Through all the versions of Buck Rogers, Wilma Deering has maintained some clear characteristics. She is a sometimes-romantic interest for Buck, always a loyal defender of Earth, and an attractive and smart woman. She is generally depicted as brave with a penchant for getting herself into trouble. As with other science fiction heroines from the pulp science fiction genre and others, she has sometimes been depicted as a damsel in distress but more often as an assertive adventurer. In this way, her character resembles that of Dale Arden of the Flash Gordon comic books and movie serials, and also the character of Lois Lane from Superman.