My Dream Team of Female Superheros

When I was a little girl, I used to watch a lot of cartoons.  There were favorites that I NEVER missed.  And from that selection, I created and drew pictures of my Dream Team of Female Superheros.  Sort of a Fantasy Football thing, but with cartoon action figures.  I picked out all my favorites and put them in my own crime fighting, sass-mouthing team.  Believe me, this was the sole occupation of my thoughts on many a car trip.   And since it’s Guilty Pleasure Friday, I felt comfortable sharing my team with you.  Here are my favorite female superheros!

     Rogue:  If I could pick one superhero to become, I’d always pick Rogue.  Rogue in the cartoon X-Men was so much more awesome than the one in the X-Men movie.  Rogue’s story is a bit of a tearjerker, but she always comes out fighting, and that’s why I love her.  Her real name is most often unreferenced and unknown, but I hear it’s Anna Marie.  Rogue was born a mutant in Mississippi, with powers that caused her to unintentionally drain strength, memories, and supernatural powers from anyone she touches.  Yikes!  She ran away as a teenager and cursed her mutant talents.  She originally joined the Marvel comic book collection as part of the villain’s team.  After running away, she was taken in by one of the coolest female super-villains around, Mystique (who can shape shift into anyone she wants to).  Eventually, Rogue seeks counsel at Professor Xavier’s and joins up with the X-Men, fighting for equal rights between mutants and humans.  Her southern belle charm, colossal strength, and ability to fly make her my all-time fave.  Ok, it could have a little something to do with her red hair.

StormI loved X-Men so much my dream team has two of its superwomen.  Storm got her mutant name due to her ability to control the weather, and she is lethal with that power when pressed.  Her original name, Ororo Munroe, blends her heritage of a Kenyan priestess and sorceress mother and American photojournalist father.  She is one of the most featured X-Men of time, appearing in all versions of the series.  It must be the writer in me that needed Storm in my group because she was known for her dramatic and rich speeches while she fought evil.  😉

Ah yes, this was the theme song that played in my house everyday after school in 2nd grade.

     Invisible WomanSusan “Sue” Storm Richards became known as the Invisible Woman after being exposed to cosmic radiation during a test flight in space.  She, with her shipmates, love interest Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Ben Grimm (the Thing), and her brother, Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) all gain superpowers.  They inevitably become a crime-fighting team called Fantastic Four.  I want Sue on my team because of her at-will stealth abilities.  Becoming invisible will be handy when I plot to take over the world.  Muahahaha!

Dot MatrixI bet you haven’t heard of Dot.  She was on an early morning cartoon show called Reboot, which originated in Vancouver, Canada.  Wikipedia tells me it was the first half hour completely computer-animated TV show.  All the characters’ names played off of technology.  Right down to the villains, Megabyte and his wicked sister Hexadecimal!

Hexadecimal. See, look how creepy she is!

Hexadecimal scared the bejeezus out of me!  The show ReBoot was kind of like my generation’s version of Tron, but entirely CG-animated.  The main character was Bob, a guardian who had to protect gamers from viruses, like Hexadecimal.  Dot didn’t actually have superpowers; she ran a local diner, but she was a smart businesswoman, made sound decisions, and wasn’t afraid to help.  I wanted her on my team.

Here’s a pretty funny clip I found from ReBoot (which is hard to find now!)  It’s Bob, Dot, and Dot’s brother Enzo trying to figure out how to turn off the TV chip, Mike.  I think he’s on to something with his gift idea here.  Christmas is coming, you decide.

     Sailor MoonThis is one anime show that did suck me in.  I was babysitting all summer and the kids watched Pokemon.  I preferred Sailor Moon.  I was forced to create games around both shows.  Sailor Moon is the story of Serena Tsukino, a girl who hates waking up in the mornings and has many a catastrophe during her day, but she can transform into Sailor Moon, the “Soldier of Love and Justice.”  Aren’t you charmed yet?  Though she’s rather a crybaby at the start, through Sailor Moon, Serena gains confidence and finds the other soldiers known as the Sailor Senshi.  Together they will rescue the princess of their solar system and maintain world peace!  The cool thing about Sailor Moon *stop rolling your eyes at me, I see you!* is that this is the story of a girl who finds her own.  At the start, she is naive, whiny, and always getting into trouble and having to be rescued by her love-interest, Tuxedo Mask-which for the record is the dumbest superhero name I’ve ever heard!  By the end, she learns that she herself is the princess, Princess Serenity, and she is more powerful than she ever imagined.  All it took was a cat named Luna as her mentor, her destined true love *sigh, stupid name* Tuxedo Mask, and a camaraderie of true friends.

And check out her catchy theme song!

What say you?  Did I choose my Female Superhero team wisely?  Who would you have picked?  Who would you want to be?  Do tell!

25 responses

  1. Jess, I loved the x-men! I thought I was the only girl who appreciated the cartoons! Allow me to add another one: Jean Grey. Here telepathic powers gives her so much power. Plus, she could erase someone’s mind. If that isn’t a force to be reckoned with, then I don’t know what is.

    Great list!

    1. Um, if I had a limitless squadron of female superstrength, I’d have all the female X-Men on my team. And wicked ones too. Mystique is amazing, and then I’d Poison Ivy from Batman. LOL

  2. Jess, all these cartoons were a little past my time. I loved Daphne from Scooby-Doo when I was a little girl. I liked Wonder Woman. I thought she was sexy and tough. I also liked Goldie Gold (from Goldie Gold and Action Jack).

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldie_Gold_and_Action_Jack

    I think I really dated myself with these choices. 😀

    1. I know all of them but Goldie Gold. I’ll scour youtube and determine if she’s allowed on my team. Talk about dating…did you ever read the Happy Hollister or Trixie Belden series? Those were all my mom’s growing up and I devoured them.

      1. I never read either of those. I loved the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary. Just adored them. I also liked Peggy Parish’s mysteries. 😀

  3. I have to say, Jess, that I didn’t really have many superheroes because during “my” day it was like, Mickey Mouse! I’ll always recall the little song, “here I come to save the day, Mighty Mouse is on his way”, or something like that! The colorful, beautifully-done animated characters came after I was older.
    Patti

    1. Oh I so sang that theme song around the house with my siblings, but we also pretended to world wrestling champs too. Hulkamania!!!!

  4. I always liked Sue Storm from The Fantastic Four. I want to say it’s because of her powers – invisibility and the ability to generate force fields – but really, it’s because Jessica Alba played her in the movies.

    ‘Nuff said.

    1. I AGREE! Well, I liked her powers too, but Alba is my girl crush.

  5. OMG! Get out of my head! How did you DO that!? It is a pleasure and an honor to meet another girl who knows what Reboot is and why it’s so damn awesome! Also, Sailor Moon ROCKS! And X-Men is AMAZING. Storm and Rogue are by FAR my favorite female characters, followed closely by Gambit and Nightcrawler as my favorite male characters (and Xavier, cause seriously, who DOESN’T love Xavier?). I seriously LOVE YOU now for posting this.

    …but stop reading my mind, kay? It’s kinda creepy…

    1. *rubs hands together maniacally* How fun!

      I love that you’ve seen Reboot, you are that much more amazing in my eyes too. Reboot was a great show! Let’s take down Hexadecimal!

      1. My brother and I were obsessed with Reboot when it used to show on Cartoon Network during the Toonami afternoon programming block. God, that was great tv. Reboot, Sailor Moon, The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest, Dragonball Z… I could go on… ^__^

  6. I wanted to be Wonder Woman when I was a kid. And of course Cat Woman- she’s super sexy and kick ass- think the older Eartha Kit version. Meow
    Currentlt my daughter is into Avatar, and I have to say being able to bend an element would be super awesome- but I can’t pick between them- maybe I could just be the Avatar.?

    1. I LOVE Eartha Kit. Rrrrrrrrrrawr! I would include her character of Esma in The Emperor’s New Groove in my supervillain list. Great voice.

  7. […] Jess Witkins tells us about her dream team of super heroines. This was so much fun! I only wish She-Ra had been included… […]

  8. Oh gosh! Except for Dot Matrix, we share the same list of superheroines. 🙂 I never understood Rogue’s abilities back then but I certainly enjoy causing a storm. Now that I do (watching the first X-men movie made me get it), I’d put her in my team, too.

    Dot Matrix I’ve never even heard of so I can’t vouch for her.

    Sailor Moon I’ve been a fan for years. I literally ate up the cartoons. I got a doll, bought the game but couldn’t play it (it’s in Nihonggo). I even tried watching it in Nihonggo (reading subtitles). I’ve read the manga and saw the live action (the story is intriguing once you got past the horrible costumes especially with Mamoru having a fiance while falling in love with Usagi).

    1. That’s really interesting. I wouldn’t mind watching some of Sailor Moon in japanese to see what it’s like. They did make some changes between translations.

  9. Trish Loye Elliott | Reply

    Great post! I LOVE the X-Men! Rogue and Storm totally rock. I liked Wonder Woman too as a kid but I hated her outfit, except for the boots. But I also thought that Cat Woman rocked. I kept wanting her to turn good.
    I never saw Sailor Moon and hardly watched Reboot but I’ll have to look them up now, just to see.
    Sadly, I think there aren’t enough female superheros out there. The guys are crowding them out.

    1. I think that’s why I loved the movie Kick Ass. The little girl superhero is so awesome! I’m jealous. She can be on my dream team too.

  10. Okay, all of this is waaay before me, but I did watch X-men and Fantastic Four with my son as he was growing up. He was also into Mutant Ninja Turtles when he was 3 – Ugh!
    When I was a kid we had the Flintstones, The Jetsons, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Mickey Mouse Club ( I crushed on Darren) and not much else. Certainly no superheroes there, for me anyway.
    Fun post, Jess!

    1. Me thinks you should create your own! You can credit me in your dedication page as a thank you. 😉

  11. I always liked Rogue and Storm as well. Later I really liked Psylocke. I got into Sailor Moon, too! Nice team!

    1. Pop quiz: Would you allow Rex Manning on your dream team? *Say no more, mon amore!*

  12. Storm was my favorite growing up too and I would spread my arms out and look to the sky hoping for my supernatural powers to come to fruition. But you really don’t think Wonder Woman should be a part of the dream team?! She’s my all time favorite. Independent, unbelievably strong and beautiful. Mystique is awesome too.

    1. Mystique is awesome! I need a Dream Team of Evil Women too. Mystique, Poison Ivy, Holly…

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