In this paper, I examine four texts in which girls reinvent themselves as superheroes in imaginary worlds, and then find ways to perform the roles of their alter egos in the “real” world. By taking agency in virtual and/or fictional environments that enable them to shed at least some of the restrictions imposed by their gender, these girls learn to ameliorate the powerlessness they feel in their everyday lives.
Princess X (I Am Princess X, Cherie Priest, 2015) is the combined comic alter ego of two girls. When one of them is kidnapped, the girls use both virtual and real-world versions of their superhero to fight back. Kamala Khan’s superhero self in Ms. Marvel (G. Willow Wilson and Adrian Alphona, 2014) is a work in progress. Kamala is a gamer, comic creator, and fanfic writer, but since Ms. Marvel is not her original creation, it takes time for her to mold the persona into what works best for her—which, as it turns out, is a literally flexible version of herself. In Greenglass House (Kate Milford, 2014), a girl takes on the role of an angel-like being from a role-playing game in order to avenge her father’s murder. Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang’s In Real Life (2014) features a gamer girl who becomes an activist when she learns through her super-powered avatar about the seamy side of the video industry.
While these girls have moments of doubt and each must continually readjust her sense of self, they all take on their roles with gusto, for—unlike many traditional male superheroes—the superhero identity is one they have already chosen for themselves and embraced.
About the presenterMaggie Kimpel Bokelman
Maggie Kimpel Bokelman is the librarian at Eagle View Middle School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. She is currently a graduate student at Hollins University working on a master’s thesis about the impact of participatory culture on children’s literature.