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".
Storm (Marvel Comics)
Created during the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Storm is the first major female character of African descent in comics. She is regarded by some as being Marvel Comics' most important female superhero, having drawn favorable comparison to DC Comics' most famous female lead Wonder Woman. When Marvel and DC Comics published a "DC vs. Marvel" miniseries in 1996, Storm was pitted against Wonder Woman in a one-on-one battle and emerged victorious due to winning a popular vote amongst readers. Storm is also part of one of the higher profile romantic relationships in all of comics. Having married childhood sweetheart and fellow superhero Black Panther, ruler of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, Munroe was made queen consort through marriage. The title was lost however when the two later divorced.