I’ve been a superhero buff for as long as I can remember; I watched the television shows, read the comics, and have gone to see almost all of the movies. However for as much as I love them, they all seem to portray their women the same way with few exceptions. The woman presented in the films are used as love interests who sole purpose is to be the damsel for the hero to save from his enemies. It’s always been like that for women in films with female leads few and far between.

So the idea where the woman is the hero, isn’t the one who needs saving and isn’t solely used as a love interest for a man is a new idea for most people. Wonder Woman is a character that many girls can look up to and aspire to be. Diana Prince of Themyscira grew of on an island of warrior women without a man among them. She grew up with the knowledge that women never needed men to survive. She grew up knowing how strong women could actually be. She grew up knowing that women were meant for more than to just get married and have children. Unfortunately, many little girls in the real world don’t know any of this because it’s not what we are taught and it’s not what we are told.

The first movie I ever remember seeing was the 1992 movie ‘Batman Returns’ with Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Keaton, and Danny DeVito. I used to watch it all the time; in fact, I still put it into my DVD player whenever I need a pick-me-up. I always loved Catwoman in that film; she was my favorite character. I watched her go from scared girl to strong woman who refused the offer of a man to live in his fairy tale home. Unfortunately, Catwoman was an anomaly in the different superhero universes for a long time; there aren’t all that many female superheros addressed in movies or television shows. Which is why it is important to see the significance of a female superhero movie like ‘Wonder Woman.’

Catwoman and Batman were the first superheros I saw as a little girl, but Wonder Woman could be the first superhero that little girls from this generation see. They get to see a woman rise up and save the day instead of standing on the sidelines while a man takes care of it. They get to see how a woman can be stronger than a man if she wants to be. They get to see a woman defeat the villain all on her own without the help of anyone. ‘Wonder Woman’ has the potential to teach little girls that we don’t need someone to save the day for us but we can do it all on our own.