Superhero Switcheroos

In celebration of Halloween this week, I present you with superheroes in drag. JUST KIDDING - no guys dressed as Wonder Woman here. What you will see are reversals of the icons from how you're used to seeing them. I find it interesting to ask: is there anything intrinsic to the character of Superman that says he has to be a man? Wouldn't a Kansas farmgirl move out to the big city just as quickly and be as concerned, if not more, for the welfare of others? DC Comics currently has a whole world (Earth-11) where the genders of every hero and heroine are switched, and that's what the cover pictured below is all about. WARNING: Serious nerd discussion to follow.

1. The Justice League
Superman's cousin Supergirl has been around for decades, long before the comic you see here, but the difference is that Supergirl's not a literal translation of Superman across gender lines. The only Superwoman that wasn't merely a Lois Lane with powers until recently was in Adventures of Superman 349 (July 1980), which also featured Wonder Warrior (a male counterpart of Wonder Woman) and Black Condor (a male counterpart of Black Canary). Out of the SIX female versions of Batman (girlfriends, daughters, and impersonators) none have been an exact Bruce Wayne counterpart. At the time of his creation, the concept of a millionaire playboy by day and hardened, violent vigilante by night just wouldn't have worked for a tragic heiress. And as icky as a female Robin tagging along with Batman may seem, (it's no ickier than some of the accusations against a male Robin), I myself have always seen the character more as a girl. The Amazon race of Wonder Woman makes it a little hard to switch over, but there's a Marvel character named Wonder Man that bears no similarity. There's the daughter of a Green Lantern named Jade, which is good because I always thought the uniform looked pretty femmy. There's Catwoman and Catman, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Captain Marvel, and his sister Mary Marvel. The Teen Titans recently recruited Miss Martian (a female counterpart to the Martian Manhunter) and Zatara (a male counterpart to Zatanna). As with Batman, there have been six gender bender takes on...

2. Spider-Man, but "the longest-running superhero book with a lead female character ever published" by Marvel Comics belongs to Spider-Girl, the future daughter of Peter Parker. She has her own rogues gallery with twists on her father's enemies like the Goblin Queen, Lady Octopus, and Magneta. Whereas one version of Batgirl was created specifically with the campy, '60s TV show, a version of Spider-Woman had her very own animated series in 1979.

3. Wolverine recently gained a female counterpart with his mistaken clone, X-23, but possibly before that with Lady Deathstrike, depending on how close you want to get with powers and identity. The only thing even traditionally male is the lone hunter side of the character, but I think the savageness works well either way. Oh, I almost forgot, Wolverine has a daughter in an alternate future called Wild Thing. A-Next, an alternate universe version of the...

4. Avengers, includes members like American Dream (a female analogue of Captain America) and Thena (daughter of Thor). This comic is very different from the Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow direct-to-DVD animated film, wherein Torunn is the daughter of Thor AND the only female member of the team. Going back to the regular comics, the difference between the Hulk and his cousin She-Hulk is that the latter can (sometimes) change back and forth at will. Who knows if Dr. Banner would choose to stay human if he could have his own mind in the Hulk's body? The overall appearance of the female version is a stark contrast to the monstrous, "Jekyll and Hyde" character, meaning that She-Hulk is perhaps more than just a counterpart. Moving on, Hawkeye is both father in the original Avengers and daughter in the Young Avengers. The female Stature is patterned after the Ant-Man/Giant-Man characters. In the "all ages" Marvel Adventures line, Giant-Girl is Janet van Dyne (the Wasp in regular continuity). Lastly, two or three different women have temporarily assumed the mantle of Captain Britain, yet not one has worn the armor of the...

5. Debatable and/or Nonexistent
Iron Man (pictured at left as merely a dream along with all the other Marvel variations). DC's biggest missing switcheroo would be Aquaman. The Flash has a female counterpart in Tangent Comics (December 1999), along with a female Joker, but their costumes are entirely unrelated to the originals. Plastic Man and the Elongated Man have a big screen adaptation in The Incredibles' Elastigirl, who was actually named after Elasti-Girl of the Doom Patrol. It's a stretch (pun intended), but Animal Man and Vixen could be considered redundant characters with different genders. Justice League members which I didn't mention above include Dr. Fate (but I swear I've seen a girl in the gold helmet) and The Question (currently Renee Montoya, who took over after Charles "Vic" Sage passed away). One might argue that the cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends' Firestar is a female counterpart to the Fantastic Four's Human Torch and that leads me to my closing thought. The Fantastic Four is only one of many superhero teams (the Legion of Superheroes, Marvel Knights, Teen Titans, and the X-Men) without any gender switcheroos. The list below includes my suggestions for your imagination:

The Fantastic Four
1. Mrs. Fantastic - similar to Elastigirl, as mentioned above
2. Invisible Man - not the H.G. Wells character, but spouse to the above
3. Human Torchette - mentioned above
4. She-Thing - I lied, there's Sharon Ventura and a Skrull version
Vertigo
5. Swamp She-Thing - why aren't there more female monsters?
DCU
6. Green Arrowette - origin of a playboy stranded on an island might be tricky
7. Madame Strange - Adam Strange in a skirt
Marvel Knights
8. Punisheress - worth a laugh
9. Ghost Rider Girl - Jenny Blaze
10. Braniac/Red Tornado/Vision - never mind, there's the Avengers' Jocasta
Teen Titans
11. Beast Girl - never mind, there's the Avengers' Tigra and X-Factor's Wolfsbane
12. Cyborgette - like the Bionic Woman, but with more exposed metal
13. Raven - would probably come off like Cloak from Cloak & Dagger
14. Starfire - a man that wants to walk around naked (wait, that's every guy)
Mutants
15. Scarlet Warlock - son of Magneta?
16. Profesora X - South American founder of the School for Gifted Youngsters
Villains
17. Dr. Dooma - Queen of Latverio
18. Red Skullette - Nazi arch-enemy of Captain America
19. Lexie Luthor - bald, female business tycoon(?)
Jack Kirby's Fourth World
20. Ms. Miracle - Miss Apokolips pageant escapee