Red Tornado first appeared in All-American Comics #3 (June 1939). Though she isn’t considered the first superheroine, she is among the pioneers. What’s most interesting, though, is that Red Tornado was a mom.

When she wasn’t donning her red long-johns, kitchen-pot-helmet and drapery-cape, she was Abigail “Ma” Hunkel, mother of two (her son and daughter, Scribbly and Sisty, would become her official sidekicks, The Cyclone Kids.) and owner of Schultz’s Grocery Store. Mainly, she fought neighborhood criminals who, because of her stout frame and covered head, mistook her for a brawny middle-aged man.

Creator Sheldon Mayer continued Red Tornado’s arc in the back pages of All-American Comics until issue 59 in 1944 under a series titled, “Scribbly & the Red Tornado.” Four years later, her Scribbly would resurface in his own title, leaving his mom behind permanently.

Ma Hunkel was almost the first female to be added into the Justice Society of America? If only she had kept her pants on. In All Star Comics #3 (December 1940), Red Tornado was invited to the first ever meeting of the Justice Society. In a hilarious moment so common to Red Tornado she unceremoniously ripped her long johns. Rather than face this all-star cast of heroes pants-less, she opted to slip silently into the night. A good call.

Due to this unexpected full moon, Wonder Woman now holds the title as first female in the Justice Society. Despite this, Red Tornado’s affiliation with the Society didn’t end here, although it was ignored for most of the 1940s. However, Ray Thomas later acknowledged her as an honorary member.

Her connection to the Justice Society continues when, after being presumed dead, she resurfaced as an old woman in the 2000s. Red Tornado then took over as caretaker of the Justice Society as well as custodian of the Justice Society Museum. The Hunkel legacy doesn’t end there, with granddaughter Maxine Hunkel, eventually joining the Society as Cyclone.