While there are plenty of female superheroes in the Marvel and DC universes, you wouldn't know it by looking at the superhero movies or merchandise that currently dominates the pop culture landscape. A female superhero has yet to star in her own movie, and finding toys, t-shirts and other gear based on female heroes isn't exactly easy.
That was a problem for 11-year-old Rowan Hansen. She loves comics, but when she received a group of Justice League action figures for her birthday she noticed something upsetting. Of the 12 figures available, only two were female, despite a number of prominent female heroes having been part of the all-star team of superheroes. So she decided to write a letter to DC in order to express her frustrations, a letter that her father later shared online.
"I'm a girl, and I'm upset because there aren't very many girl superheroes or movies and comics from DC," she writes in the opening paragraph. She goes on to call out DC for its lack of female TV shows and films, using the success of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy as a means of showing how there is no excuse for why it has taken so long for a Wonder Woman film.
"There are Superman and Batman movies, but not a Wonder Woman one," she writes. "You have a Flash TV show but not a Wonder Woman one. Marvel Comics made a movie about a talking tree and raccoon awesome, but you haven't made a Wonder Woman movie."
To be fair, Marvel has yet to produce a female-led movie as well, but Rowan's remark is nonetheless on-point. She concludes the letter by saying she asked all her friends if they watched movies or read books/comics with girl main characters, and that they all said "Yes."
"Please do something about this, girls read comics too and they care," she pleads.
The letter quickly circulated across the web, and it didn't take long for DC to respond -- in more way than one.
Thanks Rowan. We agree, we’re working hard to create more superhero fun for girls!
— DC Comics (@DCComics) January 30, 2015
Yes Rowan, girls read comics too! Wonder Woman movie & Supergirl TV both in the works, with more exciting girl power announcements soon! — DC Comics (@DCComics) January 30, 2015
But the company didn't stop there. They took it a step further by transforming Rowan into a hero all her own during a segment of the Today Show.
It's a nice gesture from DC Comics for sure, and Rowan won't have to wait too long to see Wonder Woman appear on the big screen. The amazon warrior is set to appear in Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice March 25, 2016.
Editor's note: The original article stated that Marvel has yet to put a female-led TV show into production. But the Agent Carter miniseries is wrapping up, and AKA Jessica Jones is slated to hit Netflix later this year.
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Related: Five Female-Led Comic Book TV Shows And Movies You Should Be Excited About
Comic Book Reviews:
Wonder Woman #38
Justice League #39
Batman #38
