Fantomah

Fantomah is a fictional character, best remembered as the first comic book superheroine. Created by Fletcher Hanks, the character first appeared in Jungle Comics #2 (February 1940), published by Fiction House.

Publication history
Fantomah, "Mystery Woman of the Jungle", was the first female comic book superhero. She first appeared as a back-up feature in Jungle Comics #2, and continued as a back-up feature until her final appearance in issue #51 (March 1944). Her early adventures were written and drawn by Fletcher Hanks; later stories were drawn by George Appel. Some of her early adventures were later reprinted by Fiction House in Ka'a'nga Comics, and later by AC Comics in Golden Age Greats #14 (March 1999).

Fantomah made a more recent appearance in Hack/Slash #29-32, with a return appearance in #5 (2011), written by Tim Seeley.

Character background
Fantomah's origin is explained in Jungle Comics #27 (March 1942), in which it is revealed that Fantomah is an ancient Egyptian princess, revived to protect the jungle. Fantomah's heritage gives her many supernatural powers, making her somewhat similar to magical creatures like the Spectre. When Fantomah uses her powers, her normally beautiful face turns into a blue skull (though her curly blonde hair remains unchanged). Later stories play down Fantomah's supernatural powers, and she began to resemble the more popular Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.

Powers and abilities
Fantomah exhibited a large number of magical abilities, generally as required by the story's plot. Among others, she demonstrated the ability to fly, transform objects into different objects, levitate other objects, cause humans to mutate into other forms, and so on. Generally, whenever Fantomah used her powers, she would change her face from a normal human woman to a blue-skinned skull-like visage.