Do Female Superheroes Get the Short End of the Staff?

Let me preface this by saying that comic books and the idea of the typical "superhero" up to now has been a largely testosterone fueled and dominated industry. While there have been female superheroes over the years the characters have largely been crafted and created to still be objectified by the male portion of our species.

Comics and the concept of the superhero have come a long way. Even though equality between the sexes has been common place in pretty much every comic book you can pick up today, one can't help but notice that there is still a tinge of sexism still lingering between those pages. It's subtle but it's there.

Superheroes were created to be the objects of people we wish we could be or can aspire to. It's a fantasy that will forever hold a very dear place in our hearts. They perform impossible feats while trying to juggle the semblance of a "normal" life. A duality that makes them relatable, interesting and attractive.

While male heroes have always been portrayed as impossibly strong with perfectly chiseled physiques, the female heroes over the years never seem to stray too far from appearing on pages still overly sexualized. While there's nothing wrong with admiration of a sketched beauty one has to feel that the portrayals sometimes lack depth. Across many books there's the super powered muscled hero and the voluptuously curved partner in crime fighting right by his side or waiting in the wings posed provocatively and almost always scantily clad. Hard to take a crime fighter seriously when she's practically wearing nothing or leaving little to the imagination.

It's true the industry was mostly created by men for men but as it has evolved one can't help but feel that much of it is still mired in old stereotypes no matter how "progressive" the material may appear to be. This leads to the question why has it taken so long to bring more focus to a more feminine superhero in TV and movies today that stray away from the mold?

The most iconic female hero, Wonder Woman, has yet to grace the silver screen in her own adventure. Characters like the Black Widow (who until now has largely been unknown until Iron Man 2 and Marvel's The Avengers) holds her own among a team that consists of mostly male heroes. Are female superheroes doomed to continually play second fiddle to their male counterparts? Would they be as memorable if they weren't always crafted in the image of what men find sexually ideal?

If you were a comic book artist that was tasked to create the first new great female superhero how would you approach it? What would set your character apart from every stereotype out there? How do you feel about the current state of women in comics? Why? What would you change and why would you change it?