20 Lesser-Known Female Superheroes

Clea, Sorceress Supreme (Image via Marvel)

You’ve all heard of superheroes like Storm and Wonder Woman. But what do you know about some of the lesser-known but fascinating female superheroes?

We’re all well aware of some big-name superheroes. You’ve likely all heard of Wonder Woman, Phoenix, Storm, and Supergirl. If you’re willing to dig a little deeper, you’ve probably even heard of a few somewhat lesser known super-heroines, thanks in part to appearances in big screen films. Batgirl, Kitty Pryde, Rogue, and many more superpowered women have risen to prominence thanks to big media events like these.

But there’s so much more to learn, friends. If you know nothing else about comics, then surely you at least have a vague sense of their scope and size. Comics superheroes were first introduced during the Golden Age of comics in the Great Depression and World War II. By the way, the first comics superhero is not Superman. He’s awfully close, but was beaten to the punch by Dr. Occult, who originally appeared as Dr. Mystic in 1935. Zatara, who is the father of a superhero featured here, Zatanna, appeared in the same 1938 issue as Superman.

At any rate, all of this means that we’re coming up on nearly a century of comics history. While male superheroes have dominated the scene for much of that time, female superheroes have been around since practically the beginning. Now, thanks to increasing numbers of female creators and fans, we’re witnessing the incorporation of more and more superpowered women into contemporary stories.

While comics companies love to focus on big, safe names like the X-Men or Batman, there’s way more to experience. If you care to take even a little time to dig through some back issues, you’re bound to find some truly remarkable and fascinating female characters.

Luckily, you won’t have to spend time digging through dusty boxes of comics (unless you really want to, of course). What follows is a list of twenty female superheroes who, depending on your comics knowledge, may prove to be real hidden gems. As always, there may be some spoilers, so please proceed with caution.