When it comes to the history of small screen male live-action superheroes, it's easy to remember the success stories, i.e Batman, Arrow, Flash, The Incredible Hulk, your various Supermen. But there were also the less successful ventures i.e. Captain America, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange. It's the same for TV superheroines, who have had success stories mixed with short-lived, or never-seen curiosities.

Hopefully, we'll have two more success stories with Supergirl (which premieres tonight on CBS), and Jessica Jones, which will stream on Neflix starting November 20th.

While we wait to see if they pan out, let's take a look back at some of their TV kick-ass sisters throughout the decades. Will these new shows be the next Wonder Woman or Xena, or the next Birds Of Prey?

Isis

"Oh zephyr winds which blow on high, lift me now so i can fly".

Isis is not as well known as her 70's sisters, Wonder Woman and The Bionic Woman, but she probably has a bigger cult following. Joanna Cameron played the Egyptian Goddess on Saturday mornings for two seasons starting in 1975, often paired with Shazam!, thus giving sexually confused boys their weekly helpings of cheesecake and beefcake.

Her superpowers were always a bit ill defined, and they usually involved her having to recite Nipsey Russell style rhymes.

Daisy Johnson

Skye Johnson was a blandly annoying computer hacker when introduced on the first episode of ABC's Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., and was supposed to represent the viewer's entry into this strange world.

But it wasn't until the middle of Season Two, and the reveal that she was actually Daisy Johnson, aka Quake, did she become remotely interesting. An inhuman with the ability to create earthquakes, Daisy has become one of the most integral parts of the series.

Melinda May

As opposed to fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Melinda May, who has always been the coolest character on the show, able to strike terror into the hearts of, well, everyone, with her stoicism and one raised eyebrow.

Batgirl

"Where do you come from, where do you go, what is your scene, baby, we just gotta know"

When the late Yvonne Craig joined the cast of Batman in the third season, it was supposed to provide a boost to the novelty show's sagging ratings. It didn't happen, which is inexplicable considering how much more cool Batgirl was than the dumb and dorky dynamic duo. She had the cooler costume, the cooler theme song, the cooler ride, the cooler moves (a Vegas fan kick!), and instead of changing costumes in a dark and musty cave, she pressed a button to reveal her own personal bondage room!

Wonder Woman

Now that Wonder Woman is finally making it to the big screen, Gal Gadot is going to be under enormous pressure to bring the most iconic of all superheroines to life, something which was attempted four times previously on TV, with varying degrees of success (i.e. only two actually made it to air).

Lynda Carter will always be the one and only Amazon princess to many people, and her complete sincerity in the role is going to be hard to duplicate. For fans of the series, there is one question that has caused endless debate and impassioned discourse. Which was better, WWII Wonder Woman, or Disco Wonder Woman?

Both have their strong points. The WWII era had Hogan's Heroes style Nazis, Gargantua the brainwashed gorilla, and Debra Winger as Wonder Girl. Watch those pigtails fly!

Disco-era Wonder Woman had aliens, the Bermuda Triangle, Rover the robot, Rick Springfield, the "blue wetsuit" costume, and the single greatest scene in the run of the series.

There were other tries (a pilot in 1967 that had Wonder Woman as a klutzy airhead, Cathy Lee Crosby's 1974 super-spy debacle, and David E Kelley's aborted 2011 attempt), but Lynda Carter will forever wear the tiara.

Electrawoman and Dynagirl

For one glorious season starting in 1976, Sid & Marty Krofft gave us the superior distaff version of Batman, with Laurie and Judy, intrepid reporters, living a double life as the dayglo title heroines.

I normally abhor chunky jewelry, but their Electro-Comps were the greatest super fashion accessory since WW's boomerang tiara.

In its too brief life, EW & DG did give us many unexpected and fabulous guest stars, including Sid Haig in a performance that rivals his work as "Capt. Spaulding" in The Devil's Rejects for sheer awesomeness. He plays "The Genie", and in this clip, he and "Ali Baba" find a new and shocking ally, Evil DynaGirl!

In 2001, a pilot for a new version of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl was shot, starring Markie Post. In this travesty, Electra Woman was a drunken trailer park floozy whose husband had run off with the original Dyna Girl. Electra-Unwatchable!

The Bionic Woman

There were many reasons why the 2007 "re-imagining" of Bionic Woman failed (bad casting, bad writing, Isaiah Washington), but I think what doomed it most of all is that it just wasn't fun. It was a depressing, dark experience that had no life or spirit, unlike the original.

Lindsay Wagner won an Emmy for her portrayal of Jamie Sommers, and it was well deserved (no matter what anyone says). It couldn't have been easy having to act alongside Bigfoot, orMax the bionic dog, or your own evil double, or to rescue Space Princess Helen Hunt utilizing some well-placed lettuce missiles, not to mention the infamous Fembots! (and I never trusted that Callahan, by the way).

Darna

I don't expect many people to have heard of this Filipino show, but it should be required viewing for every fan of camp, kick ass babes, or televised insanity. It also is educational, as it teaches two very valuable lessons:

1. Swallowing a glowing Chiclet will grant you superpowers.

2. Flying scenes haven't improved much since Isis.

Black Scorpion

One of my favorite made for cable movies of the 90's, Roger Corman's Black Scorpion spawned an inferior sequel, and an atrocious series spinoff. The original worked splendidly, though, thanks to the combination of gorgeous, statuesque Joan Severance, and a tongue in cheek attitude.

Throw in some soft core titillation and Garrett Morris as her streetwise sidekick, and you have one of the great trashy pleasures of the decade. Above is a horribly choreographed fight scene, but we do see her cool finishing move.

Dark Angel

Max (Jessica Alba) was a genetically-enhanced child who escapes from the government facility where she and eleven others were raised to be super soldiers. Ten years later, she's surviving with the help of her friends, including the faboo Original Cindy, a pre-NCISMichael Weatherly, and Baby Jensen Ackles!

A victim of the Curse Of Fox Scheduling, Dark Angel premiered to good numbers when it debuted in 2000, but was doomed once Fox moved it to the Friday graveyard for its second and last season.

Shalimar Fox

Starring for all three seasons of the syndicated Mutant X, Victoria Pratt played New Mutant Shalimar, who was genetically engineered (what is it with all this genetic-engineering?) as a test subject for the government. She and her fellow mutants (which included the hunk tag team of Victor Webster and Forbes March), searched for and protected other New Mutants.

Shalimar was a Feline Feral, and her abilities included super-strength, reflexes, and the ability to wear a hideous outfit while kicking the ass of her clone.

The Greatest American Heroine

Three years after the demise of The Greatest American Hero, NBC ordered a pilot for a new version, with a female lead. Mary Ellen Stuart played "Holly Hathaway", and the original cast returned to pass the torch (and the alien costume). The series never got beyond the pilot stage, but as you can see, in a touching tribute to the first version of the show, Mary Ellen decided to keep William Katt's hairdo. (I wonder if she also "liked his poem").

Buffy

Who knew that a forgotten cinematic flop would be reborn and become one of the most revered genre classics in TV history. Buffy Summers was TV's longest-lasting superheroine (beating Xena by ten episodes), and her following is still as strong over a decade after the show ended. Now what about that reunion?

Witchblade

Airing for two well-received seasons, TNT's Witchblade is one of the highest rated cable series to be cancelled, with speculation that star Yancy Butler's personal issues at the time led to its premature axing.

She starred as Sara Pezzini, a tough-as-nails homicide detective who learns she is ... The Chosen One! In this case, that means inheriting the powers of a magical gauntlet that protects her and helps her kick ass.

Xena

Xena started as a character on a three-episode arc of Hercules, but proved so popular she received her own spin-off, which quickly surpassed her predecessor in ratings, quality, and worship. Armed with a Chakra, a mission (to atone for past misdeeds by helping the downtrodden) and an initially timid by eventually badass sidekick, Xena brought female empowerment to a whole new level for TV.

And of course, we can't forget the affection. We wouldn't see lesbian undertones like this til Peter and Wendy on Peter Pan Live.

Okay, your turn! Who is your favorite live-action TV superheroine?