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This caused me to raise an eyebrow. Not that I read Marvel. Or even care what they're doing. But it seems to be part of a minor trend. Not only are they switching up for a female Black Panther but I see to recall there being a "Lady Bullseye" recently.

It's not just Marvel, either. Lord knows that DC's been guilty of this before. I seem to recall Wildcat II and Doctor Mid-Nite II both being female versions of the original characters. And not long ago we had a Lady Chronos.

Now don't get me wrong; I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. I'm all for diversity in comics. But sometimes I wonder if this sort of thing is being done for the right reason. Are female versions of established male characters appearing because it's an organic story? Or are they appearing because the almost exclusively male editorial staffs at the companies want excuses to put -- if I may be so blunt -- hot chicks the costumes?

Is it really about telling good stories? Or is it just a way to to appeal to the lowest common denominator: the "typical" comic fan who reads comics to ogle at attractive women that he can't get in real life?

Now I know as well as the rest of you that that is not really what the typical comic fan is like. There isn't any typical comic fan. We're as varied as comics are. But Marvel (and surely DC to an extent) still seems to think that most of their fans are that media-borne stereotype. And surely some of them are. Is that why they're giving us "Black Pantheress" and "Lady Chronos"?

And if that's the reason, is that really a good reason. Like I said, I want more female characters in comics. And I want more female headliners. But is a stunt like this (and forgive me if I assume something Joe Quesada calls "a very cool idea" a stunt) really the way we want to bring more women into headliner status as comics? Maybe so. Maybe it's the only way you can get a still overwhelming male comic audience to accept it.

Or maybe not. And maybe I'm completely wrong. Maybe Hudlin and Marvel have crafted a brilliant, clever story about why an established male hero is replaced with a female version wearing a skintight black outfit. But then, I don't hold much hope. Because, after all, It's Marvel.