Not that that's the only way that women get a short shrift in superhero comics. She-Hulk is the perfect example of a character whose original creation was down to the success of her male counterpart. Shulkie's since grown into a great, unique hero of her own, but would she have been diminished at all if she had no connection to the Incredible Hulk? Of course not! She's still a super-strong lawyer with green skin. That's awesome regardless of her famous cousin. It happens in DC, too, with the female analogues to Batman and Superman (it's also interesting that usually they're Batgirl and Supergirl, rather than "woman"; Batwoman's making up for that a bit now). Both became individual, beloved characters over time, but why the need to saddle them with a mantle borrowed from a male character, as if the only way to legitimise women characters in comics is by tying their very identity to a man?
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/
