In this list, we collected the most popular characters for you. Throughout the years, the comic book industry has been mostly criticized for its depiction of women. Female characters in comics, including female superheroes, were largely created for the male gaze. (Translation: accentuated legs, eyes, mouth, and breasts!).
However, in recent years we have begun to see a shift to more rounded female characters and even some seriously badass women.
Marvel Comics, especially, has published some incredible female characters like Jean Grey, Carol Danvers, and Natasha Romanoff, who are not only good examples of this important female evolution but also prove that women with powers can be the main protagonists in major films.
Marvel Female Superheroes
1. She-Hulk
At one time, Morgana Le Fay used her magical powers to create a reality distortion wave that converted all of reality into a medieval setting. In this reality, She-Hulk became the knight of the Queen’s (Morgan le Fay) guard, or at least she believed she was.
Eventually, Scarlet Witch (who was the only Avenger who couldn’t be brainwashed) managed to set back reality correctly with the combined willpower of all the Avengers. In the process, they defeated Morgan. This instance is known as Earth-398.
2. Captain Carter
Her name is Captain Elizabeth aka “Peggy” Carter. She was an operative of a top-secret Allied war agency during WWII, formed to battle HYDRA. When Steve Rogers, the original candidate to become a super-soldier, was injured by a HYDRA agent, the Marvel female superhero volunteered herself as a replacement, received Dr. Erskine’s Super Soldier Serum, and became Captain Carter in place of Steve Rogers, Being given the rank of Captain, she entered the war against HYDRA.
Just like Rogers’ Captain America, Captain Carter is a powerhouse of brute strength, who easily knocks punching bags off their stands and can fight face-to-face with interdimensional eldritch beasts.
3. Psylocke
Elisabeth “Betsy” Braddock is an English mutant X-Men and twin sister to Brian Braddock – Captain Britain. She possesses several telekinetic powers, such as the ability to create and manipulate constructs comprised of pure energy, Like Jean Grey, Betsy is an Omega-level mutant, which means Psylocke is one of the greatest X-Men. Fearless and ferocious in battle, Betsy is very lethal and she always thinks of her team before herself. In the movie X-Men: Apocalypse, Psylocke was portrayed by actress Olivia Munn.
4. Shadowcat
Katherine “Kitty” Pryde, code name Shadowcat, is a member of the X-Men. She possesses the power of intangibility, which is the ability to pass through solid matter without harm.
Moreover, she can extend her ability on physical touch, transitively making everyone or everything connected intangible.
This makes her one of the most important people to take out first while battling the X- Men. Because intangibility is a fantastic buff ability. Kitty is also the Red Queen of the Hellfire Trading Company, the commercial wing of the mutant nation.
5. Snowguard
Amka Aliyak is an Inuk teenager who got her powers when she saved Sila, the spiritual embodiment of the soul of Northern Canada. Amka’s act of bravery earned her the Soul of the North’s blessing as Sila’s essence merged with her.
As a result, Amka can harness the spiritual energies of the “Aurora Borealis” and the Arctic. Aka Snowguard, Amka joined the Champions, a team of young heroes who desired to rectify the state of distrust by the people towards superheroes in general.
6. Magik
Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, is the sister of Piotr Rasputin (Colossus of the X-Men). Her inborn powers are inter-dimensional travel. This female superhero can open portals to Limbo (a magical dimension of demons) and back and thereby travel through space and time.
However, most of her power comes from her demon/spell training while she was stuck in the hell-dimension Limbo.
Through magic, she can create a sword from her life force (the Soulsword, a mystical sword that can harm and kill magical beings as well as break spells).
7. Black Widow (Yelena Belova)
Just like Natasha Romanoff (the female assassin Black Widow), this Marvel female character was trained in the Red Room Academy, a training facility destined to create the deadliest female spy in the world.
As expected from someone who spent most of her life in the Red Room Yelena is cynical and sarcastic, with a bit of a twisted moral compass as she had no problem, for example, holding a civilian at gunpoint.
Yelena is, of course, a master martial artist, who even claimed to get better physical test scores than Natasha while in the Red Room.
8. Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan)
Kamala Khan is a Pakistani-American high school student. A practicing Muslim and daughter of a first-generation immigrant, she is an Inhuman – an ancient species of men blessed with strange and remarkable power.
Her latent inhuman lineage was activated when she was exposed to the Terrigen Mist, a mutation-causing vapor. This character became a polymorph with the ability to stretch her body in almost any way imaginable.
She went on to become the newest holder of the Ms. Marvel identity, after Carol Danvers, who was the former Ms. Marvel.
9. Silk
Cindy Moon got her powers the same way that Peter Parker got them – she was bitten by the radioactive spider that bit Peter. Like Peter, Cindy got her own set of spider-totem abilities, like shooting webs from her fingers, climbing up walls, and sensing oncoming danger.
But while Peter spent his young life gallivanting across NY as Spider-Man, Silk was trapped in a bunker for ten years!! She finally escaped with the help of Spider-Man and started her crimefighting career as the spider woman known as Silk.
10. Nova
Frankie Raye is a young girl who accidentally assumed the powers of the android Human Torch that her stepfather created. Originally, she had the powers of Human Torch (Johnny Storm) but at lower levels. However, when Galactus arrived at Earth and threatened to consume it, Frankie volunteered to become Galactus’ new herald if he will spare Earth.
Galactus agreed to the proposal and Frankie received the Power Cosmic and became Nova. As Nova, her powers were, of course, enhanced exponentially. Nova’s entire body is plumed with cosmic energy resembling flames.
11. Namora
Daughter of an Atlantean man and a surface woman, Namora’s powers come from being a hybrid of Atlantean Homo Hermanus and mutant Homo superior physiologies.
Namora (real name: Aquaria Neptunia) is a cousin to Namor and was nicknamed “Namora” in his honor. Like her famous cousin, Namora is one of Marvel’s first mutants, created in May 1947.
She is currently working under Jimmy Woo with the Agents of Atlas super-team (however, it’s not a “mega” team, like the Avengers, the X-Men, or the Fantastic Four).
12. Kismet
Kismet, aka “Her”, aka “Paragon”, aka “Ayesha”, is an artificial life-form. She was created by the Enclave – a guild of scientists with world-domination ambitions. She is the female counterpart of “Him” (Adam Warlock).
However, when Kismet learned that her creators are trying to control her, she destroyed their citadel of science (Called “the Beehive”). As a result of her unique, genetically perfect physiology, Kismet Possesses godlike powers, such as the ability to absorb and manipulate cosmic energy that she uses very skillfully in combat situations.
13. Captain Marvel
Former Air Force pilot, and NASA agent. The leader of the Avengers, and the commander of Alpha Flight. Captain Marvel is the most powerful female superhero in MCU. Until 2018 when Marvel’s film came out, she was the only leading female hero in the MCU (Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman are the premiere female superhero in comics.)
The blonde superhero gained superhuman powers after being caught in the blast of the Light-Speed Engine device that was powered by the Tesseract.
The energy that radiated into Carol, together with her proximity to her alien predecessor Mar-Vell, mutated her on a genetic level, turning her into a Human-Kree Hybrid.
Captain Marvel can absorb and use immense amounts of energy. Captain Marvel’s powers are the result of having absorbed the energy of the Light-Speed Engine, which was derived from the Tesseract.
This combination gained her almost unlimited cosmic powers. While enveloping herself with cosmic energy, she can fly at incredible speed, glide, and float through the air and vacuum of space without outside help.
