Marvel as a comics powerhouse gets it.  They understand their reader base has various tastes, are different races, and actually includes WOMEN.

Last year, we got the 16 year old Pakistani-American Muslim Kamala Kahn as the new Ms. Marvel, which was awesome.  This year, we had the mighty Mjolnir hammer of Thor and title pass onto a woman, because Thor had become unworthy (we’re still waiting to find out who the recipient is, most fingers at the end of Thor #1 point to the All-Mother Freyja).  Next year, it’ll be Cindy Moon, Asian-American woman as Silk, a Spider-Man power sharing character.

If you are unfamiliar with the character, Silk was bitten by the very same radioactive spider that bit Peter Parker. Silk made her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man where we learn that she has been locked away in a facility for years. We also discover that she was trained for six years to adequately use her powers. As a result, she is superior to Spiderman when it comes to speed, spider sense, and can create webs from her fingertips as opposed to Spiderman who must use artificial web-fluid.

There is a fantastic interview with the writer of the series Robbie Thompson over on CBR (Comic Book Resources) for your reading pleasure.