20 Lesser-Known Female Superheroes

Gert and Old Lace (Cover image via Marvel)

12. Gertrude Yorkes

Okay, first things first. Gertrude Yorkes, often called “Gert”, has a dinosaur friend named Old Lace. Thanks to her telepathic and empathic bond with Old Lace, she’s able to ask the dinosaur to do various menacing things.

But, really, we should back up a bit in order to get the full picture. Gert is the daughter of Stacey and Dale Yorkes, who turn out to be time-travelling villains. Gert, who is horrified to discover that her parents are evil, leaves and eventually joins up with the Runaways team, consisting of other superpowered kids. Before she completely cuts ties, however, she discovers a dinosaur hanging out in her family’s basement.

Gert (who also went by the code name “Arsenic” for a while) is generally cynical and sarcastic. Given her purple hair and penchant for socialism, older readers might not be able to keep from rolling their eyes at the helpless teenager-ness of Gert, but she remains a good character nonetheless.

Though she possesses no additional powers, mutant or otherwise, Gert is still a formidable foe. For one, she’s got a telepathic link with and undying loyalty from Old Lace. She’s also generally intelligent, though she sometimes has trouble with psychics and telepaths. To be fair, I think most anyone would.