38 • Stance: Studies on the Family encounter worse off than he had come, as far as finding acceptance and acknowledgment of his role as a superhero and as a son.
Overmasculined Superheroines The search for a mentor figure and acceptance is not the only way in which the female Young Avengers follow stereotypical patterns associated with female superheroes. One feature of superheroines, at least according to some researchers,18 is the tendency for them to be overly masculinized in order to prevent them from being overly feminized. All three of the female characters in the Young Avengers exhibit this quality to some degree, which is especially noticeable when they are compared with the male team members, in particular the team members that the heroines have deeper relationships with. Stature is depicted as romantically involved with Vision. During some storylines in which they work together as a duo, their powers come into a sharp juxtaposition. Her ability to grow to enormous sizes gives her a tremendous physical advantage in combat. She is able to accomplish feats such as catching cars, disabling helicopters by clapping, and withstanding attacks from powerful weapons. In addition to these powers, she has some level of combat training, which allows her to function effectively as a superhero even when her powers are inhibited. On the other hand, Vision has a range of powers based in the technology from which his android form is constructed. These powers include, but are not limited to, the ability to become invisible, the power to look like another person, and the power to modify his molecular density (which is most commonly used to pass through solid objects and avoid being struck by weapons). There is a notable disparity between the offensive capabilities of these two characters, which becomes even more apparent in one particular scene when they are both unable to use the majority of their powers to fight several members of a terrorist organization. In this instance, though Vision is shown to be of some use, he is physically standing behind Stature and only has the use of one arm. Stature, however, is effective during the fight and even initiates the first blow.19 Overall, this situation could be considered emblematic of other occasions where the female characters act more aggressively and achieve greater results than the males.