When science writer Rebecca Millar’s daughter, Abigail, asked her mother for a superhero doll, Millar soon realized that there really weren’t any.

So, Millar did what mothers everywhere have been doing since the beginning of time and created her own version of something because what she needed didn’t yet exist commercially.

She took an existing fashion doll and turned it into a superhero.

The first doll that Millar created based onThe Avenger’s Black Widow character proved to be a big hit. As she told the UK-based The Daily Mail, she posted a photo of her creation on Twitter and was amazed by all the positive feedback that she received.

Other dolls followed including Spider Woman, a doll inspired by Captain Marvel, and a host of others. So far, Millar has made 30 dolls.

The results are impressive, especially because Millar says she cannot sew or even paint straight eyebrows.

She even has a how-to tutorial on her webpage on how to give an old doll a superhero makeover.

Appearance aside, the dolls also call attention to the fact that little girls want and deserve superheroes.

It’s something I can personally related to.

As a young child, one of my favorite cartoons was Spiderman and His Amazing Friends, which chronicled the adventures of Spiderman, Iceman and Firestar. Out of the three, Firestar, who also happened to be the only female, was my absolute down favorite. While Spiderman and Iceman action figures and dolls were for sale at the local Toys R Us, I was never able to find Firestar. Indeed, I would later find out she never even existed in doll form.

I was disappointed and wondered why that was the case. Firestar was just as brave and cool as the guys. Why was she not an action figure?

Perhaps if someone like Millar or her tutorials had been around back then, I could have had my very own Firestar.

Thanks to Millar, I certainly plan to try my hand at making some superhero action figures both for my daughter and my son.

And while I happen to love crafting so much that I even do it for a living, I hope DIY won’t always be the only option when it comes to creating and enjoying female action figures.

Perhaps toy manufacturers will finally get the message: Girls like superheroes, too, and children of both sexes need and deserve to play with strong female action figures.

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Relephant Read:

Strong is the New Pretty. {Inspirational Photos}

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Author: Kimberly Lo

Editor: Alli Sarazen

Photo: Lauren Hammond/Flickr