It’s a great time to be a fan of comic book movies. Between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe, we only have to wait a few months between movies these days. And we say keep ‘em coming! And we’re also seeing some great female representation in the genre.
While there’s still work to be done, we’re seeing more and more female superheroes both on TV and in the movies – characters like Black Widow, Jessica Jones, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and, in the not too distant future, The Wasp and Captain Marvel. But there’s a whole wealth of non-superhero female comic book characters who definitely deserve their own movies, as well.
Here are 15 Female Comic Book Characters Who Deserve Their Own Movie.
15. Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy was played by Uma Thurman in 1997’s Batman & Robin, but we can all agree that wasn’t exactly a stellar superhero flick. We’d love to see her in a better quality movie – and one of her own would be awesome.
Before being poisoned by her teacher and becoming the Batman villain we know and love, she was Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, a botanist from Seattle. When you think about it, she’s a little bit of an odd character, a seductress who’s kind of obsessed with plants. But there’s so much about her that’s awesome – plus, we’d love to see an on-screen take of her relationship with Harley Quinn.
14. Harley Quinn
Speaking of Harley, we’re pretty excited to see her silver screen debut in the upcoming Suicide Squad, in which she’ll be played by Margot Robbie. And if the trailers are any indication, Robbie’s going to do a great job with the character. Harley’s awesome because she’s unapologetically herself. She’s a little nuts, which is sort of ironic given that she used to work as a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum.
Harleen Frances Quinzel first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, and later made her way into the comics. It was her obsessive feelings for the Joker, who constantly mistreats her, that caused her to buy a ticket for the crazy train. But if she were to get her own movie, we’d love to see her finally kick the Joker to the curb.
13. Alana
Really, isn’t it time for a Saga movie already? Alana is a true badass. She’s a former army soldier who defected in order to help the man who would become her husband break out of prison. So the two have to go on the run, all the while trying to protect their infant daughter – the first cross-species child to live beyond a few weeks.
Alana’s great because there’s a lot in her life that could have hardened her – her abusive father, her time in the military, being on the lam with her family – but it doesn’t. Instead, she continues to fight for the ones she loves. She’s also got a quick tongue, which can be pretty entertaining.
12. Moira Kinross MacTaggert
Moira MacTaggert has been played by Olivia Williams and Rose Byrne in the X-Men movies, and will be played by Byrne again in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse. But she’s an interesting enough character that we think she could headline her own movie. She wins a Nobel Prize for her work on genetic mutation (yay for women in STEM!) and is a colleague and eventually fiancée of Charles Xavier.
Moira is also impressive because she’s a survivor of domestic abuse. Instead of marrying Xavier, she weds her old flame Joseph MacTaggert, who beats her and presumably rapes her, leaving her pregnant. But after leaving him, she demonstrates her strength and resiliency and goes on to found the Mutant Research Center.
11. Gwen Dylan
Gwen is the original Liv Moore in the iZombie comics. And truthfully, a movie based on either the comics or the TV show would be pretty great. What’s fun about Gwen that we don’t get to see with Liv is that she interacts with all kinds of other supernatural beings.
Zombies aren’t the only non-humans in town in the world of the comics – there are were-terriers, vampires, and ghosts. And in the comics, we get to see Gwen struggling a little more with what it means to be a zombie. She hates the taste of brains, which isn’t the case with Liv, and when it’s revealed to her what really causes zombie-ism, it’s a bit of a challenge for her to wrap her head around.
10. Lady Death
She’s literally the personification of death – how cool is that? Thanos is one of her would-be lovers, so it would be pretty fun to see her appear in the Avengers: Infinity War movies, and then to get a flick of her own. Alternatively, Death also becomes romantically involved with Deadpool, so maybe we could see her show up in the sequel?
It would be amazing if 20th Century Fox and Marvel could hash out a deal like the one Marvel put together with Sony, which allowed Spider-Man to appear in Captain America:Civil War. That way, we could see an on-screen version of the storyline in the comics where Thanos becomes jealous of Death’s feelings for Deadpool and recruits T-Ray to help him keep them apart. And all of this, of course, would lead up to a Lady Death solo movie.
9. Amora
We’ve already seen Amora’s sister, Lorelei, appear on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., where she was played by Elena Satine, so it’s not so much of a stretch to hope for an appearance by Amora in the MCU, as well. She’s an interesting character because she has a very storied past.
As an Asgardian, she’s been around for quite a while, and she’s been involved in all kinds of crazy drama. She’s a master at sorcery, and primarily uses it to seduce anyone who stands in her way, in order to compel them to do her bidding. She and Loki have had a, shall we say, on-again-off-again relationship, and it would be great to see their dynamic on the big screen.
8. Verity Willis
Speaking of the women in Loki’s life, Verity is one of Loki’s few real friends. She’s also a human lie detector, because as a kid she swallowed a ring that gave her the ability to see through any deception (so it’s pretty interesting that she befriends the God of Lies). Verity is awesome because of the way she believes in people.
In Loki: Agent of Asgard, Loki is trying to turn a new leaf and be a better person. When an older version of Loki from the future tells him it can’t be done, it’s Verity who continues to support him and tells him that he can be whomever he chooses, despite what anyone else says. A Verity Willis movie would be interesting because Verity’s powers aren’t limited to perceiving flat out lies – it’s any kind of manipulation, like advertising and partial truths. So she’s constantly bombarded with input, which you’d think would make her cynical, yet she proves to be quite the optimist.
Plus, she has some pretty wicked tattoos.
7. Lady Sif
We’d love to see Lady Sif headline her own movie. Admittedly, it would be pretty easy to consider her a superhero. While she may not technically be one, she comes pretty close. Of course, we’ve already seen her in the Thor movies and on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., played by Jaimie Alexander, who will also be playing her in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok.
In the comics, Thor and Sif become romantically involved, but there’s so much more to her than that. She has the heart of a warrior and proves her bravery and loyalty to the welfare of Asgard time and again. And in true Asgardian fashion, she’s been involved in her share of crazy battles and drama, so there would be plenty of exciting material here for a movie to draw on.
6. Michonne
Of course, Michonne is played brilliantly in The Walking Dead by Danai Gurira. And she’s every bit as awesome a character in the comics. She’s great because she’s self-sufficient – early on she makes it by wandering on her own with two zombies she uses to blend in – but she also cares deeply for the others (even if her emotions aren’t always the most expressive) and is a crucial member of the team. She’s smart and strong-willed, and is never shy about doing what she feels is right, even when it puts her in opposition to others.
It would be a lot of fun to have a Michonne prequel, where we’d get to see a bit of her life before the zombie apocalypse, when she was supposedly more gregarious than she is after the zombie outbreak. We could see her transformation as she travels around with the zombies. In fact, we get a glimpse of Michonne in the early days of the zombie apocalypse in the comics, in the Michonne Special.
5. Mary Jane Watson
Of course, we remember Kirsten Dunst’s on-screen portrayal of Mary Jane (and the super famous upside down kiss she shared with Tobey Maguire as Spidey). And MJ is almost always thought of in terms of her relationship with Peter Parker. But she’s a pretty interesting chick in her own right.
In the aftermath of Peter’s decision to register and come out as Spider-Man, we see the effect that choice has on MJ’s life. She’s a successful stage actress but can’t continue working because of all the mayhem Peter’s villains cause at her theater. She considers leaving Peter so she can live her life on her own terms and, although she ultimately decides to stick with him, it’s great to get this glimpse into MJ’s life, outside of her romantic relationship.
4. The Paper Girls
If you’re not reading this series, you really should be. Set in 1988, it follows the story of Mac, KJ, Erin, and Tiffany, four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls. Let us just say, we only wish we were as cool as these girls when we were preteens.
They don’t ride pink bikes, or sit around braiding each other’s hair. They know how to tell off the older boys and don’t take anyone’s crap. When bizarre creatures and time travelers begin to wreak havoc on their suburban neighborhood, these girls rise to the occasion. And it’s fun to watch them show as much toughness and strength as any adult, while also facing some of the typical tween issues we all had to deal with.
3. Sally Floyd
Sally is a reporter in the Marvel universe. She’s friends with and, in some ways, a protégé of Ben Urich. For much of her history in the comics, she’s a writer for The Alternative, though her employment changes. What’s most intriguing about Sally is the opportunity we have to watch the events of Civil War play out from her perspective, in Civil War: Front Line.
Sally, as someone without superpowers, doesn’t have a personal stake in the outcome of the conflict, so it’s interesting to watch her opinions evolve. She starts out leaning toward sympathizing with Cap, but later comes to see Tony Stark’s perspective, as well. And Sally’s great because she really doesn’t care about listening to authority figures – she won’t let others tell her what to do. She’s an independent thinker, and won’t let anyone box her in.
2. Melinda May
Of course, we’re most familiar with Ming-Na Wen’s portrayal of May on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and that’s where the character originated. But the Cavalry has found her way into the comics, where she’s just as awesome. A movie would, most likely, star Wen and be based on the MCU version of the character – and that would be totally OK with us!
May is fantastic because she has gone through a lot that has, in some ways, hardened her. We see in flashbacks on the show that she used to be more lighthearted than she is now. Shutting down emotionally is her go-to solution when things get hard, so it’s a bit of a struggle for her to keep her heart open. Nonetheless, she cares deeply about her team members, especially Coulson, and finds a way to allow herself to let them in (and of course, she kicks ass while doing it!).
1. Maria Hill
We all love Cobie Smulders’s portrayal of Maria in the MCU. And the character is fantastic and often even more influential in the comics, where she becomes director of S.H.I.E.L.D. when Nick Fury goes into hiding. She’s smart, great at her job, and not easily intimidated. A movie starring Smulders would be great because, in the MCU, while Hill’s involvement in the events of the movies may not be as flashy as that of the Avengers, she plays a critical backstage role, connecting the dots and making sure plans are executed.
And while we’ve enjoyed seeing Fury as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the movies and Coulson on AoS, it would be a lot of fun to see Maria take the reins for a little while.
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What other female comic book characters could use their own TV show? Let us know in the comments!
