This partly screwball, partly sincere debate from “Supergirl” mirrors a larger, ongoing conversation that has been happening in comic books, television, film and wherever women wear capes, fly through the sky and throw colossal punches.

When “Supergirl” has its premiere on Oct. 26, it will enter a cultural landscape where female superheroes are better represented than ever before: where they have nearly as much opportunity to right wrongs and fight crime – and to play the central roles in their own stories — as their muscle-bound male counterparts.

In the half-century since Supergirl was introduced as the less-seasoned Kryptonian cousin of Superman, the publishing industry has teemed with female heroes and villains who carry their own comic books.

These fictional women are still scrutinized for how they represent their gender in a way that supermen generally are not, and the inclusivity they have enjoyed on the page isn’t close to being equaled on screen. Though “Supergirl” will be joined on TV this fall by Netflix’s “Jessica Jones,” new movies based on DC and Marvel’s female superheroes are not planned for several more years.

But creators and producers across these media agree that there has been progress, and that audiences’ appetites for these female champions is being met by a growing supply of characters and narratives.