Naomi Alderman, writing in today's Guardian, celebrates Marvel Comics' new 'Spider-Girl', Anya Corazon. Certainly the picture Alderman paints is of a multi-faceted superhero who lacks what TV Tropes refers to as the 'Most Common Superpower' for female comic book superheroes. Let me give you a clue = it's not super-strength. Or super-speed, x-ray vision, invulnerability, levitation, weather control, walking through objects, telepathy, telekinesis, healing factor, shape-shifting, heightened intelligence, super-stamina or enhanced senses. Although it does involve a series of physical attributes not normally found on the average woman.
I applaud the sentiments of Paul Tobin, 'Spider-Girl's writer, who Alderman quotes as saying: "When I was growing up there were so few well-written female characters in comics. It definitely was all about the sexuality, rather than the individuality....a lot of writers, both male and female, are putting those old one-dimensional writing styles to rest". I sincerely hope he, and a great many other creators aim for this. The situation that led Gail Simone to create her (in)famous Women in Refrigerators website (listing the frankly shockingly long list of female characters abused within comic books) has to stop.
However, I would point out that this was the promotional art for X-Men: Xenogenesis in May. Yes, that is meant to be a woman on the right. Her name is Emma Frost.
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