If I was a girl this would really piss me off.

She-Hulk, Spider-Girl, X-23, Batgirl, new Thor, Supergirl, Aquagirl, Nocturne, Hawkgirl, Kate Bishop, Lady Bullseye, Lady Mastermind, Lady Stilt-Man, Miss Martain, the female Black Panther...

Why are female characters so rarely original? If a girl wants to read about cool female characters in superhero stories, half of what they get are just female remakes of pre-existing male characters. It's as if Marvel and DC know that they need more female characters to expand their fanbase and appeal to more readers, but they can't be bothered to spend ten minutes coming up with a decently original character.

"Sir, surveys are showing that our female reader base is dropping. We need some way of bringing in more female readers."

"Well, what would you suggest?"

"New characters are always good, sir. We could make a new female superhero. I think that would bring in more readers."

"Yeah, yeah, good idea.... I like the way you think.... Tell ya what. Take the Hulk and slap some tits on him. That can be our new character."

"...Sir?"

"Call her Hulk-Girl. No wait... She-Hulk. Yeah, just make the Hulk a chick. It'll be perfect."

This is how comics are and kinda always will be. Take an existing popular charter and build off that. This goes for more then woman. Is it ideal ? No but I get why they do it. You sell this once, repackage and do it again

That's why I like Wonder Woman. One of the few that are original.

It's weird, i expected this to be a bait thread.

There was a company in the '90's that came up with some awesome freaking female characters. They were unique, well designed and powerful. And no one bought them so they basically folded. That was the early days of Image comics. The company that created Angela, Witchblade, Fairchild, Rainmaker and Voodoo. I could name a dozen more off the top of my head. Synergy, Diva, Fahrenheit, Sublime... Their female characters were way cooler than the guys.

Except for Prophet. He rocked.

That's not weird to expect at all. We're on Comicvine.

I definitely see the point you're making. It would be great to get more original female characters for sure rather than just rehashing or regendering old male characters.

Personally, I don't really mind it that much as long as her backstory is fleshed out and done well.

Why would you need to be a "girl" to be annoyed by this? Any comic fan could potentially consider this annoying.

As it is, my favourite female characters are mostly original, with only a couple fitting your criteria. If it works, it works. Female readership is on the way up, statistically, but I suspect that's more due to indie comics than mainstream. I could be wrong, but it's a guess based on my own purchasing habits.

Sooo... if that is annoying you, why don't you read books with: Wonder Woman, Starfire, Raven, Zatanna, Huntress, Black Widow, Black Canary, Mera, Manhunter, Storm, Jean Grey, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Magik, ect... instead? There is like a ton of original characters out there if you care to go looking for them.

This seems a thing that is able to annoy anyone, in my view. And also, it is not limited to female characters either. (However it may be more noticeable for some when it is a female.)

But I would not say that female characters are "rarely" original. You just have to pay attention.

Why be mad ?

Building off famous characters is easier to do than come up with completely original ones, and if the character already has a tie to a famous character, that character is more likely to be popular. It is annoying, and I'd like to see more female characters who aren't attached to established characters. My favorite female comic book characters are actually ones who aren't based on famous characters, such as Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde, and Wonder Woman.

If I was a human, I would be annoyed by all these human characters… pink legs and arms, and those faces! Why are original characters so rare? Why can't we have comics about trees that live in the Moon that eat… music?

Incidentally, a lot of my female friends love half of the characters mentioned, I actually have more female friends who like Nocturne, X-23, and She Hulk more than males who like those characters. Also this is a medium headed by a character inspired by a Gladiator/Hugo Danner character and Zorro inspired character. Hulk? Hyde/Jekyll/Frankenstein. Thor/Thor. X-Men/Doom Patrol. Wonder Woman/Superman. I mean sure there is Spider-man but you know. Also a lot of new and original female characters are created, again, comics, Marvel and DC literally own thousands and thousands of characters, but no, they don't actually draw in a lot of new fans, most new fans tend to come for established characters, and thats male and female readers. When "new characters" do succeed, usually its by being in a team book, or by having a strong hook or promotional push. Rarely is originality or creativity rewarded and when it is… its ripped off fast. Can't be bothered to create a decently original character? Who gets to decide who is a decently original character? Again, half the examples to me are more than decently original. Also I suspect many peoples idea of which characters are original, probably aren't as original as they think.

This.

Except shouldn't Zatanna and Mera be excluded?

What for? Zatanna may have the same powers as her father, but it's not like Zatara has been around with any regularity since the golden age. As for Mera; she doesn't have the same power-set as Arthur.

Oh I thought this thread was about all spin-offs.

Yes please. God yes.

I think it's a case of so many characters existing now it's hard to be truly original. Some of these characters can gain popularity just by being linked to the established male characters even in a minor way.

As for the name...it's not like "Superman, Spiderman, Thor, Aquaman etc are very original anyway.

Is it because its mostly males who are into comics and not females?? I notice in the USA that females act like they are allergic to anything with a tiny bit a testosterone.

I'm guessing that this is why comics are marketed more to males than females.

wonder woman

I don't even like Wonder woman. She's sexist. Is she still sexist in the New-52 DC universe?

But...but Batgirl is cool...

@dum529001: well she did grow up in an all-female society........but she has learnt to co-exist with man

I can happily say the gender of the character has never affected me.

Bring in a female living tribunal and I wouldn't mind =)

@somayareece: What about Storm, Phoenix, Sue Storm, Maxima, Fire, Ice, Rouge?

You dismiss genuinely good characters because of the name given to them?

I'm going to start off with the easy ones first. Supergirl and Batgirl where inspired by their superior (superior because they're inherently better, not because they're dudes) original heroes to fight crime, thus they took on the persona and title of their mentors. It's just part of their story. Hawkgirl came before Hawkman

Yes:

More like Batman is tolerant of her. He lets that sociopath live.

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This isn't really some jab against women, mantle characters are just big in comics and have been since the 70's. I mean sure, Jen's powerset is just Bruce's in a slightly weaker incarnation, but her background, drive, motivation, character, and supporting cast are all completely different from her cousin so it shouldn't really matter. Also lets not make this seem like this is a woman only deal. Let's look at the more recent male characters.

• Wiccan is a male Wanda and he's her son.
• Speed is just quicksilver two.
• Skaar is Hulk with earth-bending and his son.
• Damian Wayne . . . nuff said
• Green Lantern . . . yet again, nuff said

It's just how the big two work.

@black_wreath: Manhunter as well

I'm not a girl and it pisses me off.

This :)

I'm triggered by you assuming all humans have pink legs and arms.....

If you were a girl you might not even be into comics and so might not care at all about what you think would piss you off.

@power_nexus: I dont think that original Female characthers are rare, Justice League´s female members, Most of X-Men´s females members and even with female Inhumans. But i hate when they replace a characther with new one because they want write new stories specially (why not write new stories with old characther?). I think Marvel is trying duplicate the success of Ms. Marvel and Female Thor (with the writer writting pseudo femenist points that even it isnt suposed what femenist movement represents.) But It's obivious when characther replaces a more popular and stays with replaced codename is to the reader who reads that comicbook tittle continues to buy that tittles because that codename sells or sells even more.

@joe_chill: Most females on that are pretty cool characthers, hell in some way Harley Quinn is kind female version of The Joker.

@stardustcrusader:To be fair, Green Lantern is more like cop mantle.

@username12345: that knocking the wind out of her always pissed me off. You still have to be strong enough to do it! other wise it's like an infant knocking the wind out of a grown adult.

Batman has no limits. Even the Spectre, spirit of vengeance, knows to fear the great Batman!!

The Bat-kick is almighty!!!

@dum529001: i like how it drew blood lol. Why didn't they just do that in injustice.

Why would it make you cry?

Unfortunately for your champion Batman has...

UNLIMITED POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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@dum529001 said:

@w0nd said:

@username12345: that knocking the wind out of her always pissed me off. You still have to be strong enough to do it! other wise it's like an infant knocking the wind out of a grown adult.

Batman has no limits. Even the Spectre, spirit of vengeance, knows to fear the great Batman!!

The Bat-kick is almighty!!!

IDK writer's decide what abilities characters have I guess.

It might have something to do with the target demographic of comics for the past 70 years. That's like complaining, "Why are all the male characters in Barbie so unoriginal and lame?! Ken is nothing more than an object for Barbie to lust after!!!"

If its not specifically catering to women, then it must be sexist!!!

Has Raven been mentioned? I mean, she's pretty original to me. Same for Starfire. And tbh, this fact has never pissed me off. Half of the novels I've read featured male protagonists so it's not like this is any different.

There's Wonder Woman as well. Which is why I guess she stood the test of time and popularity.

xoxo, -Saint Sophie

I would be pissed

If I were a feminist

It doesn't annoy me at all. I like seeing gender-swap versions of existing heroes and villains. Marvel needs to bring back She-Thing. We also need more of the female Vision, female MODOK (MODAM) and teenage Galactus Girl.

Thereis nothing wrong with female heroes stemming from male heroes. It isn't like there aren't original female heroes, and a lot of those mentioned are actually awesome characters who stand alone from their male inspirations. It is a lot better than replacing a male hero with a temporary female, and it is beneficial to girls who want to be Batman or Superman, now they can be Batgirl or Supergirl. There is no problem here.

@sc: This is true, but new female characters debuting in team books is mostly just the X-Men, with the likes of Rogue and Storm. Though I guess the Teen Titans have had some success at it as well with Raven and Starfire.