Those who know me can attest that I love comic book superheroes, though my desire to follow the serials isn’t as strong as it once was. As a kid, I was captivated by the action stories generated by Detective Comics (DC). This company created such legendary heroes as Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash to name a few. Each character had special powers which set him apart from others. For instance, Superman’s power was generated from the yellow rays of Earth’s sun, which gave him such abilities as flight and x-ray vision; Batman’s powers are derived from his amazing intellect as well as access to the vast fortune of his deceased parents’ company: Wayne Enterprises; the source of Green Lantern’s power comes from the ring bestowed on him by an advanced race of people sworn to protect the universe; and the Flash’s power comes from his costume that allows him to run almost at the speed of light.

 

While each superhero has his own comic book series, respectively, they all come together to form the Justice League of America (JLA). Here, they use their powers collectively to combat evil. Beyond the above mentioned supermen, there are a host of other characters (mostly male) who form the JLA. Surprisingly enough, the male characters do not impress me near as much as the heroines do. As in real life men are physically stronger than women. When we see images of firefighters, policemen, and service personnel, it is 9 times out of 10 men we will see. And, traditionally, it is the women who stay at home to raise children and take care of the housework. (However, this will be different when John McCain is elected our next president, and Todd Palin will have to stay at home and raise the children of his wife, Vice President Sarah.)

 

Two of my favorite female protagonists are the famous Wonder Woman and the not so well-known Goddess Isis. In the 1970s these two superwomen were each created as a children’s television series. I remember watching in awe as Diana Prince and Andrea Thomas would transform themselves from mild-mannered, unassuming, ordinary women to the demigoddess Wonder Woman and the Goddess Isis! After their transformation, each woman would in turn invoke and use their powers to combat evil and save the day. I was captivated by Wonder Woman especially because in order for her to conjure her powers, she would have to spin around until a light changed her from fully clothed to half naked!

 

The bad part of my fascination came one day when my sister busted me, a boy, for spinning around pretending to be like Wonder Woman. Like most siblings she told everyone in my family, and after almost thirty years, I still haven’t been able to live that one down. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the embedded clips. One comes from The New Adventures of Wonder Woman and the other comes from The Secrets of Isis.