Written with: Madalena Derzi
Edited by: Carolina Grassmann
Image Source: DC Comics
We already have a list of female characters from the Marvel Universe that you need to know. So it?s only fair that we do the same for DC this time. From heroes to villains, humans to aliens, women who accidentally got their powers to ones who were born with it, from scientists to magicians, there are some pretty amazing women in the vast array of characters from the DC Universe. Here?s a list of the ones we like the most.
1. Fire
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Beatriz Bonilla da Costa, also known as Fire, first appeared in the 25th edition of Super Friends in 1979, as Green Fury, and her story changed throughout the years. Before the ?Crisis on Infinite Earths?, it is said that she had originally been bequeathed her powers due to Brazilian mysticism and was the president of the Brazilian branch of Wayne Enterprises.
Her abilities include flying, altering her clothing at will, projecting limited hallucinations, and exhaling vast quantities of mystical green fire, hence her superhero name. She, later, became a member of the Global Guardians.
A rebooted version of the Brazilian superhero?s narrative says that she started as a model, became an undercover secret agent for the Brazilian government and, during one of her missions, caused a big explosion, which gave her the power to breathe a jet of green flame from her mouth.
After a bomb was set off, she received the ability to turn that flame into a being of green plasma, in which form she could fly and throw devastating blasts. This prompted her to assume the identity of Green Fury and join the Global Guardians. After that, Bea, now going by the name of Green Flame, joined the Justice League International with her teammate and best friend, Icemaiden, and they eventually changed their names to Fire and Ice.
2. Zatanna
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Zatanna Zatara (yep, that?s her name), created in 1964, is a stage magician and, secretly, also an actual magician. Her parents were also magicians and she first discovered her real powers while searching for her missing father. Zatanna is one of the most powerful sorcerers in the DC Universe, her powers increase when not used and deplete when she overuses them.
The sorcerer has one weakness, though. Because she casts spells by pronouncing the incantations backwards, she relies a lot on her voice, rarely being able to do her magic non verbally or by other means.
Although she has been a Justice League member, because of the mystical nature of her character, one of her most famous involvements is actually in the New 52 timeline with the Justice League Dark, a team of supernatural characters from the DC Universe. There was even an animated Justice League Dark movie in 2017 in which Zatanna is one of the main characters alongside John Constantine. She also appeared in the last three seasons of the TV show Smallville.
3. Raven
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The daughter of a human mother named Angela Roth, also known as Arella, and a demon father, Emperor Trigon, Raven grew up in an pacifist reality called Azarath. She was taught to control her emotions by Azar, the spiritual leader from the alternate dimension, in order to suppress her inherited demonic powers. It was thought, initially, that if she were to feel any strong emotions, she could become possessed by her father?s evil energy that was inside of her.
After the death of Azar, she learned that her father was planning to go to Azarath, and promised to stop him. She joined the Teen Titans and they managed to send Trigon to an interdimensional prison, but he later escaped, came to Earth, and took control of Raven, corrupting her. Raven went through various different periods where her demonic side took over, but she always managed to come back to the Teen Titans.
She first appeared on the 26th edition of DC Comics Presents in 1980 and her abilities consist of: flight, teleportation, telekinesis, astral projection (she can manifest her ?soul-self? as a black form of energy that can teleport her and others) and empathy, which can be divided in two other powers: emotion negation (steal emotions to leave others emotionally ?numb?) and empathic healing (absorb the pain of injured people to ease their suffering, and induce rapid healing).
4. Poison Ivy
Image Source: Ultimate Comics
Poison Ivy made her debut in comic books as a villain for Batman in 1966. Previously, Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley used to be a botanist until one of her professors seduced her and later injected Pamela with poisons and toxins for an experiment, which nearly caused her death and drove her to insanity. As a result, she became immune to all poisons and toxins, her skin started to become green, she developed the ability to control plants and to produce pheromones that made people susceptible to her control.
She then moved to Gotham City and began her criminal career until she was convicted to Arkham Asylum by Batman, the only person she cannot control. Even though she?s a villain, Poison Ivy is sometimes an anti-hero, like when she joined the Birds of Prey. She even teamed up with Catwoman and Harley Quinn a few times in the group known as Gotham City Sirens. The character was also famously depicted by Uma Thurman in 1997 Batman & Robin.
5. Starfire
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Starfire?s first appearance was on the 26th edition of DC Comics Presents in 1980. Born an alien princess of the fictional planet Tamaran, Koriand?r (Starfire?s given name) was in line to rule as the queen, but her older sister Komand?r, also known as Blackfire, was jealous. Komand?r suffered a disease as a child, which made her lose the ability to harness solar energy and, therefore, the right to the crown, after that, a rivalry between the sisters was created.
Komand?r tried killing her sister, and that lead her to being expelled from Tamaran, she swore vengeance and betrayed her planet. Koriand?r was held captive and, after many fights, managed to escape to the nearest planet, Earth. There, she met Robin and became a founder member of the Teen Titans. Since she was born in Tamaran, she?s designed to constantly absorb ultraviolet radiation. When this radiation is converted to pure energy, it allows her to fly at supersonic speeds, and it also gives her superhuman strength and durability.
6. Katana
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After her entire family was murdered, Tatsu Yamashiro travelled to America with her sword, Soultaker, to fight for justice under the codename Katana. The hero first appeared in comics in 1983 and was a member of several superhero groups, like the Justice League and the Birds of Prey. But her most important affiliation is with the Outsiders, a team of heroes picked by Batman to go on more dangerous mission as a sort of black ops group. Outside of comic books, she was also a part of the TV show Arrow and appeared as a character in the 2016 movie Suicide Squad.
Her powers include a high proficiency in martial arts and swordsmanship, afterall she was trained by a samurai. Her sword is a cursed blade that sometimes takes the souls of people it kills, allowing the wielder to communicate with them.
Originally published in: Tea Time for HC at Casper Libero
