DC Finally Realizes Girls are a Targetable Demographic – ‘DC Super Hero Girls’ to Launch This Fall


Back in 2012, there was an absolutely amazing set of short cartoons done by Lauren Faust (of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fame) for DC that focused on three super BFFs:

The titular Super BFFs, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl oozed enough fun, chemistry, and general kick-buttedness that my daughter and I wailed openly when we got to the last episode and realized there would be no more. It was Powerpuff Girls, but in DC form.

Since then, there’s been a major vacuum in the market when it comes to elementary-school-age girls and superheroes. Everything has been skewed towards adult collectors or boys. If my daughter wanted a superhero fix, she had to settle for the teeny-footed, wasp-waisted figures that were crammed into the boy toys or the one line of bobble-headed, nearly-anorexic fashion dolls that briefly delved into superheroics.

Thank God, someone over at DC finally woke up and realized they had a bonanza of strong female characters that they were letting lie fallow. Because today they announced what’s known in sportsball as a “full court press” with DC Super Hero Girls.

DC Super Hero Girls

It’s cartoons! It’s video games! It’s books! Seriously, it’s been for-EV-er since these awesome Wonder Woman books came out and it kills me that there’s been nothing new to slake my daughter’s thirst other than pratfall-comedy titles (which have their place, but c’mon, let’s let girls have a serious superhero outing!). Mattel has stepped up and said, right out of the gate, that they’re going to make toys that are fun and not just show pieces. And let’s not forget LEGO! If I were a betting man, I’m guessing that LEGO will parlay this brand right into their Friends-style line (which expanded last year to include Disney Princesses).

Does this mean that my daughter will be able to have Wonder Woman and Elsa hang out in LEGO ice castles and fly around in invisible jets together? One can only hope.

This announcement has already brought the trolls out. If you click through to the official announcement, you’ll see them already plying their “what about boys?” and “girls don’t care about oversexualization” tropes. It’s sad; but it also tells me that DC is on the right track. Girls have had to carve out their own place in the fandom for a long time. Now that they’ve finally set stakes, it’s time they had a place to call their own. My daughter and I will be there, wallets in hand, to support them.

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