man identity, and that he'd be replaced by Riri Williams, a 15-year-old African-American science prodigy who gives up a free ride at M.I.T. (where she built an Iron Man suit in her dorm room) to whoop some bad-guy butt. Tony eventually got better, but Riri's still fighting crime as Ironheart — and recently arrived in the live-action MCU as well.

Although an "Ironheart" streaming series for Disney+ was announced in December 2020, the character of Riri Williams, portrayed by Dominique Thorne, made her debut in 2022's "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." In the film, the vibranium detector she builds at college becomes the target of both the secret undersea kingdom of Talokan and the U.S. government, with Riri's life in danger. She ultimately joins Wakanda in its battle against Talokan, clad in an armored suit very much inspired by Iron Man.

While "Wakanda Forever" ends with Riri returning to school at M.I.T. and leaving her suit in the care of the Wakandans, she is poised to continue her adventures on Disney+ sometime in 2024.

Superman's feminine counterpart Supergirl is finally having her moment after first being referenced in 2013's "Man of Steel" movie, confirming her existence in the DCEU. But long before the explosion in popularity of superhero cinema, a spin-off of Christopher Reeve's "Superman" film series dared to attempt the first female-led live-action superhero movie. The concept of the now-obscure 1984 "Supergirl" was clearly ahead of its time, but unfortunately, the poor execution may have been one of the primary reasons why it took so long to see another female superhero lead on the big screen.

Luckily, the genre has come a long way since then, and Supergirl has redeemed herself on screen time and time again. With the success of Laura Vandervoort's portrayal in the "Smallville" series, Melissa Benoist's portrayal in the Arrowverse "Supergirl" series, and now Sasha Calle's interpretation in 2023's "The Flash" feature film, fans are ready to see a dedicated movie that does the character justice. The good news is the much-deserved "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" is in early development according to DC Studios' current plans. The not-so-good news is it won't be coming to theaters for quite some time, so we'll have to practice our superhuman patience.

Perhaps one of Marvel's most popular female superheroes who has yet to get the attention she deserves is none other than Jessica Drew's Spider-Woman. The web-slinger shares similar abilities to her male counterpart in addition to powers specifically unique to her, such as venom blasts, toxin immunity, pheromone manipulation, and more, proving her superiority. First introduced in 1977 in "Marvel Spotlight" #32, it's a shame we haven't seen more of her on screen, but that's all changing as of recently.

Since the release of 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," hype around the female Spidey has been building. The success of Spider-Gwen's character in that movie gave Marvel the confidence to introduce Issa Rae as Spider-Woman, who goes by the name Jess Drew, in the 2023 sequel "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." Now, the spotlight is focusing on these two super-women as Marvel teases a Spider-Women spin-off featuring the two characters as well as the Korean-American superhero Silk. "It's all happening," producer Amy Pascal told Variety.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is severely lacking superheroes with diverse backgrounds, especially when there are so many from the comics to choose from. The first one to come to mind for many is the blazing Latin superhero Firebird. Hailing from the cactus state of New Mexico, Firebird's origins can be traced back to when she was exposed to a radioactive meteorite fragment. With her powers of pyrokinesis, flight, toxin immunity, thermal blasts, and instances of precognition, absolutely nothing is getting in the way of this hero.

She was first introduced in 1981 in "Incredible Hulk" #265, and not long after, she formed a team of Southwestern heroes known as the Rangers along with Shooting Star, Texas Twister, Phantom Rider, and William Talltrees. While it may be worthwhile to see all five Rangers star alongside one another in a West Coast Avengers-inspired movie, it's clear that Firebird has enough mojo to fly solo as the star of her own film.

One of the biggest disappointments of 2022 was, without a doubt, the cancellation of then-HBO Max's "Batgirl." The film, directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, was already in post-production when it was canceled due to negative responses to test screenings. Warner Bros. Discovery's best financial option was scrapping the movie for a tax break.

The Crimson Crusader as we know her was officially introduced in 1967 in "Detective Comics" #359, as a reliable ally to Batman and Robin. Although Batgirl has appeared in multiple animated series throughout the years, dating back to "The Batman/Superman Hour" in 1968, not much has been done with the character in the live-action sphere. She was portrayed by Yvonne Craig in the 1967 "Batman" TV series and later by Alicia Silverstone in the disastrous 1997 "Batman and Robin" movie, but we'll have to keep waiting for a proper DCEU solo film, which only seems inevitable.

Originally created by Marv Wolfman as the female foil of Spider-Woman, Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, ended up debuting as an enemy to Spider-Man in 1979's "The Amazing Spider-Man" #194. Her superhuman cat-like abilities, psionic powers, and martial arts training made her a more than capable opponent to the webhead. As her story progressed, so did the pair's relationship, which blossomed into an on-again, off-again romance. In part due to her complex development, Black Cat has become a fan favorite among many, yet she's only made a single live-action appearance, with a vague interpretation of Felicia by Felicity Jones in 2014's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

Development for a live-action Black Cat feature film has been a long and complicated process. A Spider-Man spin-off featuring Black Cat and Silver Sable was supposedly in the works since 2017, but it wasn't long before Sony Pictures canceled the project altogether in favor of two separate films. Now, all plans appear to be on pause. If this is where things end, Sony would be doing a huge disservice to a popular member of the Spider-Man universe.

Speaking of Silver Sable, the morally gray hero first appeared in 1985's "The Amazing Spider-Man" #265 and quickly became a recurring favorite in the Spider-Man comics. Although she may not possess any superhuman abilities, her combat skills run in her blood, as evidenced by her father, who formed the Wild Pack mercenary team that Silver Sable now leads. Like Black Cat, she's been portrayed as both an enemy and an ally to Spider-Man, which may explain why Sony initially thought the duo would make a compelling movie together.

But besides Silver Sable's canceled movie, there's not nearly enough love given to the character on screen. She's made appearances in various Spider-Man animated series, but someone as badass and complex as she deserves a spotlight of her own. With the popularity of anti-heroes such as Loki and Venom, it's clear there's a market to bring Silver Sable to the big screen.

One of DC's earliest female superheroes, Hawkgirl has been a trailblazer for the female superhero legacy since 1940, when she first appeared alongside her partner Hawkman in "Flash Comics" #1. With her belt of Nth metal, Hawkgirl possesses the powers of flight, reincarnation, healing, multilingual communication, enhanced bird-like abilities, and combat skills. The Winged Warrior has proved herself to be just as capable — if not more — than her male counterpart time and time again, based on her consistent depictions as a sharp-minded, strategic fighter who never backs down from a challenge.

We've seen Hawkgirl many a time in various animated series and have even gotten appearances from her in live-action series such as "Smallville" and in the Arrowverse, but she's yet to appear in a live-action feature film, let alone her own. It's about time DC took advantage of one of the most fierce and strong OGs and introduced her into the DCEU.

Not only is the Marvel superhero Storm an undeniable fan favorite, but she's also one of the most complex, powerful, and captivating heroes in the history of superhero comics. Introduced as the first prominent black female superhero in 1975's "Giant-Size X-Men" #1, the Goddess of the Elements was born with her atmokinesis abilities, making her what is known as a mutant in the Marvel universe. In addition to her atmokinesis powers, Storm practices magic and witchcraft used by her ancestry of African witch-priestesses.

Halle Berry and Alexandra Shipp have both portrayed Storm in the live-action "X-Men" movies, but the MCU is missing out on a solo movie centered around one of their most compelling superhero backstories. Raised in Harlem, New York City and Cairo, Egypt by a Kenyan princess mother and an African-American photojournalist father, Storm became an orphan at a young age when her parents were tragically killed during a freak accident. She eventually went on to join the X-Men and later the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. You already know Marvel has a gem of a character on their hands when the fact that the Black Panther is her ex-husband is the least interesting thing about her.

Pre-dating the introduction of Storm, DC debuted their first black female superhero Nubia in 1973's "Wonder Woman" #204 as Wonder Woman's long-lost fraternal twin. Although one may think being related to Wonder Woman could cast a shadow over Nubia's abilities, Nubia has had no problem paving her own path and separating herself as her own iconic character. However, not nearly enough attention has been given to the character both in the comics and on screen. After some brief appearances throughout the Bronze Age, Nubia was disregarded for 20 years before being re-introduced in 1999 by Doselle Young and Brian Denham.

More recently, Nubia has been recurring in DC's "Infinite Frontier Wonder Woman" publications, but it feels as though the comics are only scratching the surface. This could be DC's opportunity to flesh out this historical, groundbreaking character's untapped potential with a live-action film tied in with their "Wonder Woman" movies.

With a name like Hellcat, you would never imagine the superhero's beginnings as Patsy Walker, the girl next door first introduced in 1944's "Miss America Magazine" #2, published by Marvel predecessor Atlas Comics. However, Patsy wasn't just any teen humor comic book character. When she was introduced into the Marvel universe in 1965's "Fantastic Four Annual" #3, it was later established that all of Patsy's earlier stories were fictional and written by her parents within the Marvel universe. Talk about a compelling backstory.

By the late 1970s, Patsy assumed the name Hellcat and joined the superhero team called the Defenders and later the Avengers. With some training and Moondragon's Titania technology, Hellcat becomes equipped with superhuman physical abilities, psionic powers, and other cat-like abilities, which vary throughout the comics. Her TV adaptation, portrayed by Rachael Taylor in the "Jessica Jones," "Luke Cage," and "The Defenders" series, has been well-received, and it's only a matter of time before this feline gets to sink her claws into a solo project of her own.

Another member of the X-Men, Psylocke, has one of the most complex origin stories in the Marvel universe, which would be perfect to dissect even further in a live-action solo movie. First introduced as Betsy Braddock, Brian Braddock's twin, in 1976's "Captain Britain" #8, Betsy adopted the Psylocke persona after joining the X-Men's mutant-training academy. In one of the strangest storylines in Marvel history, Betsy body-swapped with the assassin Kwannon for 29 years worth of comic book storylines. When they finally swapped back to their original bodies, Betsy took on the role of Captain Britain, while Kwannon maintained the Psylocke name.

It's all very complicated, but that's what makes these two so intriguing. A Psylocke movie could also choose to focus on Kwannon's post-body swap incarnation of Psylocke within the "Dawn of X" storylines, which was the basis for Meiling Melançon's and Olivia Munn's portrayals in the movies "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "X-Men: Apocalypse," respectively.

Wanda Maximoff as the Scarlet Witch has already become a prominent character within the MCU, and for good reason. Fans have grown attached to the hero's multi-layered personality and subsequent character growth throughout the Marvel comics and movies. Portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen, the Scarlet Witch made her first official appearance in 2015's "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Later she would appear in "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," and "Avengers: Endgame" before her latest appearance in 2022's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." She also had a highly-successful miniseries on Disney+ titled "WandaVision," which cemented the character as one of the greats worthy of more future solo projects.

However, after the seeming death of the Scarlet Witch at the end of "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," it's hard to say exactly where (if anywhere) her story will go next. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige gave fans some hope during an interview with Variety. "There really is so much more to explore," he said. "We still haven't touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I'd work with [Elizabeth Olsen] for another 100 years if we could. Anything's possible in the multiverse! We'll have to see."