The Women Of DC Comics

Diana Prince " Wonder Woman " is perhaps the most well known female character in comic books. Created in 1941 by William Moulton Marston who incidentally was also the inventor of the polygraph or " lie detector " Wonder Woman first appears in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941. Wonder Woman has long been classed as an iconic female figure, she has speed, wisdom and amazing strength and is equal to any male superhero in every way.

Power Girl Karen " Kara " Starr possesses incredible powers very similar to Superman, superspeed, superstrength, she is near invulnerable and has the ability of flight. A very headstrong and independent young woman Kara is a member of the Justice Society.

Dinah Laurel Lance is the second incarnation of the character Black Canary, Dinah follows in the footsteps of her mother Dinah Drake Lance who was Black Canary before her, as well as being an expert boxer and martial artist, Dinah possesses an earsplitting ultrasonic " canary cry " that is capable of shattering metal as well as eardrums.

Donna Troy who has been known as " Troia " , " Wonder Girl " and " Darkstar " was originally magically created to be a sister and companion to Wonder Woman although she has had various non amazonian origins in other stories. Donna was a member of the Teen Titans and has gained respect and admiration from everyone she has worked with. Donna has a psychic link to Wonder Woman and is blessed with the abilities of flight , super strength and speed as well as truth coaxing abilities.

Pamela Lillian Isley was a shy girl who went to work for botanist Dr Jason Woodrue , Woodrue experimented on the young student hoping to create a plant / human hybrid, his efforts succeeded too well, creating the beautiful, ravishing but deadly Poison Ivy. Ivy can release mad maddening pheromones and toxins that only she is immune to. As time goes on Ivy becomes increasingly more plant like and is a worthy foe of Batman.

Known as the wickedest woman on the planet Apokolips, Granny Goodness is the headmistress of numerous orphanages across Apokolips where she trains orphans to become mindless minions in the thrall of her master "Darkseid". Her ruthlessness came to the fore when as a young trooper she was ordered by a trainer to shoot her own war hound to test her loyalty, Granny Goodness shot the trainer instead, it was at this point that Darkseid realized he had some one who he could rely on to do his bidding.

The beautiful Zatanna is a stage magician and adventurer who is imbued with the genetic magical abilities of teleportation, transmutation and she can also manipulate the elements, she works her spells by repeating them backwards as an aid to concentration.

Daughter of the eco -terrorist Ra's Al Ghul, Talia has shared a complex relationship with Batman. Beautiful and brilliant Talia has a superb head for business and a ruthless streak. Talia has saved the life of Batman on numerous occasions and her criminal acts have been usually motivated by her loyalty to her father. An former lover of Batman, Talia is the mother of Bruce Wayne's son Damian ( the current Robin ) and is featured in Christopher Nolans film The Dark Knight Rises played by Marion Cottilard.

Catwoman " Selina Kyle " is one of the longest established characters in comic books having first appeared as well as the Joker in Batman # 1 in 1940. Catwoman is a formidable fighter trained in boxing and various other martial arts disciplines and her skin tight costume conceals razor sharp claws and steel climbing pistons in her boots. Although known as a brilliant cat burglar, Catwoman is not pursued so relentlessly by Batman as other criminals probably due to the fact that she only ever robs from the super rich and will often spread her ill gotten gains amongst the poor and destitute of Gotham City.

Harley is a former psychiatrist at Gothams Arkham Asylum who was once assigned the formidable task of getting into the head of the Joker. Unfortunately Harley fell madly in love with the Clown Prince Of Crime and became his much put upon lover and sidekick. Harley is a tremendously popular character among female comic book fans and cosplayers alike.

Born on the planet Apokolips Big Barda was taken by the planets ruler Darkseid and given to Granny Goodness to train in one of her vast orphanages. Barda's defiance could not be beaten out of her and so she was singled out for special training. Barda excelled in all forms of combat and was soon to lead the combat force the Female Furies. After many victories with the Furies Barda fell in love with fellow orphan Scott Free and they escaped to Earth. Scott became established on Earth as the escape artist Mr Miracle but even though she would serve as a member of the Justice League Of America ,Barda was never fully happy on Earth and eventually was more than ready to leave Earth and start a new life on the planet New Genesis.

Barbara Gordon first appears in DC comics in Detective Comics # 359 in 1967, daughter of police commissioner James Gordon, Barbara becomes Batgirl by night a brilliant martial artist and ally to Batman. In Alan Moores graphic novel The Killing Joke Barbara is shot by the Joker which shatters her spine leaving her wheelchair bound for the rest of her life. Barbara rebuilds her life by becoming the information retrieval specialist Oracle, as Oracle, Barbara works from Gotham's imposing clock tower, with access to numerous super computers and state of the art hacking software Barbara helps fight crime and has become a legend in the super hero community.

Lois Lane is the long time girlfriend of Superman and in the 1960s / 70s featured in her own popular comic book " Superman's Girlfriend Lois Lane ". Lois first meets Superman in his guise as Clark Kent when they both work for the newspaper The Daily Planet. Lois is a superb investigative journalist even though at first she fails to realize Clark and Superman are one and the same person. Lois and Clark's relationship has suffered numerous set backs over the years, but despite separations and numerous spats Clark and Lois remain madly in love.

Kara Zor El first appears in DC comics in Action Comics # 252 from 1959. Supergirl is the cousin of Superman and shares many of his abilities including flight, super strength and super speed, she can also emit x-rays and heat from her eyes.