Unleash your inner powers with superheroine t-shirts

Fight back with our favourite superheroines.

Yesterday we took a look at the super sexy Scarlett Johansson’s latest character – the Black Widow in Iron Man 2. Black Widow first appeared back in 1964, and since then she’s become a big character in the Marvel comic world, but she’s not the only female superhero out there. The first known one is Fantomah who debuted in Jungle Comics in 1940 and was an ancient Egyptian woman who could transform into a ‘skull-faced creature’ with the power to destroy evil.

During the 1940’s more and more superheroines started appearing in comics, and while they were nowhere near as popular as the male heroes, they begun to save the world and solve crime one strip at a time. In 1941 the first widely known super lady appeared and she’s still selling comics and lunchboxes today; Wonder Woman is a beautiful Amazonian woman who fought baddies while enforcing sexual equality. Not only does she have super strength, speed, agility and stamina but she can communicate with animals and has a pair of indestructible bracelets.

Also emerging in the 40’s was a whip cracking burglar known as The Cat, or Selina Kyle who we now know as Catwoman. In the original comics, Selina reforms in the fifties and marries Bruce Wayne (aka Batman) and they have a daughter, who later becomes the Huntress. However in 1986 Frank Millar re-wrote her history in Batman: Year One, in which she is an abused prostitute turned Robin Hood type thief.

In the 50’s the emphasis changed and female versions of male superheroes like Supergirl, Batgirl and Batwoman all emerged. As feminism gained popularity, so did the female comic characters – however there were concerns surrounding their unrealistic body shapes and skimpy costumes (sounds like most magazines nowadays). In the following decades characters like Elektra, Catwoman and even Spidergirl became stars of comic series.

Sexy costumes and obvious names have given way to more unlikely characters like Hit Girl in Kick Ass, but it’s thanks to these empowered women that we have today’s superheroines. If you want to show your love for the super ladies of pulp fame, grab one of these cool tees we found online. There’s a couple of cool Catwoman and Wonder Woman ones, and even a Pink Power Ranger shirt! Our favourite has got to be the ‘Girls Rule’ tee, featuring some super-cool Marvel heroines.