The top 33 female superheroes of all time

Superhero comics are hardly sexism-free these days, but there’s no denying this is a great time for female superheroes. Wonder Woman made a huge comeback this summer. Kamala Khan is one of the most popular new superheroes of the decade. And everyone seems to be obsessed with Harley Quinn—despite the Suicide Movie movie being kind of a mess.

To help you get acquainted with some of the best female superheroes, we’ve put together a list of our favorites. They run the gamut from weird vintage characters (Ma Hunkel) to modern fan-faves (America Chavez). Several of them have their own screen adaptations in the works as well.

WATCH: The 33 Greatest Female Superheroes of All Time

The best female superheroes of all time

33) Kate Bishop/Hawkeye (Marvel)

Soon to co-star alongside Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in a Disney+ live-action series, Kate Bishop is Clint Barton’s protege. She’s a teenage girl with a tough attitude, best known as a member of the Young Avengers team, and as the co-lead of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s popular Hawkeye comics. Just like her mentor, she wears purple and fights with a bow and arrow.

32) Huntress (DC)

Three women have fought crime under the Huntress moniker, becoming a regular mainstay of Batman team comics. Thanks to her live-action role in the TV series Arrow and the Birds of Prey movie, Helena Bertinelli is now the best-known version of the character: a badass gymnast and hand-to-hand fighter, with excellent crowssbow skills.

31) Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Marvel)

Introduced in 1964, Scarlet Witch and her twin brother Quicksilver are a duo of long-running X-Men and Avengers characters. Armed with magical powers (yes, actual old-school magic), Scarlet Witch straddles the line between Marvel’s traditional superhero stories and more fantastical fare. Played by Elizabeth Olsen in the MCU, she recently got a revamped origin story in WandaVision.

30) X-23 (Marvel)

Laura Kinney, aka X-23, is Wolverine’s clone. She sometimes uses the Wolverine alias herself, armed with similar enhanced healing abilities and adamantium-coated claws. Created for the X-Men: Evolution animated series in 2003, she’s since become a fan-favorite character. She also appears in numerous comics, both as an adult woman and as a child. Her most high-profile role arrived with the movie Logan, played by child actress Dafne Keen.

29) Black Canary (DC)

Debuting in 1947, Black Canary has a long history at DC Comics. As part of the Gotham City pantheon, she’s a masked crime-fighter. Her signature superpower involves an ultrasonic scream known as the “Canary Cry.” Her costumes run to the “black leather and fishnet stockings” end of the scale, making her something of a sex symbol. Since 2012, Caity Lotz has portrayed the character in Arrow and its spinoffs.

28) The Wasp (Marvel)

The original Wasp, Janet van Dyne, was one of the founding members of the Avengers. Like Ant-Man, her suit allows her to shrink to a tiny size. She’s armed with a couple of extra powers: insectoid wings and energy blasts. In her private life she’s often portrayed as a renowned fashion designer. Her marriage to the original Ant-Man Hank Pym is sometimes depicted as abusive. Michelle Pfeiffer plays her in Ant-Man and the Wasp, sadly relegated to a supporting role after Janet’s daughter Hope van Dyne adopted the Wasp persona.

27) Invisible Woman (Marvel)

Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, is an icon of the Marvel Universe. She rarely appears as a solo character. As a key member of the Fantastic Four, her superpowers include invisibility and the ability to create force fields. In some ways, her characterization plays into traditional gender roles. As Mr. Fantastic’s wife and Johnny Storm’s brother, she can be overshadowed by her male teammates. Her powers are often interpreted as passive because they’re more attuned to protection than aggressive combat. Several of her storylines involve unwanted romantic attention from characters like Dr. Doom. This all adds up to her being a rather divisive character. It would undoubtedly help if Marvel hired a female writer to explore her character for a new audience.

26) Katana (DC)

Katana is a master swordswoman whose blade, the Soultaker, contains the soul of her dead husband. This is a rare example of a dude being fridged to give his wife a tragic backstory. The Soultaker sword collects the spirit of every person it kills, allowing communication between their ghosts and the wielder. Katana made her big-screen debut in Suicide Squad. She often appears as a member of superhero teams like the Birds of Prey or the black-ops squad Outsiders.

25) Faith (Valiant)

First appearing in Valiant’s superhero comic Harbinger in 1992, Faith returned as a solo hero in 2016. Her superpowers (flight, force fields) are pretty run-of-the-mill, but fans love her for her relatability. In a genre that often caters to a target audience of nerd boys, Faith is very much a nerd girl. Like Kamala Khan, she’s explicitly into fandom. She’s also the only plus-size superhero with any real name recognition. This provides much-needed representation in a genre dominated by restrictive beauty standards.

24) Starfire (DC Comics)

Alien superhero Starfire is bubbly, eccentric, and often depicted as a sex symbol. (Her history ranges from fun-loving and sex-positive to exploitative and misguided, as explored in this piece by Desiree Rodriguez at Women Write About Comics.) Hailing from the planet Tamaran, Starfire is a princess turned superhero. Her adventures range from interplanetary intrigue to kid-friendly adventures on Earth, often paired with Dick Grayson’s Robin. Appearing in numerous DC comics, Starfire attracted a new generation of fans thanks to her role in the animated series Teen Titans, currently being adapted as DC’s first in-house live action show.

23) Daisy Johnson (Marvel)

While Daisy is kind of a C-lister in the comics, she’s now the most established superhero in Marvel’s TV franchise. Arguably the true protagonist of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., she began as a young hacker before gaining superpowers as an Inhuman. She’s able to generate seismic vibrations, adopting the hero name Quake. In the comics, she becomes the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

22) Big Barda (DC Comics)

After Warner Bros. revealed that Ava DuVernay is developing a New Gods movie, everyone suddenly remembered how much they love Big Barda. Super-strong and ostentatiously costumed, she’s an alien from the planet Apokolips. She’s a key character in the New Gods comics and is married to Mister Miracle. Her weapon, the Mega-Rod, provides endless source material for punchlines.

21) Jessica Jones (Marvel)

A truly modern subversion of the superhero genre. Jessica Jones is a recent addition to Marvel canon, created for the adult-rated comic Alias. She’s a hard-drinking private detective with super strength and a dark past. She used to be a traditional costumed superheroine named Jewel. However, she dropped the persona after being brainwashed and abused by the mind-controlling supervillain Kilgrave. Now struggling with PTSD and alcoholism, she’s a private eye in New York.  Best known for her acclaimed Netflix series, Jessica Jones is married to Luke Cage. She often teams up with the Avengers and other street-level New York superheroes in the comics.

READ MORE:

• Is ComiXology Unlimited worth it?
• How to read comics online
• The best DC animated movies of all time
• Marvel vs. DC: Which comics universe reigns supreme?

20) She-Hulk

Why isn’t there an Ally McBeal-style legal dramedy about She-Hulk? Seriously, she’d be perfect for it. She-Hulk is an irresistibly fun character with a unique role in Marvel comics: lawyer to the superhero community. She shares her cousin Bruce Banner’s Hulk powers, but unlike him, she retains her original personality after hulking out. Her power manifests as super strength, green skin, and a confident personality. Her legal career fills an interesting niche in a universe where many heroes “solve” their problems with physical fights.

19) Zatanna

Tuxedo-wearing magician Zatanna has the capacity to be funny, weird, and deeply charming. While she mostly exists as a team player, she definitely deserves more solo comics. She’s a stage magician with actual magical powers and acts as an entertaining foil for the seriousness of Batman.

18) Supergirl

Supergirl’s role overlaps a lot with Superman, and that’s just fine. She represents a kind of cheerful, optimistic heroism that’s kind of rare in modern superhero media. Her ongoing TV show celebrates that legacy. It’s arguably a better adaptation of the Superman mythos than the Justice League movie franchise. It really benefits from a healthy dose of family-friendly feminist themes. As for her role in the comics, Supergirl’s vintage back-catalog includes some delightfully wacky storylines. Don’t miss that one comic where her horse turns into a dude and they fall in love.

17) Ma Hunkel

Golden Age Z-lister Ma Hunkel is an early superhero parody, and she’s completely awesome. She’s a sturdy middle-aged mom who dons thermal underwear and a helmet made out of a cooking pot. You have to admire a woman named “Red Tornado” who fights petty criminals in her neighborhood.

16) Elektra

This deadly assassin exists on a knife’s edge between hero and villain. She’s not exactly evil, but hardly an altruistic role model either. Armed with her trademark sai—a pair of triple-pronged daggers—she often appears alongside Daredevil. The two share a tumultuous love story. She’s one of the few female superheroes to get her own solo movie as well. We prefer her depiction in Marvel’s Netflix franchise, both due to Elodie Yung’s sensitive yet menacing performance and her thoughtfully redesigned costume.

15) Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Negasonic Teenage Warhead is on this list because her name is NEGASONIC TEENAGE WARHEAD, a truly world-class superhero name. She’s goth as hell, and she’s in the Deadpool movie; that’s all you need to know.

READ MORE:

• 10 deadly facts about Domino, the ‘Deadpool 2’ mercenary
• 10 things you need to know about Cable, Deadpool’s time-traveling partner
• Everything we know about ‘Deadpool 2’

14) Kate Kane (Batwoman)

Batwoman has a rather ironic origin story, given her later role in the comics. She first appeared as Batman’s love interest in the 1950s shortly after the publication of Seduction of the Innocent. In recent years she was rewritten to be gay herself. This controversial decision that led to some problems of its own. While her comic’s creators wanted her to marry her girlfriend, DC Comics nixed the decision by saying heroes “shouldn’t have happy personal lives.” This dubious statement that sounds pretty ridiculous in the context of, say, Superman. Despite all this, she’s undoubtedly the most high-profile lesbian female superhero around, with a key role in the Bat-family.

13) Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl is officially the most powerful character in the Marvel universe. She’s also unofficially one of the most fun female superheroes. Born with squirrel-related powers, Doreen Green has a giant, bushy tail and can communicate with squirrels. Her recent solo comics are a cult favorite due to their genre-savvy humor. She’s also about to star in an ensemble TV sitcom called New Warriors.

12) Fantomah

This one’s a deep cut from the very early days of superhero comics. We would love to see some kind of modern reboot. Fantomah is a jungle ghost female superhero whose face turns into a skull when she uses her super-strength. What’s not to love?

11) Ayo and Aneka

These fearsome freedom-fighters met and fell in love as members of the Dora Milaje. The all-female squad of highly trained warriors guard the king of Wakanda. They act as antagonists in the current Black Panther series, but they’re definitely not the bad guys. It’s a complex story that positions them as vigilante heroes, protecting civilians during a time of political upheaval. And while they aren’t technically acknowledged as female superheroes, they definitely qualify. Their heroic role, distinctive costumes, and nickname fit the bill: the Midnight Angels. It’s just too bad their solo series, World of Wakanda, was canceled in 2017.

10) America Chavez (Miss America)

America Chavez had a slightly awkward start in a limited series called Vengeance, portrayed in a ludicrously skimpy costume. Her real breakthrough happened in the 2013 Young Avengers comics when she got a cosplay-friendly makeover from artist Jamie McKelvie. She has a bunch of superpowers: strength, flight, interdimensional travel, and the power to punch something and make it dissolve into stars. Obviously, this made her one of the heavy-hitters of the Young Avengers team. This year she finally got a long-awaited solo series.

9) Black Widow

Natasha Romanov (or Romanoff, or Romanova, depending on the comics writer’s familiarity with Russian naming mechanisms) is an enigma. This black-clad Soviet spy’s Cold War storylines sometimes overlap with the Winter Soldier. This female superhero ranges from femme fatale to pragmatic S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She operates with opaque motives and uses psychological manipulation to handle her enemies. Unlike comic book heroes who never age, Black Widow has a canonical explanation for her eternally youthful appearance. In some versions of her story, she benefits from bioengineering that slowed the aging process. Meaning: she could actually be in her 60s or 70s. This doesn’t seem to be the case in the MCU, but who knows? They haven’t made a Black Widow movie yet, so her backstory is kind of a mystery.

READ MORE:

• The best order to watch the X-Men movies
• What you need to know about 2018 ‘X-Men’ horror spinoff ‘New Mutants’
• What to expect when the X-Men return in ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’

8) Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle)

Looking at the DC contributions to this list, the Bat-family’s impact is impossible to ignore. Barbara Gordon is one of the most influential examples, as the daughter of Commissioner Jim Gordon and protégé to Bruce Wayne. She was the original Batgirl, changing her callsign to Oracle after the Joker infamously broke her spine in The Killing Joke. It’s a dark and controversial moment in Batman canon. But it led to a unique recovery arc for Barbara, as she forged a new role for herself as the information center of Batman’s team. Since she’s one of the only well-known female superheroes to use a wheelchair, fans weren’t pleased when DC rebooted her to her pre-Killing Joke state as Batgirl in 2011.

7) Jean Grey

Jean Grey arrived on the original X-Men team in 1963. Since then the female superhero has gone through a rollercoaster of plot twists and transformations. Introduced as a teenager with telepathic and telekinetic powers, she’s one of the most powerful mutants in Marvel canon. She plays a central role in decades of iconic X-Men storylines. Along with ongoing friendships with Storm and Charles Xavier, and romances with Cyclops and (kind of) Wolverine, she starred in one of the most influential X-Men storylines: the Dark Phoenix Saga, which is being adapted into a movie starring Sophie Turner.

6) Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel)

Kamala Khan is one of the biggest breakout superhero women of the 21st century. She follows in the footsteps of teen heroes like Kitty Pryde and Peter Parker. She’s a lovable, dorky kid who just wants to do the right thing. However, it’s hard to juggle her newfound shapeshifting powers with her obligations to friends, family, and school. Her comics blend classic superhero themes with a contemporary tone. They’ve also been widely praised for bringing a Muslim hero into the mainstream.

5) Captain Marvel

Carol Danvers used to be known as Miss Marvel, holding the title before Kamala Khan took over. Danvers played a background role in Marvel team comics since the 1970s. But her popularity exploded when writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Dexter Roy rebooted her as Captain Marvel in 2012. Her sporty jumpsuit is now a cosplay staple, and her fans are known as the Carol Corps. Her actual powers are pretty conservative—super-strength, flight, and energy projection. But her real strength lies in the quality of her solo comics. Captain Marvel arrived at a time when fans were crying out for an admirable female hero. DeConnick and her collaborators delivered. Danvers is now on Marvel’s A-list, featuring heavily in recent crossover events (for better or worse). She is soon to appear in a movie franchise starring Brie Larson.

READ MORE:

• The complete Marvel Studios movie calendar
• The best order to watch the Marvel Cinematic Universe
• Is a Marvel Unlimited subscription worth it?

4) Harley Quinn

Harley Quinn was originally intended to be a side-character in Batman: The Animated Series. No one could have predicted that she would become one of DC’s most recognizable characters. As a quirky sidekick and Joker’s lover, she’s a controversial character whose role means different things to different people. To some she’s just a sexy pin-up; to others, she’s a sensitive portrayal of mental illness and survival in an abusive relationship. Her star power shone when she became the main selling point of the otherwise disappointing Suicide Squad. She’s basically DC’s Deadpool: a queer and unpredictable anti-hero with a weird sense of humor and a dark past.

3) Storm

Ororo Munroe is a queen, a weather goddess, and a mutant leader. She’s also unequivocally cool, from her punk look in the ’80s to her badass lightning powers. Storm doesn’t have as many solo comics as she should (and wasn’t treated very well by the movie franchise). Even so, she remains one of the most beloved X-Men characters. She’s had some solid adventures as a member and leader of X-Men teams. And of course, there’s that epic romance with Black Panther, the superhero king of Wakanda.

2) Catwoman

While Marvel leads the field in terms of mainstream superheroines, DC wins in the category of female villains. Catwoman and Harley Quinn both enjoy worldwide popularity as engaging, morally ambiguous characters with a wide range of canonical interpretations. Originating as a burglar, Catwoman is one of Batman’s most well-known antagonists—as well as being a sometimes love-interest.

Almost every superheroine wears a skin-tight costume and frequently gets drawn in weirdly sexualized poses. However, Catwoman is one of the few characters for whom performative sexuality is a legitimate aspect of her role. This sometimes leads to insultingly exploitative depictions (Halle Berry ), but plenty of creators get the balance right. Michelle Pfeiffer and Eartha Kitt created iconic depiction on screen. Catwoman maintains a timeless appeal as a woman who takes what she wants and doesn’t care what other people think.

1) Wonder Woman

The A-list of the A-list. A literal goddess. A feminist icon. When her solo movie came out in 2017, people debated whether it somehow “failed” because she couldn’t represent every feminist viewpoint on Earth. (She obviously can’t, but that’s kind of the point.) Wonder Woman was created in 1941 as a combination of utopian hero and fetish character. Her long career covers everything from Greek mythology to political allegory to conventional superhero team adventures with the Justice League. Even better, she’s also canonically queer—something it took DC Comics several decades to admit out loud. 

Did you favorite superheroine not make the list? That’s not surprising. There are hundreds of other female superheroes. Here are a few more worth checking out (listed in alphabetical order)!

Female superheroes list:

• Aquagirl (DC Comics)
• Atom Eve (Image Comics)
• Blonde Phantom (Marvel Comics)
• Bumblebee (DC Comics)
• Cyclone (DC Comics)
• Dagger (Marvel Comics)
• Darkstar (Marvel Comics)
• Devi (Virgin Comics)
• Domino (Marvel Comics)
• Elastic-Girl (DC Comics)
• Firebird (Marvel Comics)
• Molly Hayes (Marvel Comics)
• Hellcat (Marvel Comics)
• Isis (DC Comics)
• Jubilee (Marvel Comics)
• Kismet (Marvel Comics)
• Lady Blackhawk (DC Comics)
• Liberty Belle (DC Comics)
• Magma (Marvel Comics)
• Medusa (Marvel Comics)
• Pantha (DC Comics)
• Kitty Pryde (Marvel Comics)
• Rogue (Marvel Comics)
• Saturn Girl (DC Comics)
• Liz Sherman (Dark Horse)
• Terra *DC Comics)
• Valkyrie (Marvel Comics)

Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.