Destiny Ajaye, Pilot Season: Genius; Marc Bernardin & Adam Freeman, writers, Afua Richardson, artist
“She’s a savant-level military genius… Now, she was born in South Central, L.A., into an environment that has been known to eat its young, or have its young taken by the authorities. She decides that enough is enough and secedes a two-square-block area from Los Angeles proper. And given her natural skill set, that involves lots of blood. This is a young woman that found her calling regardless of the implications… And it addresses the larger question, ‘Does someone with a God-given talent have a responsibility to use it?’” – co-writer Marc Bernardin @ Comic Book Resources

Lee Wagstaff, Bayou; created by Jeremy Love, writer and artist
“Lee is the embodiment of the resilient spirit of southern blacks in the face of terror. Growing up as a poor sharecropper has made her body strong and durable. The big thing about Lee is her optimism and determination. Her struggle is to retain these qualities while she navigates the dangerous parallel world… Lee enters this world in order to save her best friend, a white girl, from the clutches of an evil force that rules the parallel world. The bond she has with her friend has far-reaching effects on our world and the parallel world.” – creator Jeremy Love @ Newsarama

Storm, X-Men: Worlds Apart; Christopher Yost, writer, Diogenes Neves, artist; created by Len Wein & Dave Cockrum
“She went from worshippers to people who’d see her burn. That in an of itself is compelling enough, but then we got to see her journey from that Goddess, to a woman who found a family in the X-Men, and then became the leader… She’s fiercely passionate – quite literally a force of nature. If she’s got any flaw, it’s forgetting that she’s human, too. For so long she played the Goddess, or the leader – rarely do we see her softer side. Rarely does she allow any weakness to show. Although she did have that garden in the attic of the old X-Mansion. Storm’s a softie… With T’Challa, she is truly open. She lets him in… With the X-Men, especially recently, she’s on the job. Mutantkind is in a crisis situation, and she’s acting accordingly. She’s always up for a little thrill seeking ala Yukio, and enjoys daring all, and the big win – but she’s does have a very aloof persona that we see.” – writer Christopher Yost @ Comic Book Resources

Vielle, Fungus Grotto; created by Shatia Hamilton, writer and artist
“Vielle is like any normal 17 year old girl with dreams, goals, and aspirations. On the eve of leaving home to step into her future she finds she’s not quite ready to go. Torn between ‘out there’ and ‘comfort’ Vielle takes a moment to daydream… Just dream… And she thought going out into the real world would be hard.” – from the FG website

Vixen, Vixen: Return of the Lion; G. Willow Wilson, writer, Cafu, artist; created by Gerry Conway & Bob Oksner
“In ancient Africa, there was a legend that the warrior Tantu asked Anansi the Spider to create a totem that would give the wearer all of the powers of the animal kingdom, if they would use the power to protect the innocent. As shown in the pages of Animal Man, it is possible that the “Anansi” who Tantu met, may have been a member of the alien race who gave Buddy Baker the ability to “tap the morphogenetic field” – or, as shown in the pages of Justice League, the aliens may have been Anansi in disguise. This field allows Buddy to imitate the abilities of nearby animals. According to the Animal Man series, Mari’s Tantu totem may tap into that same field. Tantu used the totem to become Africa’s first legendary hero. The totem was later passed down to Tantu’s descendants until it reached the McCabes. Growing up in a small African village in the fictional nation of M’Changa, Mari Jiwe McCabe hears the legend of the “Tantu Totem” from her mother. Sometime later, Mari’s mother is killed by poachers and she is raised by her father Reverend Richard Jiwe, the village priest. Reverend Jiwe himself is killed by his half-brother (Mari’s uncle) General Maksai. Maksai wants the Tantu Totem, which Jiwe had possessed. Mari moves to America, where she establishes an identity as Mari McCabe and gets a job as a model in New York City. She uses her newfound wealth to travel the world. On a trip back to Africa, she comes across her uncle and takes back the Tantu Totem, using its power to become the costumed superhero Vixen.” – from Wikipedia