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The 11 Most Fabulous Animated Superheroines Of All Time

"I summon the full power of the STORM!!!"

Live-action superheroes are all the rage now—in both movies and television. But when we were kids, the only place to see costumed do-gooders saving the day was Saturday morning cartoons.

With Supergirl soaring on CBS, and Halloween around the corner, we though we'd share our 11 favorite female superheroes from the world of cartoons.

In order to qualify as a superhero, a character has to A. have a secret identity and B. endeavor to benefit mankind.

With that in mind, let's get started!


She-Ra

We respect what Filmation was trying to do with She-Ra, but she always felt like she was He-Man's beard. Which is creepy considering she was his long-lost twin sister. Still, we do like a good transformation sequence, and hers was pretty sweet indeed.

Raven, "Teen Titans Go!"

We have to love a superheroine who's even grumpier than we are. Plus, "Azrael Metrion Zinthos!" is a pretty awesome mantra (as mantras go).

Spider-Woman

Okay, we admit this Marvel cartoon from 1979 is pretty clunky—both in story lines and animation. But we just love everything about the original Spider-Woman—her long, silky hair, the tight Day-Glo costume, the fact that her origin had NOTHING to do with Spider-Man. Plus, Joan Van Ark did her voice in the cartoon. JOAN VAN ARK!!!

Mother-1, "Bionic Six"

We might be the only ones to remember Bionic Six, a late '80s cartoon that combined The Super Friends with Eight is Enough: A well-intentioned couple raising biological and adopted kids—and everyone gets bionic enhancements! Helen Bennett, a.k.a. Mother-1, dolloped out words of wisdom to her super-powered brood, but kicked ass when necessary. She also had ESP powers that allowed her to see glimpses of the future, communicate telepathically and project hologram-like illusions.

Storm, "X-Men: The Animated Series"

Despite the fact that animation is a visual medium, Saban Entertainment felt the need to have Storm loudly enunciate every time she used her powers. "SWARM, MIGHT WINDS—AND CARRY US TO JEAN!" Jeez, lady, take it down a notch.

Firestar, "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends"

Another amazing transformation: Firestar would just raise her hands up and a radiating aura would change her from street clothes into her costume. We also loved the implied sexual tension between her, Iceman and Spidey.

Elastigirl, "The Incredibles"

For once, the woman in a superhero group has cool visual powers. None of this invisibility crap, or "thinking" at your enemy. Plus, how cool is it that she's a righteous superhero who has mom butt?

Hawkgirl, "Justice League Unlimited"

All Hawkgirl had was a pair of wings, but she made herself one of the most invaluable members of the Justice League. You really felt like she could smash a battle cruiser in half with that mace of hers.

Wonder Woman, "Super Friends"

Frankly, we're not 100% sure why the Super Friends' Wonder Woman ranks so high on this list. She's not the best iteration of the character, and she seemed to get whomped pretty easy. But how can we resist the red high heel boots and earrings combo? Plus, it was the Super Friends that introduced Wonder Woman's invisible jet, which is simultaneously the most amazing and the most useless super-vehicle ever. ("Don't ask me where we parked it, Aquaman!")

Jem

Okay, we're stretching it with the whole "endeavoring to benefit mankind" thing, but there was that time Jem helped Kimber build an orphanage—or something—right? But honestly, Jem had the best transformation sequence of them all—plus a girlsquad that predated the Spice Girls by more than a decade. And then there was Rio. Ahh, Rio.

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