Superhero Barbie Is Finally Here (But There’s A Catch)

Mattel, the storied company behind Barbie, recently conducted a global survey of girls between the ages of three and 10 that came back with an obvious conclusion. Nine in 10 girls wish there were more superheroes for girls. No duh, Mattel. It's a refrain we've heard a lot recently. Remember 11-year-old Rowan's amazing letter to DC Comics? This is something young females have been thinking about for a long time.  Mattel smartly decided to listen to their target market and give them what they wanted. Enter the very first superhero Barbie. Not only does she have a cape and mask, superhero also Barbie comes with her own Super Squad of sidekicks, because every Batman needs a Robin. We're absolutely thrilled about this development, except for one detail.  In that same survey, Mattel also asked girls to agree or disagree with the statement "superheroes are more fun than princesses." More than half of them disagreed, which meant that superhero Barbie isn't just a caped crusader. She's also a princess because, per a press release from Mattel, "girls don't want to choose."  "Girls expect Barbie to do the same things that they would want to do if they were superheroes. They see Barbie flying, beating bad guys, and also helping people and animals while wearing something sparkly," the company stated in the release. It's unclear where the princess part enters into that equation (maybe the something sparkly, in which case oof, gender norms). Wouldn't Superhero Veterinarian Barbie make more sense? She could have a glittery stethoscope.  Basically, we're looking at a kitchen sink Barbie; Mattel just threw everything possible in there. Hey, girls could definitely respond to it. We definitely liked princesses when we were younger, too. We just wish there was also a non-princess superhero Barbie. The squad doesn't always have to be royalty to save the day and help those animals.