Fifty years after she first appeared in a comic-book, Batwoman is to reappear, as a lesbian socialite by day, caped crusader by night. The July edition of DC Comics' 52 magazine features her reintroduction after more than 20 years. In her previous guise, she carried a handbag, and spent time swooning over Batman and Robin.
So is her new incarnation ringing in the changes and signalling a move towards stronger, leading female superhero characters? Or are women still playing second fiddle to their male counterparts? Joining Jenni are Lorcan McGrane who is currently writing a PhD thesis on superheroes and Dr Esther MacCallum-Strewart, a researcher in science fiction and popular literature of the 20th Century.
