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 Skimpy costumes aside, TV shows are taking female empowerment to a new level. 

Look. There on the screen. It's a bird. It's a plane. It's a television show inspired by the muscle-bound heroes who "biff" and "pow" their way through four-color comic books. 

"Batman." "The Adventures of Superman." "The Flash." "The Incredible Hulk." "The Green Hornet." 

This league of television justice fighters have had mixed success with battles against the arch nemesis of ratings. But the male heroes held an Iron-Man grip on the genre. 

"Wonder Woman" was the only defender of good who could give birth. Linda Carter as "Wonder Woman" spun her way through three years of crime fighting from 1976 to 1979. 

It took almost two decades before superhero women fought their way back onto the small screen. The success of "Xena: Warrior Princess," either because the heroine lived in a mythical land where WonderBras ruled or empowerment scenarios ruled the world, has given rise to a new crop of lean, mean fighting female machines. 

Director James Cameron spent a boatload of money to shoot the two-hour launch of "Dark Angel" that makes its debut on the Fox Network starting in October. Imagine "Blade Runner" meets "The Pretender." 

In syndication, newcomer Tessie Santiago slips into a lace mask to star as the defender of the poor in "Queen of Swords." Legal complications keep this show from being called "Zorra." 

TNT throws the first punch at 8 p.m. Sunday with the highly anticipated "Witchblade." This television movie, a test of whether it will become a series or not, has been a hot topic on the Internet for years. 

One big topic was who would slip into the skimpy costume to portray the popular star of the cult comic. It would take a certain form because Witchblade's costume -- in the real world -- wouldn't stay in place in the zero gravity of space. 

Yancy Butler, the actress with a voice deeper than Darth Vader's, laughs at the mention of the comic heroine's costume. Butler's initial reaction when she saw the comic and the skimpy outfit was to "do a Linda Blair." 

"We had all kinds of talks about what I would wear," Butler says between drags off a cigarette. "They actually asked me if I would wear this short skirt." 

She leaps to her feet and strikes a "Charlie's Angels" fingers-as-gun pose. 

"I would be doing this all the time," Butler says as she fakes a few judo kicks mixed with imaginary tugs to pull a miniskirt down to a PG level. 

The compromise was to let her wear what her character, a tough detective, would normally wear. The only clue she has the abilities to defeat mystical and magical evil is a weapon that mysteriously appears when needed on her arm from elbow to index finger. 

Costuming is important. Clark Kent would have had to learn to write newspaper articles about female superheroes if he had not been able to confuse dim-witted Lois Lane with that glasses disguise. No one ever seemed to notice Dr. David (Bruce for you comic readers) Banner trotted around in rags after each appearance of the Hulk. 

Santiago's "Queen of Swords" falls more into the Robin category of disguises. Her disguise stretches reality further than Plastic Man. 

"It's a conceit of the show and I would be lying to you if I said that this wasn't somewhat obvious," David Abramowitz, executive producer, says. 

His star doesn't care. She finds the moment she slips into the black outfit, mask and gloves, she is transported to a world of crimefighting once the domain of men. 

"There's many different levels to my character and I thought that the easiest thing would be to play Tessa -- a real person. But it's easier for me to be the Queen. To just throw on the mask. I'm so much more confident. It's easy," Santiago says. "It's easy to play the Queen. Just play the strong woman and fight and outwit all these men." 

Santiago has one other concern. She knows she is not only playing a strong, intelligent woman but she is a strong, intelligent Latina woman. In television those roles are as few as Kryptonite buttons on Clark Kent's suits. 

In the fall, former "Baywatch" beauty, Gena Lee Nolan faces the challenge of making her "Sheena" character seem credible while sporting an outfit that looks like it was designed by Tarzan of Beverly Hills. It is what you would expect of a child raised in the jungle. Nolan just wants to make sure it doesn't buffer her place as a role model for young girls. 

Nolan's approach to Sheena helps make her superhero different than the others. Her character takes on the role of world protector out of a noble drive. The "Queen of Swords" is motivated by a need to protect the less fortunate. 

Then there is "Dark Angel." 

As with his development of the role of Sarah Connor in "Terminator 2," Cameron's development of Jessica Alba's role as Max in "Dark Angel" is that of reluctant hero. The Oscar-winning director of "Titanic" half-heartedly dismisses he has a tendency toward strong female characters in his films. 

Slowly Cameron goes from a suggestion it is some "adolescent aspect" in his life to an acceptance of how he has treated women in movies. 

"I think that women respond to characters who appear strong, that appear capable. But you always have to balance that with a vulnerability so that they're real," Cameron says. "I also find that men are not put off by strong women in films. They want to see girls kick ass, too." 

Cameron may be missing the obvious. All four of the women who will slip into the costumes to defend the world could easily work as models. 

That's a huge difference between male and female comic heroes on television. There was never any worries that Christopher Reeve didn't look like a body builder in his wool Superman suit. Adam West obviously spent extra time dining on burgers during his "Batman" days. 

Television's female heroes have to be well-tuned machines. Their bulges out of the costume can't be like Wonder Woman's. Today's female heroes bulge muscles. 

Butler's chiseled form started with an interest in basketball and track in high school. Many of her acting jobs have put her in situations where she needed to be in top physical shape. 

She smiles. Roles aren't picked because of the physical build of the character. Butler just looks for roles that present a dual nature -- weakness and strength. The rest is up to Hollywood. 

"Here's how that works. You lift weights for one role and then when you go read for another they have a certain idea about you," Butler says. "It becomes a snowball affect. 

"I love it and I will take it as it comes. There are very few women who can tread the line between being strong but not being butch. Being feminine and not too soft as a character." 

Santiago has to be able to look strong enough to handle a sword and appear equally comfortable on a horse. Before being cast, the Miami native had no formal training in fencing or with a whip (that may be a little too much information). She had never ridden. 

Training included horses with a sword and even more hours with Hollywood's latest exercise guru Billy Banks who taught her to fight. 

Nolan is calling on her work as Neely Capshaw on "Baywatch" for a basis to portray "Sheena." The Minnesota native calls Sheena a good woman who also can be vicious. Nothing trains an actress better for that than a prime-time soap opera. 

Now they must all face the biggest villain in television -- the Nielsen ratings.