While most of the attention for The Incredible Hulk, Iron Manand The Dark Knight has been focused on the films' heroes and villains, it's important that we not forget how key the leading ladies for the three films are. USA Weekend sat down recently with Liv Tyler, Gwyneth Paltrow and Maggie Gyllenhaal to discuss their roles in this summer's movies.

Some highlights from the interview include the actresses reaction to being one of the only women on-set. Tyler was non-plussed about the experience "I'm used to that world from "The Lord of the Rings," even though it wasn't really a comic book," Tyler said, while Gyllenhaal responded a bit more enthusiastically. "Everybody on my set was a guy! I have two lovers in the movie, and they're both these gorgeous men. Come to think of it, there were a lot of powerful, manly men around, and I didn't mind that particularly. [Laughs.]"

The actresses also each revealed what superpowers they would enjoy having, or not having, in real life. Both Gyllenhaal and Paltrow settled on flight, after deciding that invisibility, mind-reading and x-ray vision were all a bit too invasive. Tyler, oddly enough, wished for water-breathing, prompting comic fans everywhere to wonder if she realizes that Aquaman is considered the lamest of the superheroes by many.

Finally, the actresses were asked how the role of women in comic book films has changed. They responded:

Gwyneth: There's a reason why they're hiring actresses like us. We're all women, we're all mothers, and we all normally do different films. There's a certain understanding of who we are and what we bring and a certain respect for that.

Maggie: Twenty or 30 years ago, the women in these films were vapid and just appeared for extra silliness.

Liv: In all these films, our characters have real jobs and really fall in love and have real dilemmas. When you look at the history of the comic books, the women also have changed.

Directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard, Shaun Toub, Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow, Iron Man flies into theatres on May 2, 2008.

The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton, William Hurt, Liv Tyler and Tim Roth smashes into theatres on June 13, 2008.

The Dark Knight opens on July 18, 2008, and stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gylenhall.