It's no secret that over the years super heroines have gotten really crappy representation in the media and in the toy department. Even now, as Age of Ultron is getting hyped up, there is still an underproduction of Black Widow toys (despite her being the female face of the extremely popular Avengers). Thankfully, DC and Mattel have assembled to produce a line of female action figures.
So far, the characters announced are: Batgirl, Katana, Bumblebee, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn. According to Time, the collection will bring the teen incarnations of the characters to comic books, action figures, LEGO building sets, TV specials, digital content, and apparel for children aged 6-12. The franchise—DC Super Hero Girls—is part of a growing outreach by mainstream comic book companies to build their female audience. Women already make up 47% of comic book readers, but very little is actually marketed towards them.
“DC Super Hero Girls represents the embodiment of our long-term strategy to harness the power of our diverse female characters,” said DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson in a statement to Time. “I am so pleased that we are able to offer relatable and strong role models in a unique way, just for girls.”
While there is a concern that manufactures will simply go for the hyper-glamorized stylization of these female characters (á la the Katniss Everdeen Barbie that totally missed the point of the series), this is still a great thing for young female fans of comic books who want some awesome lady swag of their own.
Looking at the design art—while there is little body diversity—it does feature two characters of color (Katana and Bumblebee), and pragmatic outfits that still hold true to there original designs. As the products hit the market, we'll see if they live up to expectations.
Image c/o DC Publicity
Princess Weekes is a part-time bookseller and a full-time writer with a Master’s in English from Brooklyn College. A former intern at BUST magazine, she has since written articles for The Mary Sue, BUST and maintains her own video channel under the name Melina Pendulum, discussing the intersection of pop culture, feminism and race. She is currently working on a fantasy novel about black witches during the Jim Crow era, while attempting to purchase every liquid lipstick the world has to offer.
