Our household is deep in super hero fandom but our actual knowledge is kind of sketchy, as it’s a mismash of cartoons from different eras and the various movies. Because of this we are more familiar with DC female super heroes (Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, etc.) and knew only a few Marvel female supers. But that has been changing as we have found Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl comics and now the Captain Marvel movie. We’re excited to learn about more female supers that fight alongside known characters like Iron Man and Thor. When I saw, Fearless and Fantastic: Female Super Heroes Save the World on the most recent Scholastic book club order form, I knew I had to get it.
It contains information on 54 lady super heroes of the Marvel comics universe. Each woman is given a full page illustration, that would seem to be taken from previous art, as opposed to newly created for this book, due to the variety of art styles and lack of a credited artist. The characters have been grouped into four personal quality categories; determination, daring, compassion, and curiosity. Characters may be a combination of more than one of these qualities but they have been placed in the chapters that they have a particular strength in.
The header of each character description page is a quote from the character. It’s a great introduction and good way to get a brief snapshot of an entire character. In about two paragraphs you get a quick run down about how they gained their power/s and what their special abilities are. Information about which organization/s they belong/have belonged to, a little insight into who they are as a person, and the occasional fun tid bit. For instance, Maria Hill, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, is a fan of pizza and fantasy football. At the bottom of each section is a list of friends, allies, and role models which helps connect these women together.
Fearless and Fantastic! introduced me to many characters I had never heard of and also fleshed out the ones I already knew. This is a good primer for anyone wanting to know more about the Marvel Universe, and specifically about the women in it.