This is where girl power started for me

The new Avengers movie: Age of Ultron is smashing it around the world.

All hail Scarlett Johansson as the ‘Black Widow’.  Your teenage sons and daughters will no doubt be thrilled to watch her blow up things in a black leather jumpsuit. Female superheroes are back. And so they should be.

But before this crop and before the marvel of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Xena the Warrior Princess there were the iconic heroines of our childhood. So let’s celebrate these those women who inspired us as young girls that it wasn’t just blokes who could wear underpants over their tights and fight for humanity.

The Original Avenger – Mrs Peel

As Emma Peel in the 1960s TV show The Avengers Diana Rigg showed the world just how extraordinarily fabulous a woman can look in a leather jumpsuit.  She drove a Lotus convertible, donned disguises like a dominatrix, could karate chop and fence and always put her gun back in her boots or hipster holsters after shooting a bad guy. Dianna Rigg’s cheek bones and wit were so sharp they stung. Young girls in pink terry towelling dressing gowns watched with their fathers in awe, love and gratitude. Diana Rigg’s iconic status is now being shown to a new generation in her role as Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones.

Cat Woman

Ok, we are slightly obsessed with black leather jumpsuits, but only Eartha Kitt truly flexed her feline claws beyond brilliance in this role. She could purr like a panther, hiss like a moggy on a hot tin roof, and use alliteration like no-one since. Her bad girl cackle thrilled to the core. One of the first African Americans on mainstream TV, Eartha Kitt rocked our very small screens and our very small worlds.

Wonder Woman

Lynda Carter was the 1970s female superhero extraordinaire.  She managed to look comfortable and powerful in a ridiculous pair of big undies and could deflect bullets with her bracelets, catch crooks with her golden lasso of truth or bring them down with her projectile tiara.  Many of us dreamt about flying around in her invisible plane.

Charlie's Angels

In the 90s women asked each other 'which Sex and the City character are you?' But In the 70s girls identified with one of three certain angels.  These private detectives had only one fault: working for a sleazy sounding, discombobulated voice. They were sexy, smart and always got their guy without ever getting their flares dirty or their flick hairdos messed up.  Charlie's Angels are the reason any trio of 40-something year old women at a party having their photo taken will bend their knees, put their backs to each other, place their hands up together in front of their face and hold their fingers like a gun.  I was so obsessed I started my own agency at primary school.

I was Sabrina and renamed us the Bionic Angels as a special homage to ...

The Bionic Woman

Why should Steve Austin have all the bad-guy fighting fun? The bionic man's girlfriend was Jaime Sommers who had a bionic ear, arm and legs. While she was apparently cheaper than the six million dollar man she was gold to young girls growing up in the 70s. While she and Steve had a love that could not last, Jaime got the bionic dog as compensation.  She even took on an army of Fembots.

Velma from Scooby-Doo

We all grew up knowing Velma was a true hero who would save the day and solve the mystery with her calm, calculated musing and logical thinking. Velma cared more for science than fashion, and while she may have been short-sighted, she could carry the gang both intellectually and physically if need be. Some fans swear she was gay and I must say I was most upset to observe my kids watching an episode where she was dating Shaggy.

Here's the original song to take you back to Saturday morning cartoons with vegemite toast and the Scooby gang

And talking Saturday mornings, what would 6am have been like without...

Lady Penelope

The only blonde Thunderbird may have been wooden but she was of vital service to International Rescue from her home base in a  London mansion. Lady Penelope was a posh aristocrat and original supermodel who spoke fluent French, German and Italian. She let Parker drive her pink rolls royce with bullet-proof glass and machine guns.

And last, but not least, the wonderful, gorgeous, slightly goofy...

Agent 99

Who could forget Barbara Feldon as 99 in the iconic Get Smart. The perfect fashion plate and foil to the bumbling Maxwell Smart, her cry of "Max! Look out!" and "Oh Max" became as iconic as his "Would you believe?" Her secret weapons secreted in her lipstick and powder made many a young girl dream of becoming a spy and far outclassed Maxwell's shoe phone. As a child many of us got slightly bored when Agent 99 and 86 got married and had twins but it's great to now realise that Barbara Feldon was actually the first woman on an American sitcom to keep her job after marriage and motherhood.  Love.

Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments. 

Like this? Try:

Remember when it was okay to give kids the cane?

15 of the best vintage Australian TV ads. How many do you remember?

13 bands you need to tell your kids about. Before it’s too late.