Fandom, Feminism, and the Female Superhero on Film

In this book, Lauryn Angel examines female superheroes through a feminist lens, emphasizing the pitfalls of postfeminist representation and the perils and backlash associated with toxic fandom dynamics.
Angel takes a close look at the female superheroes that have taken a large role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe. Are these superheroines truly breaking boundaries and providing new models of female representation? By examining these characters via feminist criticism and comparing them with their comic book counterparts, we can see that many of these characters are stuck in the mire of postfeminist representation. Further complicating the matter is the protests of toxic fans (also called anti-fans) who feel that these female heroes are part of a “woke” agenda.

This book examines several heroines to uncover the relationship between truly empowering representation in superhero franchises and fan protests, with the conclusion that the more positive representations cause the loudest outcry from anti-fans.