Critical Research Prospectus and Annotated Bibliography
In many comics we’ve read, the female supporting characters are more empowering than the actual super heroines. Many female supporting characters are illustrated as being super heroines without actually having super powers or secret identities. By making female supporting characters empowering, writers give the allusion that any girl can be a hero. They provide young girls with the image that even if they don’t have super powers or secret identity, they still can fight for justice or make a difference. In almost all of the Wonder Woman comics, Wonder Woman is saved by her friend Etta Candy and Etta’s sorority sisters, which seems to be why she is successful most of the time. Etta and her sisters are consistently demonstrating courage and strength to stop the villains and rescue Wonder Woman. Etta and her sorority sisters are regular girls with no super powers which emphasizes the point that anyone can be a superhero regardless of having super powers or not.
The lack of superheroine comics are a result of the fear that society has of a powerful female role model. The problem with many comics is the fact that a powerful woman can’t be illustrated as good. In so many comics, superheroines, at some point, are evil with the exception of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman stands to be the only superheroine that remains good. However, Wonder Woman proves to be a better role model for young girls compared to Sue Storm from the Fantastic Four or the Wasp from the Avengers by emphasizing her independent nature as well as relatable qualities.
In this research paper, I intend to prove that in many instances the female supporting characters within comics are illustrated as more empowering than actual superheroines and how society’s fear of a powerful female superhero resulted in less superheroines or being illustrated as bad or evil.
Research Questions:
How is it that characters without “super powers” or “secret identities” can seem more heroic?
Why is society afraid of creating more powerful female superheroes other than Wonder Woman?
Why do powerful female superheroes have to be evil?
Annotated Bibliography
Darowski, Joseph J. The Ages of Wonder Woman: Essays on the Amazon Princess in Changing Times. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. Print.
This book illustrates Wonder Woman and the changes she undergoes throughout her comic series. More specifically, this book demonstrates how Wonder Woman struck up multiple controversies about what role women have within society. I’d like to use this source to illustrate Wonder Woman’s importance in allowing girls to strive to be more than what society limits them to.
Fingeroth, Danny. "Amazon Grace: Wonder Woman, Xena and Buffy." Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society. New York: Continuum, 2004. N. pag. Print.
This chapter focuses on society’s depictions of women being displayed through superheroines. More specifically, Wonder Woman was seen as an icon yet other superheroines were written as reflections of male counterparts or were sidekicks. Along with superheroines not getting their own spot lights, most superheroines eventually became evil such as Jean Grey and Elektra. The fear of powerful superheroines was too much for society to handle. I’d like to use this source to illustrate how society’s views of powerful women resulted in superheroines being
Langley, Travis. Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
This book focuses mostly on Batman but also illustrates the creation of Catwoman and her influence on Batman. I’d like to use this source to illustrate Catwoman being used as a villianess versus a superheroine just because of her independent nature.
Madrid, Mike. The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines. Ashland, Or: Exterminating Angel, 2009. Print.
This book illustrates the different superheroines throughout history, their roles in society and how they fit into popular culture.
Marston, William Moulton, and H. G. Peter. The Wonder Woman Chronicles. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2010. Print.
These comics will provide my paper with examples from Wonder Woman comics.
Robbins, Trina. “The Great Women Superheroes.” The Superhero Reader. By Charles
Hatfield, Jeet Heer, and Kent Worcester. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 2013. N. pag. Print.
This article demonstrates Wonder Woman being a perfect example of girls not needing super powers to become a superheroine. It also illustrates Wonder Woman’s sidekicks, the girls from Holliday College as well as men being unable to support a female hero being seen as strong or equal to males.
Stuller, Jennifer. “Love Will Bring You to Your Gift.” The Superhero Reader. By Charles
Hatfield, Jeet Heer, and Kent Worcester. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 2013. N. pag. Print.
This article focuses on supporting characters being heroic without having super powers. More specifically characters within Wonder Woman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena comics. The supporting characters assist the superheroines without the use of super powers or secret identities. I’d like to use this source to demonstrate the importance of supporting characters in helping superheroines fight crime. By doing so, they prove to be more empowering than superheroines because they fight crime without having any superpowers.
The lack of superheroine comics are a result of the fear that society has of a powerful female role model. The problem with many comics is the fact that a powerful woman can’t be illustrated as good. In so many comics, superheroines, at some point, are evil with the exception of Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman stands to be the only superheroine that remains good. However, Wonder Woman proves to be a better role model for young girls compared to Sue Storm from the Fantastic Four or the Wasp from the Avengers by emphasizing her independent nature as well as relatable qualities.
In this research paper, I intend to prove that in many instances the female supporting characters within comics are illustrated as more empowering than actual superheroines and how society’s fear of a powerful female superhero resulted in less superheroines or being illustrated as bad or evil.
Research Questions:
How is it that characters without “super powers” or “secret identities” can seem more heroic?
Why is society afraid of creating more powerful female superheroes other than Wonder Woman?
Why do powerful female superheroes have to be evil?
Annotated Bibliography
Darowski, Joseph J. The Ages of Wonder Woman: Essays on the Amazon Princess in Changing Times. Jefferson: McFarland, 2014. Print.
This book illustrates Wonder Woman and the changes she undergoes throughout her comic series. More specifically, this book demonstrates how Wonder Woman struck up multiple controversies about what role women have within society. I’d like to use this source to illustrate Wonder Woman’s importance in allowing girls to strive to be more than what society limits them to.
Fingeroth, Danny. "Amazon Grace: Wonder Woman, Xena and Buffy." Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society. New York: Continuum, 2004. N. pag. Print.
This chapter focuses on society’s depictions of women being displayed through superheroines. More specifically, Wonder Woman was seen as an icon yet other superheroines were written as reflections of male counterparts or were sidekicks. Along with superheroines not getting their own spot lights, most superheroines eventually became evil such as Jean Grey and Elektra. The fear of powerful superheroines was too much for society to handle. I’d like to use this source to illustrate how society’s views of powerful women resulted in superheroines being
Langley, Travis. Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
This book focuses mostly on Batman but also illustrates the creation of Catwoman and her influence on Batman. I’d like to use this source to illustrate Catwoman being used as a villianess versus a superheroine just because of her independent nature.
Madrid, Mike. The Supergirls: Fashion, Feminism, Fantasy, and the History of Comic Book Heroines. Ashland, Or: Exterminating Angel, 2009. Print.
This book illustrates the different superheroines throughout history, their roles in society and how they fit into popular culture.
Marston, William Moulton, and H. G. Peter. The Wonder Woman Chronicles. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2010. Print.
These comics will provide my paper with examples from Wonder Woman comics.
Robbins, Trina. “The Great Women Superheroes.” The Superhero Reader. By Charles
Hatfield, Jeet Heer, and Kent Worcester. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 2013. N. pag. Print.
This article demonstrates Wonder Woman being a perfect example of girls not needing super powers to become a superheroine. It also illustrates Wonder Woman’s sidekicks, the girls from Holliday College as well as men being unable to support a female hero being seen as strong or equal to males.
Stuller, Jennifer. “Love Will Bring You to Your Gift.” The Superhero Reader. By Charles
Hatfield, Jeet Heer, and Kent Worcester. Jackson: U of Mississippi, 2013. N. pag. Print.
This article focuses on supporting characters being heroic without having super powers. More specifically characters within Wonder Woman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena comics. The supporting characters assist the superheroines without the use of super powers or secret identities. I’d like to use this source to demonstrate the importance of supporting characters in helping superheroines fight crime. By doing so, they prove to be more empowering than superheroines because they fight crime without having any superpowers.