The Sailor Moon universe has a lot of things for fans to enjoy: magical transformations, engaging fights, scary villains, fantastic mysteries, and fairy tale motifs. Not only has Sailor Moon revitalized the magical girl genre for Japanese manga and anime, but comic book characters around the world have also featured powerful and similar superheroines.
Some comics are so heavily influenced by Usagi Tsukino that might even be mentioned by name, but some similar comics are actually decades older than the famous Moon Princess. Sometimes, there's one heroine and, other times, there's a group of heroines. Either way, there are still plenty of comics fans of magical girl stories can enjoy.
10 Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld Follows A Teen Girl Sent To Another World
Amy Winston is a teenage girl who finds herself sent to another world called Gemworld where she learns she is Princess Amethyst, the rightful ruler of the land, whose parents were murdered by the villainous Dark Opal. A servant had spirited her to Earth where she was adopted. Another interesting quirk is that, due to the time differences between the realms, she transforms into an adult woman in Gemworld.
Despite the premise, the story is a bit more of a horror story than what modern readers would expect from a typical magical girl story, especially considering the series predates the more classic version by several years. That said, she's had various reimaginings over the years.
9 Cynder Explores A Version Of Cinderella In Which The Lead Had Superpowers
This superheroine from Immortelle Studios is essentially Cinderella with superpowers. After the death of her father, Cyndi Montgomery is left at the mercy of her murderous stepmother, who poisoned her father and keeps her locked in a room with nothing but fire for company. Things take a turn when the fire starts talking to her, promising to give her power over heat and flame.
Eventually, essentially binding with a psionic entity, she managed to vanquish her stepmother and regain her father's fortune, which, along with her new powers, allowed her to become a vigilante to fight evil.
8 Dazzler Can Transform Sound Vibrations Into Light And Energy
Disco was dying down in the 1980s but it still had the power to unleash one hero upon the world: Dazzler, who has the power to transform sound vibrations into light and energy. Often using her own music to fuel her powers, she's also branched out to other genres.
She's also a trained actress and singer, depending on the continuity. Even the toughest Marvel characters, from Juggernaut to the Hulk, are fans of her.
7 The Enchantress Was Originally Meant To Be A Witchy Heroine
This DC Comics spellcaster, not to be confused with the Marvel character, is more well-known as a villainess, but the first version of the character was actually set up to be a witch-themed superheroine. In her debut in Strange Adventures, a woman named June attends a Halloween party, encounters supernatural forces that transform her into a raven-haired sorceress, allowing her to save the party from an evil Minotaur. And just like any good superhero, she immediately finds herself in a love triangle with her boyfriend and her two alter-egos.
By her next few appearances, however, she would be recast as an enemy of Supergirl. Since then, she's sometimes been a member of the Suicide Squad but is still portrayed as something of a bad guy, to the point of effectively being the villain of their 2016 film.
6 Magical Drama Queen Roxy Parodies And Idolizes Sailor Moon
A mini-series spin-off of Gen13, this Magical Girl parody reimagines Roxy, also known as Freefall, as a magical girl complete with a talking animal "fairy god-critter." Unlike most parodies, Sailor Moon exists in the comic's universe. When Roxy once gets rescued by "Tuxedo Camel," a masked hero with the head of a camel, she immediately complains that Sailor Moon has her dashing Tuxedo Mask, while she gets stuck with a camel. Roxy also has a poster of Sailor Moon that appears in the first issue.
Sailor Moon finally appears in person in the last issue to tell Roxy she's a fan. Naturally, this all hints that the whole thing is in Roxy's head and the whole thing is a dream.
5 Wonder Woman & The Star Riders Is A "Magical Girl" Style One-Shot
Even Wonder Woman had a short-lived run as a magical girl. This version of the character was planned to get an animated series but ultimately ended up with a one-shot.
Wonder Woman is now the leader of a group of superheroines called the Star Riders. This includes Dolphine and Ice, who were based on preexisting DC heroines, while two new girls, Star Lily and Solara, were added in. As the names imply, they control the elements of water, ice, light, and earth, with Wonder Woman herself having air-based powers, complete with trading in her invisible jet for a winged unicorn. Their main enemy is Purrsia, a cat-themed witch who wants to steal their Magic Jewels, the source of their power, which can put the Earth into turmoil.
4 W.I.T.C.H. Features A Group Of Teen Guardians Who Fight Evil Through Various Dimensions
In this Italian comic book series, five girls learn that they are destined to control the elements as powerful beings called "Guardians" and fight evil throughout various dimensions: Will, "the heart" who commands pure energy, Irma, who can do tricks with water, Taranee, who controls fire, Cornelia who has power over Earth, and Hay Lin, the queen of air itself. Despite what their initials imply, they are not actually witches.
In true magical girl fashion, the first story arc even involves the girls searching for a long-lost princess to restore to the throne, although, instead of Will, it turns out to be their friend, Elyon. Imagine Sailor Moon except Naru is the Moon Princess.
3 Winx Club Follows A Group Of Powerful Faeries At School
In this Italian cartoon-turned comic, Bloom is a girl from Earth who befriends a fairy princess named Stella. Suspecting that Bloom has powers herself, Stella invites her to attend her school for fairies, where they befriend other powerful girls, with powers ranging from technology to nature, and form the Winx Club. Unfortunately, three evil witches are out to get Stella and steal her powers, but then it turns out she's not the one they're looking for...
Imagine Sailor Moon goes to Hogwarts, with a bit of The Worst Witch thrown in. The first few issues were based on episodes from the cartoon but eventually went off in their own direction.
2 Zodiac Starforce Features A Team Of Girls Who Draw Their Powers From Constellations
Sailor Moon and magical girls have become so iconic, comic books can even start off by exploring the aftermath of fighting evil by moonlight and winning love by daylight without having to explain the story beforehand. A group of magical girls who draw their power from constellations once fought the evil goddess Cimmeria, but that was two years ago.
Now, monsters are popping up and the team is unsure if they are willing to retake the mantle. Especially when one of their friends resurfaces as part of a coven of mean girl "witches," a group whose leader might have more in common with the "good guys" than they realize.
1 Zatanna Is One Of The Most Powerful Magic-Users In The DC Universe
The character of Zatanna is the daughter of Giovanni "John" Zatara, a magician from Golden Age comic books, and a witch named Sindella, giving her powerful magical abilities, making her one of the most powerful magic users in the DC universe. She is a superheroine who is dressed like a stage magician, in addition to moonlighting as an actual magician.
While she's usually on the heroes' side, she doesn't always use her powers wisely and has been known to have a sadistic sense of humor, like once turning a group of annoying girls into doves.