5 Super Women That Deserve Their Own SOLO Film

I am woman, hear me roar! Okay, so maybe I’m not a woman, but as a married father of 4 little girls, I do think I am qualified to say that the current lack of female superhero movies is quite insulting. We are currently at a rate of about 6-10 superhero-centric films per year, increasing exponentially for the past decade, yet the only super lady solo movie we’ve had was 2006’s My Super Ex-Girlfriend (in which Uma Thurman portrays the Supergirl-esque ‘G-Girl’).

Not exactly awe-inspiring.

Sure we’ve had a plethora of super women, from ScarJo’s Black Widow in Iron Man 2/Avengers/Captain America: The Winter Soldier to Gal Gadot’s upcoming Wonder Woman portrayal in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Unfortunately, each one was simply a co-star/background character in a literal super-powered sausagefest. In fact, it seems that for every strong, female hero that appears in a superhero movie, there is no less than 3 macho male heroes. That unnecessary ratio is not only disturbing, it’s pathetic. Heck, even Robert Downey Jr. has pointed out that Black Widow deserves her own movie, and they don’t come much more macho than RDJ. Now there’s no shortage of worthy super ladies that deserve their own movie, but here are 5 (not counting Black Widow and Wonder Woman, since they’re solo movies are all but inevitable) who I feel are guaranteed blockbusters waiting to happen:

1. Ms. Marvel

At this point, Carol “Ms/Capt. Marvel” Danvers’ name has been thrown into the “female characters who deserve their own movie” hat so many times that you’d think people like Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Fiege would get with the program and make the damn movie already, but I digress. Seriously, the potential of a Ms. Marvel film is absolutely off the charts. First off, she’s one of the most popular characters in the entire Marvel Universe (female or otherwise) and is often referred to as the ‘Wonder Woman’ of Marvel. Secondly, she has legions of (mostly female) fans to rival many of the male heroes of both Marvel and DC. And lastly, it would be extremely easy to introduce her in any one of the already established film franchises (she’s ran with both the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy). There’s no 2 ways about it, there has never been a better time than now to give the masses a solo female superhero movie, and Carol D. is the perfect woman to lead with.

My Casting Choice: Charlize Theron (Hancock… that’s all I’m saying)

2. Batgirl

Okay, so the first thing I need you to do is completely forget about Alicia Silverstone’s atrocious portrayal of Gotham’s prodigal daughter in Batman and Robin (I know it’s hard). Let’s just pretend that never happened (wish I could do the same with Batman’s rubber nipples). Thank you, now we can continue. As far as DC goes there are really only a few ladies who could pull off their own solo flick, and while Princess Diana maybe one-third of DC’s Trinity, I could make a rather compelling case that a Batgirl movie would be more successful than a Wonder Woman movie. If you ask me, it’s a no-brainer. She has ties to the most popular superhero going right now (sorry Clark) and, as a geeky teenager with serious daddy issues, would be a lot more relate-able than an Amazon with an inferiority complex. In fact, the only thing that’s holding Babs back is more than likely the lukewarm (that’s putting it nicely) reception that Ms. Silverstone received in Batman and Robin. It would be a crying shame if Warner Bros. let one whackadoo director’s casting faux pas rob us of ever seeing Barbara Gordon fighting crime as Batgirl on the big screen.

My Casting Choice: Bella Thorne

3. X-23

Here’s another “no-brainer” as it relates to potential solo female superhero movies. Laura Kinney, better known by her codename X-23, is one of the hottest things going in Marvel’s mutant corner. Of course that probably has a lot to do with who her “father” is though. For those not in the know, X-23 is a clone of everyone’s favorite clawed Canuck, but since she was cloned from an imperfect sample of Wolvie’s DNA she turned out female (because that’s how science works in the comics). Oddly enough Laura was not originally introduced in the pages of any comic book, instead she first appeared on an episode of the early 2000’s cartoon series X-Men: Evolution (much like #5 on this list). But that hasn’t stopped her from becoming one of Marvel’s most popular mutants. So much so that she’s popped up just about everywhere. From becoming a regular team member in the Logan-led X-Force squad, to making a cameo in the 2009 cartoon series Wolverine and the X-Men. It’s probably even a safe bet that she’ll make an appearance in one of Fox’s many upcoming X-films (hopefully The Wolverine 2), and from there it’s a small step into her own solo film. Seriously, how can you go wrong with a young and attractive female version of Wolverine?

My Casting Choice: Summer Glau… Duh!

4. She-Hulk

The only other woman in the Marvel U that can give both Black Widow and Ms. Marvel a run for their money in terms of popularity and cult following is the “Single Green Female.” Holding the dubious distinction of being Stan Lee’s last character contribution to the world he helped create Jennifer Walters, a/k/a the Sensational She-Hulk, was first introduced as the mousy cousin of Bruce “the Hulk” Banner. After being in an accident she received a blood transfusion from her extremely bi-polar relative, and voila she was transformed into an emerald-skinned superhero (yay science). Jen has put in time as a member of several superteams (including the Avengers and the Fantastic Four) and has starred in her own monthly series. She is very popular with both fanboys (for obvious reasons) and fangirls (she’s the epitome of a strong woman role model) and, just like Ms. Marvel, would be very easy to introduce in either the upcoming Avengers sequels or in the rumored Mark Ruffalo Hulk film. If Marvel Studios is looking for the perfect super woman to carry her own film (after Black Widow and Ms. Marvel of course), you couldn’t ask for a stronger pair of shoulders.

My Casting Choice: Gina Carano

5. Harley Quinn

While researching for this article I discovered something amazing. When you type the word ‘harley’ in a Google search bar, can you guess what the first suggestion is? It sure the hell isn’t the legendary motorcycle company Harley Davidson, I can tell you that. No, it’s everyone’s favorite homicidal harlot, Harley Quinn. Why is that amazing you ask? Because out of the billions of people on the interwebs, the former Dr. Harleen Quinzel is more popular than a near century old company that has long been synonymous with biker culture. This is truly a watershed moment for geek culture. Let us bask in it’s glory for just a moment.

Okay, enough basking, back to the matter at hand. Why does Harley Quinn deserve her own movie? That’s simple, she is quite literally the most popular costumed female in the world. Don’t believe me, read the above paragraph again. Forget your Wonder Women and your Black Widows, Harley is the queen of the super women, and it’s not hard to see why. Aside from her obvious connections to Batman and “Mistah J,” Harley Quinn embodies the uninhibited, slightly crazy free spirit that resides in all of us. She’s the saccharin sweet, deceptively innocent “crazy chick” that guys want and gals look up to. She’s essentially the female version of Deadpool. She says what she means, does what she wants, and doesn’t give a damn what anyone thinks of her. Harley is so “in” right now that WB wouldn’t even need to introduce her via cameo in an upcoming Batman movie, they could just skip right ahead to making a feature-length Harley Quinn movie (with or without the Joker) and just sit back and rake in the cash. In fact, that’s exactly what they need to do. I’ll wait.

My Casting Choice: Abbie Cornish

And that concludes another exciting edition of ‘Darth Rick’s Picks’ (still working on that). I hope you enjoyed the ride. As always, I live for your feedback and don’t forget to throw some social media love my way. May the Dork Side be with you and I’ll see you on the flip side (I don’t know what that means, but it sounds cool).