It's Time For A Female Superhero Flick

Batman and Spider-Man? Box-office gold. But where’s the great female superhero movie? “There has never been a better time to include strong females into the equation,” writes Thera Pitts.

Movies based on comic book heroes are more popular than ever, and Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight earning him a Golden Globe nod. But before Thor — starring Daniel Craig — gets the green light, shouldn’t we have one kick-ass superheroine?

You may have hated Halle Berry as Catwoman (and Storm), or Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane, but, writes Pitts, “The actress is only as good as her material, and the material is seriously lacking.” Pitts outlines the problems the major directors — Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi, Christopher Nolan — have with including women in superhero/comic book flicks. She says of Singer: “He gave the ladies powers in the X-Men series, he just forgot the personalities. He turned the sexy, sassy southern belle Rogue into a mopey teenager, the diabolical Mystique into a naked mute, and the strong, regal storm into Halle Berry. If you’re going to take liberties with classic characters, why would you choose to make them less interesting?” As for Raimi, Pitts claims he “desexifed” Mary-Jane Watson.

So basically, right now, it’s all up to Nolan, who should seriously think about reimagining Catwoman. Writes Pitts:

If God is listening and Christopher Nolan does make a third movie within the next few years, then our friend Batman’s gonna need a new love interest, it would be great to have one that doesn’t need to be rescued all of the time (although once is fine). And for all of you who think that miss Selina Kyle is too obvious a character to include, well, so was The Joker and look how that turned out.

Why the Comic-Book Movie Industry Needs a Female Superhero [Rope Of Silicon]

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