Marvel announced that it will launch a brand new version of the Avengers this May called A-Force , and the lineup of superheroes will be entirely female.
Marvel’s press release revealed that She-Hulk, Dazzler, Medusa, and Nico Minoru will be among the members of A-Force .
Meanwhile, Comics Alliance reviewed the cover artwork for A-Force #1 and listed off the characters appearing on it.
“The cover features a huge number of heroes; She-Hulk, Medusa, and new character Singularity up front, flanked by Dazzler, Storm, Rogue, Wasp, Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew), Phoenix, Scarlet Witch, Nico Minoru, Elektra, Aurora, Spectrum, Rescue, Hellcat, Spider-Woman (Gwen Stacy), Firestar, Vindicator, Black Widow, Jubilee, Lucy In The Sky, Snowbird, Pixie, and Marvel’s greatest hero, Moondragon.”
At the same time, the CA article noted the absence of several popular Marvel female characters, including Ms. Marvel, Shadowcat, Black Cat, Emma Frost, Mystique, and Sue Storm.
The announcement of A-Force seems to be in line with Marvel’s strategy recently. Time noted that, “Marvel has been methodically rolling out new female characters and promoting old ones over the past several years in an effort to reach out to its female fan base.”
The same article indicated that there is perhaps a larger percentage of female comic book readers than many would think, saying that “47% of comic fans are female.”
#MarvelAForce assembles in #SecretWars with @GWillowWilson , @EvilMarguerite & Jorge Molina: http://t.co/Fhlznkhz1x pic.twitter.com/GkvDGDFrgW
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) February 6, 2015
The Washington Post covered the announcement of the new Avengers team by adding that A-Force represents a larger trend of “the traditional Big-2 comics publishers” attempting to alter their characters and products to appeal more to their current fan bases. The Post also noted A-Force won’t be Marvel’s first all-women team.
“Not too long ago, an all-‘X’-chromosome X-Men -franchise team was announced, so an Avengers squad of women isn’t such a big surprise. It stands as testament to Marvel’s many popular female characters, in fact, that the publisher can do this with not one but two team franchises.”
Entertainment Weekly added that Marvel also has “over a dozen other female-led titles.”
Time reports that, “Marvel’s female-centric titles are exceeding expectations,” and attributes this success in part to social media.
“While readers have long asked for more representations of minorities and women in comic books, they haven’t followed through by purchasing those comics. But social media sites, forums for fan fiction and the ability to exchange tweets with comic book authors has created a groundswell of enthusiasm for female superheroes.”
The Inquisitr previously reported on comic books changing their stories and characters in the name of diversity, with the character of Captain America now being portrayed by Sam Wilson, also known as the Avenger, Falcon, being a prime example from the Marvel universe.
[Image via official Marvel Twitter account]
