@kingmjolnir said:

Ms. Marvel hands down. She's tough, powerful, independent, and she can hold on to her own title long enough to actually have some character depth.

Storm is powerful, but she can't step up to the plate in the avengers (that picture on the menu for UA2 where storm is fighting thor actually made me laugh. ridiculous idea that a norse god of thunder, who spends alot of time in the cold could get defeated by weather).

Phoenix could also and probably should also be the lead feminine hero, but marvel needs to learn how to keep her around. and stop giving her headaches.

The invisible woman is too mom like; that and it seems like nobody cares about her unless the other three are involved.

 

if you put Ms. Marvel in a GOOD avengers roster with core Marvel heroes, and they took on the JLA, i can deffinatly see her getting some damn good hits in.

Yeah but Ms. Marvel keeps getting cancelled.. brilliant -_-

Marvel tried to pus her,but look where she is now,same for She-Hulk.I can say  that Storm is a bigger name then those two.

Storm fighting Thor is funny,but in a video game it looks bad ass.Don't be throwing shade at my gurl...kk

Well, being somewhat new to Marvel Comics, I started with Civil War, The Ultimate Universe, and recently started reading some of those great Essentials books. So from what I can see, I would say that Sue Storm is definitely a leading lady. I enjoy her equal balance in personality to Reed, and her set of powers that are unique to her. Everybody has super strength nowadays anyways. I think she has one of the more interesting angles of being a mother and hero and a scientist. 

I would have to say that it is Storm, everyone knows who she is. I know some people are going to say Jean Grey is more famous that Storm but I beg to differ, you can mention Storm to most people and they know who you are talking about. They may not know much about her but they know who she is and what she looks like.

altought i love jean grey with every atom of my body i know invisible woman is the one

Ms Marvel in my opinion then Jean Grey and Sue Storm

Good question. I mean, DC has Wonder Woman as their most famous, no contest. However, for Marvel, I'd have to say either the Invisible Woman or Jean Grey would be the best-known female character.

I had this conversation with a few friends last night who know of comic books and characters, but aren't avid readers. They pretty much had similar opinions as most of the people here do.  
 
One of them said: "Marvel doesn't have an Iconic Female character, but if I had to pick....Sue Storm"   
His wife said "Storm, without a doubt" 
My other friend isn't familiar with Marvel comics, but she agreed Storm was pretty iconic. 
 
Just from skimming the thread it really seems as Sue Storm and Storm are the top contenders here. I think what really sways the votes is what you read more. If you are move of an Avengers/Spiderman/FF reader, then the obvious choice for you is Sue.  
 
However if you are more involved with the X-Men books (which there are several, so keeping up with them is pretty costly anyways). The obvious answer is Storm.  
 
I can see why Sue is so popular, she's maternal, she's evolved from the damsel in distress to a really powerful metahuman. She's much more independent now and all of that. Plus she has some pretty kick ass powers.  
 
However my vote will forever be with Storm. She is one of the most popular X-Men characters. She can be picked out of a group of many different characters because of her exotic appearance (dark skin, white hair, blue eyes). She IS the most popular African American superhero (IMHO male or female). Her abilities are rather powerful and unique.  
 
Thats just my opinion though. 

Storm without a doubt. I don't think Spiderwoman is that iconic; I mean she is really just a female version of Spiderman. I like Elektra but the movie portrayed her in a pretty negative light. Also, if I was to give an iconic male character Wolverine would be at the top of my list.

STORM 
 
i have friends who is never really into comics, as in almost zero knowledge of the comic book world.. yet they knows who Storm is.. my niece knows her too.. Storm is without doubt the MOST famous and well-known female in Marvel.. she has proven herself able to defeat Wonder Woman in the popularity department during the DC vs MARVEL crossover.. plus the very fact that of all the super-powered ladies Marvel has, they decided to put Storm in the front line against an institution which is Wonder Woman.. 
 
there might be others that came before her (Invisible Woman), has a more successful solo comic (She-Hulk) and more powerful than her (Jean Grey).. but it all goes down to popularity and character.. and Storm has it all.. she as all it takes to serve as the perfect role model.. 
 
she's beautiful.. 
she's smart..  
she's kind..
she's compassionate.. 
she's a warrior.. 
she's a thief.. 
she's a sorceress..
she's a princess..
she's a queen..
she's a goddess.. 
 
she's the only character who shares a lot of similarities with DC's Wonder Woman.. and yet, she's not a rip off of the character.. she's her own woman.. 
 
Storm is the epitome of a powerful women.. both in body and spirit.. 
 
Storm, powerful as a hurricane, yet gentle as a summer rain..

OMG... it's FIRE STAR! 
 
This just occured to me.  FIRE STAR is Marvel's #1 lady!  Well, she is when she's written young and not dealing with all of the pointless history she had when no one was reading her. 
 
Although Alaskan-representative Hell Cat is a close 2nd.

If i have to list them in order:

1. Storm - has been on the x-films and cameos too, been to all x-men cartoon series, and appearances on spider-man and black panther cartoon series, holds the title for a comic-based female character having the most number of appearances in video games, a ride, a perfume, lots of merchandises and is also the most recognizable especially because of her white hair. Currently ranks 2nd for female with the most number of appearances in marvel comics. She first appeared in 1975

2. Phoenix - What Storm has Phoenix has too but on a lesser degree. But definitely, once a person knows who and what Phoenix can do, will never forget her ever.

3. Invisible Woman - the fantastic four hasn't really changed the member roster so pretty much all four of them are popular but just not as popular as the x-men. Sue has the highest number of appearances for a female character in marvel comics, first appearing on year 1961.

4. Rogue - What Storm and Phoenix has, Rogue has it too, perhaps equal to Phoenix level only that Rogue isn't as popular and isn't as likeable as before because of losing her flight and superstrength power. Hope she gets it back.

5. Mystique - the most popular female villain in marvel comics. Also pretty much exposed on x-films and x-men: first class

The problem with the female Marvels is that they're all either:

1. gender swaps and/or their origin depends on a male character (e.g., Spider-Woman, Ms Marvel, She-Hulk, X-23),
2. are predominantly "team" characters (e.g., Storm, Rogue, Invisible Woman, Wasp),
3. merely love interests of male leads (e.g., Mary Jane)

(Note: Yes, Wolverine was a "team" character originally, but his solo title has run long enough to break him of that.)

I don't know who avoids those the above pitfalls and is still iconic enough to count as a leading Marvel character. I really don't think anyone fits the bill. Just look at the Marvel films. The women are all either love interests (e.g., Pepper Potts), supporting characters (e.g., Sif), or don't get their own solo film and are there mainly for the "team" film (e.g., Black Widow).

Hands Down the Top 5 Iconic Females in Marvel would have to be:

1)Storm

2)Invisible Woman

3)Elektra

4)Phoenix/ Jean Grey

5)Spider woman

Normally i would be biases and say Elektra only but lets be honest here Most people already know who these girls are without even having to read their comics. there's also the fact that these girls can thank their popularity because they have been around or are in a famous group for example: Storm and Jean grey being part of the X men series, Invisible woman being a member of the FF, Elektra being part of Daredevil history and Spider woman being part of the avenger history and being the polar opposite of spiderman name wise anyway. but besides this they all except for one have also been portrayed on the "big screen" which also helps garner their popularity.

Opinions vary but Marvel doesn't really have one clearly iconic female character.

Ororo Munroe aka Storm without a doubt.Even if she doesn't have her own ongoing comics, She is everywhere! in movies, on televisions, in multiple books and even in video games.

@jhazzroucher:

Yep. Brett White wrote this article: In Your Face Jam: Who is Marvel's Wonder Woman? The result is: Storm.

miss marvel, it's in the name

Storm and Black Widow(LOL Movies).

Storm

Sue

Phoenix

Rogue

ms Marvel never iconic

Sue storm is iconic, but not as iconic as storm! Jean would probably be in my list as well, but ms marvel is definitely NOT the most iconic, cmon guys, she's not even popular anymore, but would be in my list

Let me start by saying that I disagree with the OP, I feel that Marvel has a much stronger and diverse collection of female characters than DC does. If we are to call a spade a spade, DC has two women; Wonder Woman and Catwoman. Now to be fair, they are both probably 1, and 2 on the list of most well known female superheros. But after #2, the next probably 20 spots would be filled with Marvel characters. But let me clear that point up, I am excluding all rips of a male character, so no super girl, or even spider woman. I'm talking truly unique and original characters. Those characters are generic and lack any true depth or creativity imo. But I would also like to add that both Wonder Woman and Catwoman have had their struggles of late, WW has been unable to do anything outside the realm of comics since the 1970's, and Catwoman also can't seem to escape Batman's shadow. So both of the DC characters are struggling in 2014 imo. Now to be fair, Marvel's women are not taking the world by storm either, but if this rumored Ms. Marvel film is true, that could really swing the pendilum towards Marvel's side. Not to mention I would place Storm, Invisible Woman, Rogue, Jean Grey, Black Widow, and now probably Gamora a head of any other DC characters. I would also say characters like Elektra, Psylocke, Wasp, Nebula, Jubilee, Kitty Pride and a few others belong as at least honerable mentions. I would also put all of these characters a head of the diberate rips like She Hulk, Spider Woman, Bat Girl, and Super Girl. Even though those might be more recognizable, they lack originality and creativity imo.

agreed ^^^

Wonder Woman MIGHT get some more light once the new Bat/Supe movie comes out... and Gal Gadot looks pretty great as her so that helps - imho better as WW than ScarJo as Widow...

I have to disagree with Nebula being on your list... Who is Nebula? really? Isn't she just some lame adopted daughter of Thanos who suddenly some spotlight coz of the GotG movie? i'd be comfortable with you adding The Lady Sif, or Emma Frost to your list... but Nebula?

Agreed on the She-Rips... they're almost all lame compared to their male original. Even when the powerset is vastly different (Spider Woman for example), the necessity of using the feminized name cheapens the character.

I say a tossup between Storm, Jean and Sue .. the most well known and powerful women on their respective teams ..

@devilsgrin81: Well the only reason I even mentioned Nebula is because of the GOTG movie, plus she plays a HUGE role in the IG story. Which if all goes as it should, by the time those movies come out Nebula will be a big name in female superhero lore. But you are correct, she isn't there yet. I also agree with all of the girls you mentioned, I didn't exclude them on purpose, they just slipped my mind tbh. As far as I'm concerned, She Hulk is the only rip that has managed to come out from the male characters shadow, and that include Bat girl and super girl. So imo she is the exception to the rule. So She Hulk MIGHT make the top ten, but I would put the most of the others we mentioned a head of her.

ok so Judgement reserved on Nebula... she can rest in infamy limbo for now. Agreed, She-Hulk is about the only interesting one, the Green Lawyer Lady Hulk is usually more interesting than normal Banner Hulk...

Mary Jane.

really? a generic damsel in distress is the most iconic character... interesing...

@devilsgrin81: The love interest of the most popular Marvel superhero is funnily enough the most iconic female character, yes.