Of Comics and Men

So I've been thinking lately about how the appeal of comics is usually couched in terms of empowerment fantasy; weak, sickly nerds' dreams of retribution and invulnerability. But i wonder if it's not that the superhero is the embodiment of a single person making a difference and so they attract the people that want to change the world . Is wanting to change the world predominately the realm of men? Or, is it that only men dream of doing it by themselves? Do only progressive liberals read comics? Sure, there are some girls that read comics, but it's usually not superheroes.