--- title: DC and Mattel Team Up to Create Superhero Action Figures for Girls description: The minds behind Wonder Woman and Barbie team up to market superheroes to young women canonical: https://time.com/3833320/dc-mattel-superhero-action-figures-comics-girls/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-23T20:31:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:57.450Z og:title: DC and Mattel Team Up to Create Superhero Action Figures for Girls og:description: The minds behind Wonder Woman and Barbie team up to market superheroes to young women og:url: https://time.com/3833320/dc-mattel-superhero-action-figures-comics-girls/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb833cd7d4853552/6987ec9f55a8591842a89bc1/dc-super-hero-girls_5537ee21c01bd1-39734216.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: DC Super Hero Girls_5537ee21c01bd1.39734216 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: DC and Mattel Team Up to Create Superhero Action Figures for Girls twitter:description: The minds behind Wonder Woman and Barbie team up to market superheroes to young women twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb833cd7d4853552/6987ec9f55a8591842a89bc1/dc-super-hero-girls_5537ee21c01bd1-39734216.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # DC and Mattel Team Up to Create Superhero Action Figures and Comics for Girls  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Apr 23, 2015 8:31 PM UTC  DC Publicity  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Apr 23, 2015 8:31 PM UTC Ahead of the _Wonder Woman_ movie, set for 2017, DC Comics has teamed up with Mattel on a new initiative focused on reaching young girls. Beginning this fall, the two will create teen versions of DC’s most famous female characters—from Wonder Woman to Supergirl—and bring them to comic books, action figures, LEGO building sets, TV specials, digital content and apparel for children aged 6-12. The animation and consumer products division of Warner Bros.—the studio that has produced DC Comics films like _The Dark Knight_ and the upcoming _Batman v. Superman_—has already created concept art for characters like Batgirl, Supergirl, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Wonder Woman. The move is part of an ongoing effort by DC and rival Marvel to broaden their fan base, especially as their studio branches face accusations of sexism. **MORE:** [The New _Wonder Woman_ Director Means Warner Bros. Is Listening](http://time.com/3824430/wonder-woman-patty-jenkins-new-director/) Responding to the demands of a growing female audience—47% of comic books fans are women, [according to](http://www.comicsbeat.com/market-research-says-46-female-comic-fans/) Comics Beat—Marvel has made headlines the past two years for re-imagining their most popular heroes as women. A woman took up Thor’s hammer [last year](http://time.com/2987551/thor-marvel-woman/). The _Spider-Man_ writers created an alternate universe in which Peter Parker’s girlfriend, Gwen Stacey, is the one who gets superpowers from a radioactive spider and becomes [Spider-Gwen](http://time.com/3724147/spidergwen-spiderman-comics/). And they launched a new all-female Avengers-like comic called [_The A-Force_](http://time.com/3699450/marvel-aforce-secret-wars-superhero-female/)_._ For its part, DC revised Batgirl last year to appeal to more female readers and launched a new young adult title _Gotham Academy_. “DC Super Hero Girls represents the embodiment of our long-term strategy to harness the power of our diverse female characters,” said DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson in a statement. “I am so pleased that we are able to offer relatable and strong role models in a unique way, just for girls.” Still, there’s no guarantee that DC diversifying its comics means we’ll see these ladies on the big screen anytime soon. DC and Marvel have female superhero films planned for the next few years, beginning with _Wonder Woman_ for DC in 2017 and _Captain Marvel_ for Marvel in 2018\. But both franchises have encountered their fair share of controversy. Just today, actors Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner of _Avengers: Age of Ultron_, a series Captain Marvel might very well join, called Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow a “slut” and a “whore” during an interview. Black Widow is currently the most well-known female character in Marvel’s cinematic universe, and the [backlash online](http://time.com/3832841/chris-evans-jeremy-renner-scarlett-johansson-black-widow/) was swift. Fans wondered if _Captain Marvel_ writers Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve will encounter the same sexist attitude while working on their script. Meanwhile, DC and Warner Bros. came under fire last week for the _Wonder Woman_ film. Director Michelle MacLaren, who would have been the first woman to direct a major superhero film, left _Wonder Woman_ citing “creative differences.” The vague excuse led to accusations of sexism: Though there have been almost 50 superhero movies in the last decade, none have been directed by a woman. Warner Bros. quickly [hired Patty Jenkins](http://time.com/3824430/wonder-woman-patty-jenkins-new-director/)—who was originally supposed to direct _Thor 2_ but left over, you guessed it, “creative differences”—to replace MacLaren. It was these sorts of sexist issues that drove smaller toy makers to create their own female action figures before DC entered the market. Last Christmas a successful Kickstarter campaign launched the IAmElemental action figures for girls designed to look powerful, not sexual (like, for example, Barbie). “The few female action figures that are on the market are really designed for the adult male collector,” Dawn Nadeau, co-founder of IAmElemental [told TIME](http://time.com/2886034/female-superhero-action-figure/) last year. “The form is hyper-sexualized: The breasts are oversized; the waist is tiny. When you make the figures sit, their legs splay open in a suggestive way.” Now DC hopes their new characters can similarly act as a powerful role model for girls. Whether DC’s new characters can similarly act as a powerful role model for girls has yet to be seen. **MORE:** [The Female Superhero May Finally Take Flight](http://time.com/2886034/female-superhero-action-figure/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3833320/dc-mattel-superhero-action-figures-comics-girls/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3833320/dc-mattel-superhero-action-figures-comics-girls/"},"headline":"DC and Mattel Team Up to Create Superhero Action Figures and Comics for Girls","datePublished":"2015-04-23T20:31:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:57.450Z","description":"The minds behind Wonder Woman and Barbie team up to create action figures for girls","url":"https://time.com/3833320/dc-mattel-superhero-action-figures-comics-girls/","keywords":["Living","Culture"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb833cd7d4853552/6987ec9f55a8591842a89bc1/dc-super-hero-girls_5537ee21c01bd1-39734216.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfb833cd7d4853552/6987ec9f55a8591842a89bc1/dc-super-hero-girls_5537ee21c01bd1-39734216.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"DC Super Hero Girls_5537ee21c01bd1.39734216","caption":"","creditText":"DC Publicity","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3833320/dc-mattel-superhero-action-figures-comics-girls/","name":"DC and Mattel Team Up to Create Superhero Action Figures and Comics for Girls"}}]}] ```