Superman has been part of the pop culture consciousness since 1938. The DC character for 86 years has appeared in movies and TV. The James Gunn film is going to be released and My Adventures With Superman is entering its second season. Superman is more popular than ever and there is not sign he will be absent from media. This means other characters of the Superman Universe will be getting exposure as well. Supergirl is Clark’s cousin who also made multiple appearances in TV, comics, and movies. Supergirl ran for six season between 2015 to 2021. The 1984 film was a failure. Since that time there have been no attempts to make another Supergirl movie. The character still appears in cartoons and comics. When drawn in a comic or animated series, one question arises. Supergirl’s character design is very slender, Compared to Clark Kent he is gigantically muscular. Some comic artists almost make her look anorexic. Occasionally, some artist will give Supergirl an athletic figure. This should not be a rare character design for the character.
Supergirl is a kryptonian. This is an alien race of the DC universe that gains power from the Earth’s Sun. They are not only technologically advanced, but a capable warrior society. The ability to absorb the solar energy manifests in powers. Kryptonians can gain superhuman strength, flight, speed, X-ray and heat vision. Supergirl is an superpowered extraterrestrial being. She should at least look powerful.
The heroic character design tends to present a muscular physique . This has been the standard in most comic books. However, there is a double standard based on gender. The muscular body was given to male heroes. Women were drawn closer to supermodels. The criticism is that women are not shown as powerful, rather just props to the male hero. The sexual objectification of female characters is not exclusive to comic books. Body image conformity is not exclusive to the medium either. The design of bodybuilder men and supermodel women does play into a male power fantasy. Herculean dimorphism is the paradigm seen in comics. Supergirl should not be regulated to the same design as other female superheroes. Giving her a different design is another way of making the character unique.
Fan art depicts a more muscular Supergirl on a regular basis. There are women who look more super than fictional heroes.
Her creation was originally a female counterpart to Superman. DC already had a character like that in Wonder Woman. The character made her appearance between 1958 and 1959. Supergirl needs more development as a separate character. A design change would help. All the version through the years only one comic depicted her a athletic looking. This was in Elseworld’s Finest : Supergirl and Batgirl (1998). The comic was one-shot and set in an alternate universe. The problem with Supergirl is more than just character design. Some female heroes just become copies of their male counterparts. Overtime Supergirl broke out of the pattern somewhat. More development is required if the character is to maintain relevance.
DC artists should have no problem drawing a muscular physique on Supergirl. A number of characters had that design. Characters such as Wonder Woman and Power Girl on occasion were drawn this way. Minor characters such as Ms. Muscle ( New Adventures of Supeboy) and Dione have physiques Supegirl should have. Ms. Muscle was a minor character that appeared in 1983 at a time when women’s bodybuilding was still a new sport. She was not depicted in a negative or stereotypical manner. The goofy element about her is she has the ability to leap long distances.
Ms. Muscle, Power Girl, Dione and Wonder Woman show athletic physiques. Super Girl has only been drawn that way in a one-shot comic from 1998.
It would be understandable that some artist might not know how to draw muscular women. Most of the comic art or drawing guides still use the slender body type for women. Artists doing a slender design for women is not always out of malice. Trying a new design can be difficult. Excuses become limited when looking at past comic issues from DC. The majority of this art comes from past decades. Comic artists should have no issue doing this for Supergirl.
The opposing view for not making Supergirl look strong lack cogency. To say it is not realistic for women would be false. There are a number of female athletes who look like Kryptonians. Comics do not operate on realism. This is why it is fiction. The most unrealistic aspect about comics is that powerful beings would actually help people. The only rational justification would be that in most renditions Supergirl is a teenager. A teen girl would not be that muscular as she would as an adult. The demographics argument also is made. Detractors assert that comics are mostly for boys and therefore pander to male power fantasy. The stereotype is that nerds do not want to see strong women in their comics. If women have a role, then it is regulated to an object of desire. This ignores that the audience for comics has expanded. Over the years art styles have changed. Readers are not going to abandon comics due to a few changes. The comics fan will do so if the art is low quality or the stories are not interesting. The variety of styles make comics rich. Experimenting with a different character design for Supergirl will not reduce readership. Those who are dedicated fans of the franchise will remain loyal.
Fan art is in a way ahead of DC artists. Fan art online and across social media shows the image of a powerful Supergirl. DC just provides one shot characters or temporary changes to a main character. Lois Lane got the body of a “girl athlete” in Lois Lane : Superman’s Girlfriend #90 (1969). The machine she gets into allows her to change her appearance. She did not seem pleased with the result. This was only done for that issue. Like many silver age comics, stories were bizarre, corny, or just crazy.
Ms. Magnificent made only one appearance. Lois Lane got a body of a female athlete from an alternate universe. Fan art of muscular Supergirl can be easily found.
Minor and one shot characters are quickly forgotten. These characters were either meant to be jokes or some individuals with odd quirks. Ms. Magnificent ( Emma Sue) was a woman bodybuilder supervillain. Her only appearance was in Legends Volume 4 (1987). Obsessed with physical fitness Ms. Magnificent and her gang were robbing a bank. Why she turned to crime was not explained. The blond hair gives off a Supergirl vibe. This character’s design should have been Supergirl’s. Visualize Ms. Magnificent in a Supergirl uniform. She look more super than the Kryptonian. Fan art seems to have progressed to more compared to the actual comic artists.
Supergirl has the same powers as Superman. This includes superhuman strength, speed, flight, and durability. Supergirl has X-ray vision, wind, and freeze breath. Supergirl also has heat vision. Her major weakness is kryptonite. If she does not have muscle, then it makes no sense that Superman does. If their strength is dependent on the sun, then it has little to do with individual anatomy. Superman get close to a red sun does not shrink his muscles. All it does is make him weakens him. Much of their abilities and the degree of their powers depends on the writers. Character design depends on the pencillers, inkers, and other comic artists. Supergirl should at least look more athletic. The character design does not really stary from the super model image. Supergirl appeared in Superman The Animated Series (1996-2000) and Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006). Normally, animators may take liberties with character design. Supergirl was still shown as thin. Change could happen, but not anytime soon. It is unlikely that My Adventures With Superman will deviate from the thin character design for Supergirl. Based on the season two trailer it confirms the assumption. Someday there will be a change in Supergirl’s body to a stronger looking one. A new generation of comic artists and animators will have to be willing to do so.
Femuscleblog 
Supergirl with big muscles is more beautiful!
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There is this true story about a young, petite and cute young woman named Ashley Aldridge( She was just 19 years old back in 2015 when this happened!) in Auburn Illinois who lifted a 200 pound man from his motorized scooter that he got stuck on the railroad tracks! And right before the train hit him, she tilted the scooter backyards and with a mighty heave, she pulled him out of the scooter and to safety! She did this by herself without the help of a man, and she was barefoot when she performed this feat of strength! And the reason why I tell you this story is because it is proof that a woman can still be very strong and powerful and still look like and act like a woman!
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Being muscular does not reduce a woman’s femininity. Your story lacks relevance to our discussion. This is about character design. Comics tend to given women the same character design and that is the issue. All women do not need to be thin in comics. There are many female athletes in which comic artists could use as a basis for their designs.
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No! Supergirl can still be very strong physically, but she can still look like a woman! The myth that women have to look like men in order to be able to lift 300 pounds is a lie!
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Having muscle does not make women look like men. Supergirl’s character design at times almost makes her look anorexic. Based on your logic Superman should not have a muscular physique either.
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All of the pictures that you have of strong women on here all look like men, because they have manly muscles. They look like that because they took steroids and male hormones! A woman can still be physically strong and still look like women, just like all of the women that I mentioned on “What the bible says about a woman’s physical strength.” I appreciate you making this website about strong women, but you need to change those pictures and make a article about how women actually look when they are able to lift hundreds of pounds.
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And I never said that women having muscles makes them look like men, all I was saying is when a woman takes steroids and so she will be muscular like a man!
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The women pictured are Yaz Boyum and Collette Nelson. Neither of these athletes have taken steroids. Second of all, you do not have evidence all women on here are using PEDs. if they do that is their choice. They do not have “man muscles.” Their muscles are just bigger. Stop spamming the comments section. Unless you have valid points to make it just becomes trolling. You have some nerve policing women’s appearance. The original topic here was about character design and you just shifted it to insulting women. How are character looks is up to the artist. None of the examples of the fan art and actual DC comic panels make women look like men. Actually, using that phrase has sexist and transphobic sentiment.
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Those women on this site do have nice feminine looking faces. And a woman can still lift hundreds of pounds and she will still look muscular like a woman. Steroids destroy a woman’s femininity.
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Steroids were not the topic of this post. People can do what ever they want to their bodies.
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I am not isulting women, I am just speaking the truth. Look at Allyson Felix and Flo-Jo. And a good example of a female character is Annisa. At fist she looked masculine than the artists changed her design to look feminine. This is in the invincible comic book series.
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Those same insults were directed at Florence Griffith Joyner and Allyson Felix. Muscular women and various female athletes are accused of being masculine, which is a projection of sexism. The irony is that you are doing the same thing. All the artists did for Invincible was reduce Anissa’s muscle size. That was really not an improvement. You really should not use her as an example, because she basically rapes Mark. Comics have the same template for all women. Super model bodies and large breasts. You are speaking truth; it is your opinion.
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And I mentions Allyson Felix and Flo-Jo because they still look feminine and have feminine muscles!
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How am I doing the same thing? I am not saying that women can’t have muscles, I love women with muscles so long as they still look feminine. As you can tell from my comments, I am not doing the same thing.
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You are saying women with a certain muscle size are unfeminine. That is just proving my point. The only value women are to you is based on their appearance, not their athletic performance. There is not such thing as “feminine muscle” and “masculine muscle.” Both sexes have the same muscular system. The difference is in the size and amount of physical strength which is sexual dimorphism. Allyson Felix and Florence Griffith Joyner developed muscles from sprinting. If they were bodybuilders their muscles would not all of a sudden become masculine . I really do not care about your preferences, opinions, or what you have to say. You expressing your opinion does not give you a right to vituperate the women on this site or anyone else, because it offends you.
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Cam you look up Toni Mitchell and Lovely Joy. That proves my point!
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And on YouTube there are two lovely and feminine looking women, Toni Mitchell and Lovely Joy. They both have muscles but still look like women! Mitchell can lift 165 pounds while Joy can lift over 315 pounds!
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I know who they are and that does not have relevance to the discussion. The point of this article was Supergirl’s character design. You don’t have much of an argument. The only thing you show is a gender bias, which you try to hide as being a preference. The fact is women do not care about what you think or your feelings.
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I know, and if some women want to take steroids and look like a man than that is their choice! And in your mind if you think that what i said was “Gender Bias” that’s your problem.You can like manly looking women all you want, I am not judging you! Bye!
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Well, it is gender bias. You think that women who do not conform to your idea beauty are just manly. Second of all, there are women who do use steroids and do not show signs of virilization. That is why sports organizations test for substances. You made accusations with out evidence. Calling women with large muscles mannish is sexist. Insulting women based on their body size is gender bias. You would express such insults to a man, but you think it is okay to do to women. The double standard is obvious. I can tell you have some personal issues . Writing 97 comments on the same article just shows that. This is not a place to write your sermons or preach. If you do not like the look of the athletes, stop coming here.
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All I am trying to say is that these women that you have on here with giant muscles bigger than our heads is not normal for a woman, they are taking male hormones or steroids. I appreciate the strength of women but I like it when they build their bodies naturally, and not taking drugs to do so. That’s why I like Toni Mitchell and Lively Joy because they are natural and not on any kind of drugs or enhancements.
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Building muscle is not natural. The only thing natural is the body in untrained state. Medicine is not natural, but we use it to fight disease. That was not what you said initially. You said big women are mannish . Now you start to lie when someone challenges your position. Now you sound arrogant dictating what is normal for a woman’s body.
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The truth is is that those women are in something. Julia Vins also has a manly looking g body because she is in steroids, but she does have a pretty face. It’s unfortunate that some women love steroids, just for the sake of lifting heavier weight. You are the one that started the argument, I was just stating fact that steroids make women look manly, if these women didn’t take steroids, they would look like Allyson Felix and Flo-Jo and Toni Mitchell and Lovely Joy! I would date any four of these women, not Julia Vins or the women in that picture above. I wrote those 97 comments because I was trying to show the physical strength of women in certain situations especially since you were talking about the bible and what it says about a woman’s physical strength. If anyone has issues it’s you.
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What issues do you think I have?
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Spamming a page with 97 comments seems to project that you want attention. Trolling a page also appears to me that you want to police women’s appearance and behavior. That is very narcissistic on your part.
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That is what I meant, remember when you said” If they do than that’s their choice.” Remember? So I am not lying, I am against the idea of women using steroids and male hormones. Women can still be strong and build muscle without that trash! Women that take steroids are mannish looking women, I did say that from the beginning kook at my 5th comment.
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No, you did not. You specifically said women with large muscles look mannish. Then you just changed the conversation to steroid use. What we were talking about was Supergirl’s character design. All you do is go off an irrelevant tangents.
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Julia Vins is just a woman with large muscles.Having large muscles does not make women manly. You accuse her of drug use and I know for a fact that you don’t have results from a drug test . Those 97 comments are spamming the page with your religious fanatic preaching. If you want to write an essay make a blog of your own .
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Steroids are unhealthy for both men and women.
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Any medicine or drug can be unhealthy if taken in large amounts. That was not the topic of this post. You decided to body shame women of a certain size. I mean its basically like those people who make fun of women who are overweight. It is rude to insult someone’s appearance, so stop acting like it was you just expressing an opinion.
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If you like women that take steroids that’s fine, I was just getting rid if the myth that women have to take steroids in order to be able to lift a certain amount of weight.
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No you are not. You are trolling and then trying to cover it up by acting noble. You lost the argument and then go on tangents. You mention drug use when it has nothing to do with Supergirl’s character design. The fact is what your statement about the athletes was disrespectful. There are no mental gymnastics you can do to refute that.
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Exactly how did I lose?
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The argument is what you lost . There really is no point discussing this further.
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What issues do you think I have?
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