I don't think that comics are inherently sexist. The use of the word inherently is too strong of a word, and does not exactly apply to the nature of comic books. Although most superheroes are male characters, I don't believe that comic book writers were all sexist. It depended on the time period. Women started to be represented in a more respectable manner as time progressed. Wonder Woman is an example of how comics are not inherently sexist. Before wonder woman, women were portrayed in unrespectable roles and were undermined by male protagonists. Although the author of Wonder Woman, Marston, did not expect to create a character that women could look up to, he created a symbol and an important hero for future comic books. As a psychologists he viewed the world differently. He saw females as superior to men therefore, his goal was to create a character especially for men. She not only impacted the culture of America during the fifties and sixties, but she impacted some feminists, such as Gloria Steinem. She saw Wonder Woman as a great symbol for feminism. The character of Wonder Woman initially was modest, yet she was in power, which was not usual for women during the fifties. Instead of settling down and starting a family, she was going around and saving the world. She defied the stereotype of women at the time. Even though most of the comic book readers of Wonder Women were males, that does not make comics inherently sexists. She helped to shape future female protagonists, and remained a symbol that has survived numerous decades.
Although some might say that comics are inherently sexist, since most of the main/famous characters are males, such as Batman and Superman. It is evident that the creation of Wonder Woman proves that comics are not sexist. There still exists prominent female characters in comic books, even though none were as significant as Wonder Woman. Characters, such bat girl, super girl, black canary, and catwoman make me realize that comic book writers were not naturally sexist. Although you could argue that Wonder Woman is the only significant superhero character, therefore comics are sexists when it comes to the superhero archetype. This is a great argument, but I don't believe that its true. Wonder Woman was a great start that allowed for other female characters to show up in comics. Even as comic book characters remain a male dominated sphere, female characters started to appear more in comics, than in the thirties. Therefore the mind of comic book creators have progressed throughout the years to allow female protagonists, which proves that creates do not have an inherent nature for sexism in their comics.