8 Great Female Comic Book Characters That We’re Still Waiting To See In A Movie

With Marvel Studios now entering Phase 3, they'll finally be launching their first female led superhero movie with Captain Marvel. Warner Bros., meanwhile will beat them to the punch with Wonder Woman, but both of these movies are an undeniable risk. After all, previous attempts at bringing non-male superheroes to the big screen haven't gone well (just look at Catwoman and Elektra), but if these do take off, then we're finally going to be getting some much needed diversity in the world of comic book movies. While many female superheroes have been used as supporting characters over the years, there are still plenty who have yet to receive the spotlight. The question is, which of those who have yet to get the big screen treatment are most deserving? Here, we take a look at the eight Marvel and DC female superheroes who absolutely need to be in a movie at some point in the next few years. Some might be better off in a supporting role - at least to begin with - while others could easily kick off a brand new franchise, but they all deserve to stand tall alongside the likes of Captain America and Batman. 8) Batwoman For those of you unfamiliar with Batwoman, trust me when I tell you that she's a lot more than just a female Batman knock off. A member of the Department of Extranormal Operations, Kate Kane doesn't have a huge amount of history with the Dark Knight (she's not a former sidekick for example), but it was an encounter with him which inspired her give up her party-girl heiress lifestyle and pursue a new calling as a hero. Something else which makes Batwoman unique is the fact that she's an openly gay woman. Kate's sexuality plays a huge role in her life, and it was after she was dismissed from the military for being a lesbian that she ended up embarking on the lifestyle mentioned above. She's come a long way since then, and Warner Bros. giving Batwoman her own movie (or TV show) at some point in the near future is a must. 7) Spider-Woman Fans have been desperate to see Spider-Woman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a while now, but the obvious similarities to Spider-Man (in regards to her name at least; the characters share very little in common other than that) has made it hard to figure about whether Sony or Marvel own the rights to the character. Well, now that they've reached a deal over Peter Parker, there's really no reason why Jessica Drew can't finally get the big screen treatment. A former HYDRA agent, Jessica ended up working secretly for S.H.I.E.L.D., and ultimately joined The Avengers. The fact that Spider-Woman's greatest foe is also a woman - Madame Hydra - would make for a different kind of story to what we're used to, and her introduction into the MCU could lead to a return for HYDRA, which nicely ties the events of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 6) X-23 On the one hand, X-23 is pretty much just a Wolverine knock off. After all, Laura Kinney is also a product of the Weapon X program and was actually cloned from a damaged sample of Wolverine's DNA, so they have very close ties. However, since then, she's abandoned her original mission - to kill Wolverine - in order to become a member of the X-Men, and various writers have done a great job of really making her stand out as an awesome character in her own right. With Hugh Jackman's tenure as Logan set to reach an end in 2017, launching a new Wolverine franchise with X-23 as the lead would actually be a very cool move on Fox's part, especially as the upcoming All-New, All-Different Marvel comic book reboot is going to see Laura take over the mantle and suit up as the Marvel Universe's new Wolverine (as you can see from the image above). 5) Mera Mera is the wife of Aquaman, and if that character's upcoming solo movie (starring Jason Momoa) doesn't give her a leading role, then Warner Bros. is really missing a trick. Hailing from the underwater nation of Xebel, Mera is a member of an exiled group of Atlanteans, so her relationship with Aquaman is understandably tense to begin with. However, they ultimately see past their differences and fall in love, but it's essential to note that there's a lot more to the character than just her relationship with this member of the Justice League. For starters, she has the ability to control water, using it as a weapon and making Mera every bit as powerful as Aquaman. Whether she could star in her own spinoff is another matter (the potential for one is there), but seeing Mera join the DC Extended Universe with Aquaman will be a good start. 4) She-Hulk With still no solo outing for The Hulk in Phase 3 (he will, however, have a leading role in Thor: Ragnarok), it wouldn't hurt for Marvel to shift their focus to his cousin, Jennifer Walters, instead. She received her Gamma irradiated abilities after a life saving blood transfusion from Bruce Banner, but the key difference between them is that she has the ability to decide when she transforms and retains her intelligence when she does so. A lawyer by day and superhero...well, also by day...She-Hulk is a great character and one who is definitely deserving of the big screen treatment. If Marvel could get the special effects sorted (and an argument could be made that an actress would be able to play both roles with make-up effects instead of CGI), then Jennifer could just as easily find her place on the small screen in a big budget Netflix series, too. 3) Spider-Gwen A fairly new creation, Spider-Gwen is Gwen Stacy from an alternate reality. In that world, she was the one bitten by the radioactive spider, while Peter Parker became The Lizard and died shortly after. Despite the fact that her appearance was only really meant to be a one-off as part of the Spider-Verse event, the reaction to Spider-Gwen was overwhelmingly positive and she's since become a firm fan-favourite superhero with her own comic book series. Before that deal with Marvel, Sony were said to be considering a female led Spider-Man spinoff, and there was even talk in those leaked Sony Hack emails of bringing back Emma Stone in this role. That could now be a little confusing for moviegoers, but launching a companion franchise to Marvel's Spider-Man would be a smart move, and Spider-Gwen is certainly a fitting choice to take the lead there. 2) Batgirl Rumour has it that Jena Malone is playing Batgirl in Batman V Superman, with another report pointing to a possible recreation of the moment which saw Barbara Gordon gunned down by The Joker and left wheelchair bound. However, the comic book version of the character later recovered from that, and so too could this one if there's any truth to those stories. If female led superhero movies do take off in the next few years, then Batgirl could find a very unique place among them, especially if her recent adventures (which have seen the young hero's life as someone in their early 20s further explored) are used as a basis for that. The fact that Barbara is the daughter of Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon would add another interesting wrinkle to this one, and like a few others listed here, the character could also work well on TV. 1) Black Cat One of the best supporting characters in Spider-Man's comic books, the fact that Black Cat still hasn't showed up in a movie is crazy (Felicity Jones' "Felicia" in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 doesn't really count). Of course, Anne Hathaway very nearly took on the role in the scrapped Spider-Man 4, but seeing Felicia Hardy show up in Marvel's Spider-Man is a must. A cat burglar with bad luck powers, her and Spidey obviously don't always see eye to eye, but that didn't stop them from embarking on a romantic relationship! However, when Spidey unmasked to Black Cat, her reaction was one of horror; she was in love with Spider-Man, not Peter Parker. That alone would be something worth exploring in a movie, and if it potentially leads to a spinoff for Black Cat, then that would be no bad thing as there's definitely the potential for a fun movie.