Gender in speculative fiction
The first known female superhero is writer-artist Fletcher Hanks's minor character Fantomah, an ageless, ancient Egyptian woman in the modern day who could transform into a skull-faced creature with superpowers to fight evil; she debuted in 1940 in Fiction Houses "Jungle Comics".
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, who was the cousin of the superhero Superman. The character made her first appearance in "Action Comics" #252 (May 1959) and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.