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.

Storm:  I 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 Woman:  Susan “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 Matrix:  I 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 Moon:  This 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!