A fun little comic tie-in to the DC superhero franchise that aims to teach and empower young girls - and makes a real effort of it.
'DC Super Hero Girls' beats the Smurfette Principle to an absolute pulp, several times over; taking the Fridged Woman trope straight to jail along the way. It brings the spotlight on my favourite DC superheroines/anti-heroines - Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Harley Quinn - as well as Supergirl, the lesser-known Bumblebee and Katana, plus the old villainess Poison Ivy. All are re-imagined as teenagers attending Super Hero High in Metropolis, to prepare becoming fully-qualified superheroes who work together as a team, and are the best of friends. Their strengths and weaknesses are highlighted, and overcome through friendship and girl power (hello 'Friendship is Magic'!).
One of the biggest non-superhero badasses in the DCU, Amanda Waller, is the school principle, with Gorilla Grodd as the vice principle, and Commissioner Gordon is a teacher part-time. One of my personal favourite characters, Beast Boy, is given the time and attention he deserves, and so are the other Teen Titans Starfire and Cyborg (but no Raven, sadly). Lois Lane is a renowned, ambitious news reporter and friend of the school - showing how a woman doesn't need superpowers and high-tech gadgets to be awesome. And the cherry on top, Steve Trevor is a barista at the Cape and Cowl cafe.
Feminism for kids - it's as simple as it should be for adults.
It's a nice breath of fresh air to see something from DC that's lighthearted and hopeful; an antithesis to their "dark and edgy" comics and recent line of movies which desperately try to be "adult", and often fail terribly at. 'DC Super Hero Girls' is unapologetically goofy for children, similar to the olden days of the 60s 'Batman' TV show and 'Super Friends'. The comic, like the cartoon web series, is bright, colourful and so full of cheese and bad puns you can't help but smile.
Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Poison Ivy, Bumblebee, Katana, and Harley Quinn each receive good character development (especially Supergirl), and multiple chances to shine and kick butt like superheroes do:
I adore Batgirl as much as I always have: She is smart, kind and fully prepared for anything. A prodigy who is a true equal to Batman, Babs has more than one Bat Cave, and a Nightwing plushie, how cute!
Harley doesn't get her due until near the end of the comic, but once the focus is on her she is irresistible - a hyperactive party girl with never-ending jokes up her sleeves (including but not limited to a hammer), and a giant friendly heart of gold who ends up saving the other girls. The completely free and independent Harley Quinn is not someone to be overlooked.
Poison Ivy may not be a baddie here, but she still loves mother nature, and occasionally terrorizes people with her plant pranks. One running gag is Ivy being constantly sent to detention by Gorilla Grodd.
(Ivy and Harley don't really interact in the volume, however. Too bad.)
Bumblebee is a lot of fun, and so is the best samurai ever, Katana, in her own way (she has a great platonic friendship with Beast Boy, too). Both of these girls are excellent role models in POC representation in an animated series.
Wonder Woman probably leaves the least impression when compared to everyone else in the group - sounds like a crime in of itself. But it's not really that bad, for she's still a strong, loyal and fierce leader, if a little like the awkward teenage girl lead stereotype common in cartoons for a younger audience.
Also students at Super Hero High are Hawkgirl, Lady Shiva, Cheetah, Catwoman (bizarrely), Star Sapphire, and Miss Martian; though I was more looking forward to seeing Big Barda, who doesn't appear at all in the first volume.
Loads and loads of women with different personalities are represented in a positive light in 'DC Super Hero Girls', a franchise aimed at little girls. It reminds me of cartoons in the 90s and early-2000s I watched as a little girl myself, such as 'Sailor Moon', 'The Powerpuff Girls', 'Kim Possible', and 'Winx Club'.
'DC Super Hero Girls Vol. 1: Finals Crisis' - Superhero girls can achieve anything they put their minds to, and so can ordinary girls. What a confidence booster!
Final Score: 4/5
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