The Best Women Space Travelers in Comics
In 1978, a young woman by the name of Sally Ride joined NASA. On June 18th of 1983, she became the first American woman in space. Her trip on the space shuttle Challenger also made her the first woman ever to operate a robotic arm in space and retrieve a satellite. In 2012, Ride passed away from pancreatic cancer. On May 26th, America will celebrate Ride’s impressive achievements. To honor Sally in typical Quirk fashion, we put together a list of some of the best women in space from the world of comics.
Gamora
Any woman who can put Drax the Destroyer in his place is not to be trifled with. The Guardians of the Galaxy would have been up a creek without a paddle on more than one occasion if not for Gamora. The former assassin has become a great ally to many heroes. She has also gained worldwide recognition since her appearance in the summer blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy film.
Warbird
Ava'Dara Naganandini (a.k.a Warbird) is one bad-ass woman. A high ranking officer in the Imperial Guard of the Shi’ar Empire, Warbird accompanied a young member of Shi’ar royalty to Earth as his bodyguard. While her young charge was learning the responsible use of his incredible power, Warbird joined the X-Men on several missions. Eventually she became a full member of the X-Men, leading to even more adventures.
Sue Storm
The only female member of the Fantastic Four is also an intrepid space adventurer. Sue and the rest of the team gained their awesome powers in the midst of a cosmic storm while traveling through space. As an invaluable member of the team, The Invisible Woman has logged more space time than almost any other human woman in all of Marvel history.
Jade
Being a Green Lantern is a tough job. It's one thing to be a police officer dealing with street level thugs, but Jade is dealing with galactic level threats. The first female Green Lantern from Earth, Jade has proven herself an integral part of multiple super-teams. Jade was so committed to her job that she lost her life in an attempt to stop Alexander Luthor Jr. from destroying the universe.
Nika
Nika Temsmith is a space explorer with a huge problem. After being exposed to a rare plant known as Trillium, she finds herself traveling back in time. It is in that new time period where she falls in love with a young World War I veteran, William Pike. As the story progresses, it becomes more and more difficult for Nika to separate her time period from William’s. Things get tense for Nika as her time traveling threatens to tear the universe apart.
Anna Bracken
Dr. Bracken is an amazing psychologist. In Warren Ellis’s short comic series Orbiter, Bracken is tasked with getting an astronaut to speak about why he and his ship went MIA for a decade. When at last she gets him to speak, she is treated to the secrets of space, which are almost impossible to believe. By the end of the story, Bracken is compelled to go into space to see its wonders for herself.
Alana
Alana is one tough lady. In Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples' space epic Saga, Alana evades two warring armies, a few bounty hunters, and a plethora of other dangers. She manages to do all manner of amazing thing all while protecting her newborn child and her husband. Yet even with all of the dangers that plague her, this planet hopping lady doesn’t lose her sense of humor.
