by Culley Schultz

Superheroes are the stuff of dreams.

They have the power to do good and create a safer world. Despite never being a huge comic book fan in my childhood, I still saw the Spiderman movies and went to the theaters for other action-packed, superhero-centric films. In 2010, movies like “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World“ and “Tron” brought superheroes back to the movie theaters.

But an element was missing from these films–women as the heroes. Not a single superhero movie was centered on a female superhero this past year. In these films, the females are resigned to supporting roles that are light in the action department. In the “Iron Man” series, Gwyneth Paltrow plays the helpless assistant to Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. The lone upcoming female lead film is “Wonder Woman” and it is a made-for-TV movie, not a major motion picture.

When looking into comic book characters and superheroines (as they are known) there is a huge number of options. In fact, there are multiple women for every letter of the alphabet.  Yet, there have only been two female-led superhero movies in the past few years:  “Catwoman” (2004) and “Elektra” (2005), which did not wow at the box office. On www.imdb.com “Catwoman” earned only 3.2 out of 10 stars and “Elektra” did not fare much better, earning only 4.8 out of 10 stars. Both of these failed attempts at a female superhero flick were victims of meager scripts and overall poor production.

These films should not be used as models of movies to come. Movie franchises churn out sequels that are leagues below the original films all the time. Perhaps a movie featuring a woman as the superhero seeking justice and saving the world would be a welcome addition to the box office line up?

There have also been plenty of male-centered action movies that have received bad reviews and have grossed low numbers. “Spider-Man 3” (2007) earned only 6.2 out of 10 stars on www.imdb.com–only 1.4 stars higher than “Elektra.” Yet, “The Amazing Spider-Man” is set for release in 2012.  This is evidence that previous ratings have nothing to do with filming and releasing another movie into the franchise.

Consider the benefits of channeling superhero films to girls as well as boys. First, companies would profit from a wider demographic. Second, girls would see women in powerful positions tackling roles historically reserved for men. Third, it would create more opportunities for women in a male dominated niche of filmmaking. And those are just the benefits for girls. Boys would also gain from female superhero films. They would learn to see women in power and these women could become role models for everyone.

“X-Men: First Class” hit theaters this month. According to femalesuperheroes.net, the X-Men comic book series made strides by including several female characters in the plot. Marvel Girl, Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Rogue, and Storm are influential characters in the comics. All we can do is wait to see if they will have strong roles in more upcoming films and begin to break the barrier of female superheroes in the media.