The way that superwomen are introduced into comic books is pretty bad, but they're still better off than the female characters who haven't been blessed with a costume, alter ego and amazing abilities. A trope that's so ingrained in our pop culture that it's as much a problem in comics as films, TV and even video games, the idea of the damsel in distress reduces female characters to plot points, playthings in the inevitable face off between hero and villain, a prize to be won rather than a complete person. Not only does this use of female characters hammer home the idea of women as helpless bystanders, rather than active participants in stories, it's also such an overused story facet that as soon as such a character is introduced you're just counting down the issues until she gets kidnapped by a masked lunatic and forced to watch them and the hero duke it out until somebody claims her. Although it could be worse...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
