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 (Matrix)
Matrix is a fictional comic book superheroine, best known as the 1988–2002 Supergirl, published by DC Comics. She was created by John Byrne as part of his Superman revamp. She first appeared (as Supergirl) in "Superman" (vol. 2) #16 (April 1988).