Celebrating the Women of Marvel – Powers of a Girl (Book Review)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has popularized comic book heroes and made them accessible to audiences worldwide. Marvel has accomplished a feat in filmmaking with a 22 movie lineup that has spanned over a decade. They’ve shown us that heroes come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and races! Avengers: Endgame was released a month ago and I still get emotional just thinking about specific scenes. I loved every frame of the film. One of the film’s standout moments features all of Marvel’s female heroes in one shot, a visually empowering scene.  For anyone seeking more ways to celebrate the women of Marvel, look no further.

Powers of a Girl is written by Lorraine Cink and illustrated by Alice X. Zhang. Released in February 2019, the book profiles 65 Marvel Women, many of whom are well known on movie and tv screens today, including Captain Marvel, Gamora, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Peggy Carter, to name a few. Each hero is accompanied by gorgeous illustrations by Alice Zhang. I mean, just look at that cover art. The author provides a summary of each hero’s origin, while emphasizing the inspirational lessons that we can learn from their story. Cink introduces the book by listing the attributes that make up a hero. All heroes are flawed. All heroes go through growing pains. They have to learn how to use their powers and play to their strengths, and sometimes they learn that their flaws are their strengths. And they learn to use their powers for the greater good, because as we all know, with great power comes great responsibility.

Starting off strong, the first hero in the book is Captain Marvel, whose solo film was also a recent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cink provides an in-depth look at Carol Danvers, beyond what we see in the movie, and we learn the character’s comic origins. Carol Danvers was an ace pilot in the Air Force and head of security for NASA before she became Captain Marvel. Her superhero abilities include flight, super strength, energy absorption and photon blasts, and she’s considered the real Strongest Avenger. In the movie, there’s a montage of Carol at different ages, continuously being knocked down, but she doesn’t stay down. No matter how many times she was told she couldn’t do something because she was a woman, she stands up and shows them just how wrong they are. As Cink says, “It can be very hard to push past the limits others place on you…and sometimes the hardest part of achieving great things is pushing past the limits you put on yourself.” Never back down, Danvers.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is another recent fan favorite, although the film isn’t directly connected to the MCU. The film is an achievement in animation and introduced audiences to the multiverse! I was eager to learn more about Spider-Gwen or Ghost-Spider from Earth-65. Gwen is your average high school girl, working a fast food job, drumming in a rock band, and she just also happens to have Spidey-senses. In her dimension, Gwen Stacy is the one who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and Peter Parker is the one who dies. Gwen learns the hard way about the power of having allies. Her father, Captain George Stacy, actually leads the charge against Ghost-Spider, forcing Gwen to eventually reveal her identity to him, and she learns that she doesn’t have to bear the weight of hero life alone. She also learns the benefits of having a support system and a mentor to provide guidance when needed.

There are many lessons to be learned throughout Powers of a Girl. Squirrel Girl aka Doreen Green has squirrel like strength and is equipped with a squirrel tail that she uses in combat. Being unbeatable is one of her traits, but Squirrel Girl is also known for her compassion. She doesn’t want to be the one to start the fight, she’d rather diffuse the situation by trying to understand the enemy’s motives and reach out to help them rather than fight them. Moon Girl aka Lunella Lafayette is only 9 years old and she’s the smartest person on Earth! However, Lunella was often rejected for being too smart. Once her powers manifested, she was finally able to utilize her abilities and inventions to help those in need, and she was finally acknowledged for her natural talents. Ms. Marvel aka Kamala Khan is Pakistani America and an all around geek with the ability to shapeshift. She is part of a newer age of heroes and she championed the idea that, “Kids must save the future, because the future belongs to them,” and that, “Being a hero is less about punching bad guys and more about helping those who need it.”

Powers of a Girl is a great coffee table book that can be read in a casual, non-linear fashion. Readers can jump in and learn about a new hero whenever inspiration is needed, or they can flip through just to appreciate Zhang’s amazing art.