Marvel Needs More Female Heroes (Here’s Why)

Marvel Comics have been around for decades, astounding readers with amazing tales of heroism, supernatural horrors, and more. They’ve given rise to some of the most memorable heroes, as Marvel has invented literally hundreds of heroes since their first comic tale. However, most eagle-eyed readers have probably noticed a certain discrepancy in the hero ratios, as there are still more male heroes than female heroes. And no, we’re not just talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), though this does a great job of putting the skewed ratio into the foreground. This is a crying shame, as the more diverse any set of characters is, the broader the stories become. In other words, we’re losing out on so many potential stories.

Marvel Comics have long been a source of inspiration and empowerment. Fans love looking to heroes like Spider-Man because he’s all about doing the right thing against all the odds. Then there’s the X-Men, which are all about rights and driving home the need for acceptance. So it’s actually pretty odd that we don’t have a better balance of stories (and characters) in the larger Marvel Universe. The truth is, Marvel needs more female heroes.

A Look at the Statistics

Let’s take a few minutes to talk numbers. Numbers are great because they’re objective. It’s hard to argue with the facts they present. FiveThirtyEight is a great website for number crunching, and in 2014, they did a report on the state of the comic book industry. More specifically, they looked at the gender balance for both Marvel and DC Comics. Their numbers helped make one thing clear – there’s a massive disparity even in the characters portrayed. According to the 2014 report, only 24.7% of Marvel characters were female, and that’s only if we’re willing to include characters who only appeared once.

Let’s look at things another way. Marvel Comics first began publishing in 1939, and they were quickly off to the races. However, out of the first ten superheroes they created, only one was a woman. Jump forward to 20 heroes total, and we’re looking at 3 female heroes. The MCU is another great example in this numbers game. In the first Avengers movie, of the six heroes in the team, only one was a woman. Out of a total of 33 films, only four of them had a female lead.

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Why We Need More Female Heroes

A powerful story can appeal to and resonate with anyone, regardless of representation. It’s easy to get inspired by watching Spider-Man save the day, with our hopes rising as we watch the people of New York rally behind their friendly neighborhood hero. However, a story that forges a deep and personal connection will always hit harder for any audience. Most people can speak of the first time they saw themselves in a story. That’s the sort of connection that can last a lifetime. In other words, representation matters. Plain and simple.

On this note, by including different perspectives (gender, race, you name it) Marvel can broaden the audience. Remember, a story that resonates packs a bigger punch. Don’t believe us? When Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan, not Carol Danvers) first hit the scene, people were so excited. Created by G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, Ms. Marvel #1 got seven printings, meaning people couldn’t get enough of this new hero. Her story was several firsts, which goes to show how far diverse perspectives can take a series when done right.

This brings us to the next point: more perspectives, particularly female ones, mean more narrative options. New heroes mean new opportunities for different origin stories and untold adventures or challenges. We don’t need a cookie-cutter-style story, we need different adventures to keep our minds dreaming.

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Marvel Needs to Give Fans Longer Female-Led Runs

There’s a second side to this problem about female heroes. Even if Marvel creates more, we need the publisher to give these new heroes a chance. This means letting a female hero have a run that lasts more than ten issues. Marvel has a bad habit of ending runs for even established heroes (She-Hulk, Wasp, and Silk can’t seem to escape the publishing curse that’s been placed on them). If Marvel is going to cut short a highly acclaimed series (The Unstoppable Wasp is a solid example here; critics enjoyed it, and yet it got canceled not once, but twice), then how is a new female hero ever going to get enough time to establish her story in any meaningful way?

No matter how we look at this, it’s clear that Marvel needs more female heroes. More importantly, they need to give these new heroes a chance after they’ve been introduced, giving the readers a real chance to fall in love with their adventures.