8 Female Superheroes Who Debuted Before Wonder Woman

By Trevor Gentry-Birnbaum / June 6, 2017

4. Red Tornado (Not That One)

Created by Sheldon Mayer in Nov 1940

First appeared in All-American Comics #20, published by All-American Publications

After seeing how much her son adored the Green Lantern (Alan Scott, not Hal Jordan or any of the others), Ma Hunkel was inspired to fight crime in her New York City neighborhood. Her unusual upper body strength and face concealed under a cooking pot led others to believe that she was a man, giving her the distinction of being the first crossdressing superhero.

Red Tornado eventually worked with two sidekicks known as the Cyclone Kids: her daughter Amelia as “Sisty” and neighbor Mortimer Jibbet as “Dinky.” She was an honorary member of the Justice Society of America, the Golden Age precursor to the Justice League.