10 Female Characters Who Need a Standalone Film

Courtesy of Marvel Entertainment LLC and The Walt Disney Company

Most of us would say that the expansion of the Marvel universe, and the subsequent stream of films that will be released for nearly a decade, make for some great films. We’re experiencing a new age in superhero films, one that has brought reboots, sequels, and the “Avengers” films, as well as an announced “Justice League” movie. What is disappointing about this is that there aren’t any films with females at the helm. We’ve had some great female supporting characters, and there have been recent announcements that new female heavy films will appear in the coming years, but we still don’t have a huge female driven film. Some past contenders have tried to pave the way, but all we’ve had are disappointments thus far. Here is a list of female characters, mostly from comic books, which would be great for some much needed films.

Wonder Woman

Let’s start with the most obvious contender for a standalone film: Wonder Woman. With the upcoming “Justice League” project, and the “Batman v. Superman” movie underway, it only makes sense that there are standalone movies for many of the members of the league. There has already been announced a 2017 release date for a Gal Gadot helmed film, with pictures from the set already surfacing online. Gadot clad in the iconic Wonder Woman outfit, though modified for modern audiences, makes for an interesting heroine. Though I, like many, would have liked to see Jamie Alexander of “Thor” fame take the place of the warrior princess, I am excited for an iteration that doesn’t cow-tow to television formats, and has a bit more heft.

Batgirl

I’m not going to put many of the female counterparts to male heroes from the DC or Marvel universe. While I think it’s great that they exist at all, many of them will always be compared to their male counterparts. Batgirl, however, is completely separate from Batman. Batgirl is best incarnated as Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon’s daughter. She’s spunky, quick, cavalier, and just an interesting character all around. While Robin seems to be more of a youthful, immature character, often shown to be boyish, Batgirl has always exemplified the characteristics of the together, brave young woman, adept in every way.

Black Widow

It’s almost a no brainer to make a Black Widow film. She’s already been a supporting character in three separate Marvel movies, and is beloved by fans. Originally Black Widow was supposed to have a film as early as 2004, but with a trend of female driven heroine box office bombs like “Aeon Flux” and “Bloodrayne,” interest was doused. In the current climate Black Widow is a supreme character, who has fans clamoring for a standalone film, along with the other heroes of the Avengers.

Courtesy of Jhonen Vasquez and Slave Labor Graphics

Devi D.

The most well-known creation of artist Jhonen Vasquez is his television show “Invader Zim,” which ran for two seasons on Nickelodeon. Less known is his comic work, including the “Johnny the Homicidal Maniac” series. Devi D. was framed as the love interest in several comics, lending to her own comic book “I Feel Sick.” While Devi doesn’t possess the ass-kicking abilities of her counterparts on this list, her story is more original and frank. She is a much more everyday kind of character, but she also battles much greater foes, most of them being psychological. This film could be a psychological horror film, in the vein of the recent releases of “Oculus” and “The Babadook.” Or it could be Devi and Johnny’s love story, permeated by Devi’s battles against her paintings, which often drive her to fight against her inner demons.

Courtesy of Jo Chen via Dark Horse Comics

Buffy

Okay, yes Buffy has already gotten a movie, and an entire television show, but I am talking about a Buffy film that actually gets it right. Everybody knows that the 1992 theatrical film of the eponymous vampire slayer was not as great as Joss Whedon’s original script. Now that Whedon has more control of the scripts he writes, and he’s had success with “The Avengers,” we can finally get a Buffy film worthy of our attention. Besides the catharsis of a new film, they can also add the supporting characters from the Dark Horse comics that have continued the story past the show’s end, in 2003, and the “Angel” television show.

Harley Quinn

The newly announced “Suicide Squad” film will have the secondary villain starring with several other Batman baddies. Though I think everyone is beyond excited to finally see a version of a live action Harley Quinn not bastardized completely, she’s yet again set to be a supporting character. What many of us really want is the childish, sloppy, bubbleheaded Harley Quinn of the animated series, who gets her own film, separate from her significant other, The Joker. Harley Quinn is endearing, funny, and analytical, though her act suggests otherwise. A film with just her would be beyond satisfying, and it would show a complex female character onscreen, which is very rare.

Starfire & Raven

Though there will be a live action TV show, set to start shooting in 2015, a film would be just as great for the Teen Titans staples. Together, or apart, each of these characters has a unique set of powers, looks, and personalities, each of which would cater well with the upcoming DC films. Between the comics they are based around, and the Cartoon Network show “Teen Titans” each of these characters have enough juice to carry their own films, and have people actually go and see them. Even better if the versions were more adult, even akin to the original comics.

Carol Danvers

This is the name of the original incarnation of Ms. Marvel, who was created as a counterpart to Captain Marvel in 1977. Carol proves to be a courageous, strong, independent character that has ambitions and métier unlike her female counterparts. Thankfully Danvers is also a character who has bucked gender stereotypes by actually taking the mantel of Captain Marvel in 2012. Though her character has been accused of sexualization without purpose for much of her time in print, recently she has become much more aesthetically neutral.

Black Cat

This character is part of the Spider-man universe, acting as a complex supervillain (sometimes superheroine) who has a thorough, detailed backstory, and would make for a great standalone film. Think “Catwoman” if they had actually made it right, in 2004. We’re talking about a self-possessed, highly trained, adventurous character, who gets stuff done. She never apologizes, often helps the ones she’s tried to thwart before, and would make for a tonally great film. It was hinted in “The Amazing Spider-man 2” that Harry Osborne’s assistant was in fact Felicia Hardy, the identity of Black Cat, but there’s been no studio insider talk to confirm a film is in the works.

Molly Hayes

Hayes hails from the Marvel comic series “Runaways” which follows the children of supervillains as they learn about their identities and powers. While Molly is the youngest of the original team, she is often the wisest. In the Marvel universe Molly is a mutant, like the X-Men, whose power is being super strong. Her iteration, though open to change since its inception, is still newer than some others on this list. Between her vibrant personality, trademark hats, and link to the X-Men universe, Molly would make for a great hero amongst the already expansive X-Men films slated for the next several years, including “X-Men: Apocalypse” which will be released in 2016.