Caught Btween Racial Identity & Female Identity As Relates To A Cartoon

This stuff came up via conversations with some friends, well, vents more accurately put, about G.I.Joe: Renegades. It's an animated show, that combines G.I.Joe themes, with a bit of an A-Team plot and story hook. And after laughing my head off, having caught it randomly on channel and then watching two episodes and being intrigued, I hunted down some on demand sources and started watching from the beginning. And then, then I got hit in the face with some crap; squirm inducing, wincing, upset, wanting to fast forward through, crap. And so far it hasn't really been about race - so far it's all been gender.

In case you hadn't guessed? Here be spoilers....

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Scarlett, is an emotional, obsessed woman, who when put in leadership positions manages continually to bring everyone into the utmost trouble or who somehow fails in some other way. When, however, she's in a support position; supporting one of the male character's decisions etc... then, she's right, solid, and good backup. On her own? Obsessed. And so far, the few times she's been right, haven't matched up to all the times she just plain... FAILS.

So here I am, all full of wee at the MALE PoC representation on the show. But feeling kicked in the stomach over how women are shown when Scarlett, Lady Jaye and the Baroness are the models.

The Baroness is obviously the underling of Cobra Commander and is shown quite knowledgeable in knowing her place . When a 'Firm Hand' is used to get her back in line, or reprimanded, it's by Cobra Commander himself, directly by him. She is HIS personal underling. So, a position of authority that is dependent upon a man.

Lady Jaye is initially shown as the military superior of quite a few men, who take her seriously. And that had me all a-squee, until things progressed and her role became a dual supporting role to two men. She's Flint's right hand in chasing down the 'Renegades'. And she's Duke's right hand in undermining Flint as needed. Sure she's sassy and all that, but she went in the space of the first two episodes, from superior officer to helpmate. And it does not help that Flint, who's her superior on the task force, makes comments about Duke being her boyfriend. It sets a certain tone; about who she is, how he sees her; as a woman, and a teammate and what her purpose is supposed to be.

Scarlett... Scarlett is the reason the Renegades are in trouble in the first place. She's so gunho about proving herself right, proving that Cobra is evil, that she plays fast and loose with regulations, orders, and other people's careers. The first episode is Scarlett being a flaming EVE to four ADAMS. And for me, it was painful. And I'm someone who's all reverent about BATMAN, who IS a vigilante! But of course, Batman, doesn't do vigilante things while wearing a military uniform and using military authority for his own ends and he is, as a character, usually shown to be very careful about involving others in his dangerous plans.

So here's Scarlett, a woman obsessed. And things happen, and go to shit. And I can't even admire her being right, or her being unphased about the outcome of things, because her focus is so narrow it comes across as dangerous. Worse, there's this undercurrent about her leadership ALSO being for shit. When she's in charge, THINGS HIT THE FAN. Almost always. When she's supporting another, a male, character's decisions, THEN she's right. And IN THE RIGHT. But on her own? It's wild and dangerous.

The thing is, if Scarlett were Scar, the character would still be dangerous. But it'd have a lot less baggage about women's leadership abilities. Scarlett is all intuition 'I just know!' / 'Trust me!'. And everything else flies out the window. Worse, I end up feeling like the only reason she's even survived as long as she has, is because she has Snake Eyes around to watch her back and clean up her messes for her (and considering, that despite what has been said, I think gaijin could apply as much to someone biracial as purely Caucasian so that's a MoC, running around looking after 'Miss Scarlett' and getting her out of her messes. And that goads. So. damn. much).

The other 'major' female character I've seen so far, has been Kimi/Jinx, Snake Eyes' student and part of his backstory. And she gets treated by one male as a trophy to be won or stolen back to suit his needs. Yes, she's a fighter. But her emotions are played and played and played again. And it could be her youth as much as anything, but with all the rest of the writing for female characters, I end up just shaking my head. Kimi/Jinx for all her spunk, is a damsel in distress. Agency is talked about around her, but she hasn't owned her own, and from what I've read up on, whatever she ends up having in the future is given to her.

Meanwhile, out of the PoC Males, there's a laid back, rock near heavy metal listening big, broad black dude, a Chinese-American Brooklynite, (Lady Jaye also looks Asian American to me btw, mentioned here before I forget), and a nickname giving somewhat daredevil black dude. And I like their portrayals. I so really, really do. If Snake Eyes is 'Hapa' (I think that's the applicable term) then he might be less 'white ninja' and that'll soothe and all that'll irk me is his lack of knowing any kind of sign language after how many years w/o a voice. It's a little upsetting to have a white woman interpreting what he says (on top of anyone else interpreting what someone with a disability really means or really needs).

But here I am, stuck, because wow, those male characters. And then damn on the women. At one point, in what I've watched so far, Scarlett can't find success and access she wants while pretending to be a lawyer or pretending to be a federal agent (I was left to ponder her opinion of small town people). But, playing a particular type of woman? Somewhat Jerry Springeresque? In short shorts and loose blouse and bra strap showing and pregnant - there she finds some success. And I winced. I just winced. Savvy disguise? Maybe. But of the three, the one that worked? It's the one that relied on 'feelings' / hers and the people she's trying to get past, vs any other sort of preparation; It's the one that relies on her presenting as female, presenting as female in a very biological way? Wince wince wince.

Other representations of women? Well, while I'm here, I am aware of the trope of, meek male, needs his 'woman' to be in true distress and then he'll 'man up' and do what needs done, and win the girl? The episode revolving around that, was also painful, not just because of the damsel in distress theme. But because that one act, to my mind, could not dissolve or undo the destruction caused by months/years of meekness. Finding his courage, fine. But did he have to get a prize for it? And that prize be a woman? A woman who, I'd hope in a more real life circumstance would consider the fact that her being in danger in the first place, imminently and then more broadly before the crisis point, had all been due to him NOT finding that courage? The message there, was that for one singular act that may or may not stick in his character he needed to be rewarded with herself? That's a message for kids? That's sick.

And speaking of acceptable feelings, rewards, prizes and gender bias - Scarlett haring off on her own intuition? BIG ARSE DUST UP. Duke on the other hand? Going it alone? His concern getting the better of him? He turns out to be right. He turns out to end up in the right place at the right time. He and the other males of the group, also turn out to feel more than Scarlett in general, about innocents that is. She's 'big picture' focused, obsessed. They want to stop and help the little guys.

Again I'm struck by if Scarlett were Scar; the character would be just as dangerous, just as obsessed, just as driven and focused, single minded, determined and having been right about Cobra's true face. But the baggage, of them not caring about others etc, would be very, very, different. Am I shocked at a female character who doesn't want to help general innocents? Or 'nurse', for various values of nurse (and that word is used deliberately) communities back to health? Maybe. Maybe I am. I'm influenced by the world as much as anyone. But the thing I pinpoint on, is that if Scarlett hates Cobra for taking advantage of people, for working at cross purposes to peace, unity and a peaceful Usian way - then, shouldn't she hate all manipulative bullies? Or at least consider the possibility that putting these bullies away means less possible future employees for Cobra?

Then again, I haven't watched enough to have seen if there's a specific reason she has it in for Cobra - though, maybe even then I'd expect some measure of empathy.--

-- And - Oh heaven. Oh crap. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, let Scarlett's lack of empathy not be some sort of underhanded lesson about what happens to a woman without a 'woman's natural empathies' to direct her. Please let this obsession with Cobra and all her risky behavior not be meant as a quiet understatement about what happens to women in leadership roles and all that associated bullshit. Let the writers just be clueless, privileged assholes. That's MUCH more preferable than a deliberate message to the younger generation.

And I know, know someone's going to wish they could comment to tell me that DUKE WAS ALWAYS THE LEADER. And uhm, I have watched a couple of G.I.Joe cartoons in my youth, ok? I felt a cold shiver down my spine when I heard about this century's live action movie (which I did not watch). I too thought Scarlett in the live action movieverse promos looked like nothing but cheesecake. And growing up? The bulk of the people I knew who liked G.I Joe? WERE GIRLS. G.I Joe slumber party. G.I.Joe birthday parties or just birthday cake, with Scarlett or Lady Jaye on the cover (and their action figures too). Running around the school yard playing G.I. Joe? Thinking up names and themes for themselves? Girls. I remember waiting with excitement for the G.I Joe movie (VHS) FOR that slumber party.

When the first episode of Renegades came on and I heard COBRA say "And knowing is half the battle" my heart leapt up in my chest and I thought 'OMG, that's TWISTED AWESOME!'.

So there, my itty bitty 'creds' as not a completely clueless female. WTFever. Cause 'creds' don't fucking matter, really, when it comes to what's going on in the here and now. Just like there's a generation who'll look at you one day and go 'Nick Fury was White??!!'. There's a generation now, that will know that Scarlett was introduced and often mentions the fact that she's Duke's superior officer. And yes, yes yes, she doesn't have his field experience. It's been mentioned. But field experience does not equal common sense (or rather her lack of it, or rather her complete obsession excluding all else including it).

So here I am. I want to know more about Tunnel Rat and Roadblock in this iteration. Hell Wikipedia says Nicky Lee is meant to be TRINIDADIAN CHINESE (or was). You think I don't want to be all up in that? And that it doesn't make me ponder hunting down the comic books? But how am I supposed to balance that squee, with the kick in the chest on how the female characters are treated? The same way I often end up walking away from things that have fine white female characters and PoC? WoC? Who's them? And until I know for sure about Lady Jaye, Renegades doesn't seem to HAVE, WoC, which earns serious cut eye.

I wrote out my thoughts to try and figure out things, to put my frustration down on 'paper', because it's been eating and eating away at me. And when I vent this much to people who care about me, they do tend to ask me why I'm still watching. Especially since they know I will walk away from media and people to spare myself/my life grief. This choice, however, or rather the phrasing of this choice (woman, or poc) is new. I haven't had to make this variation of the choice before / had to walk away from this variation of the choice before.

And it's really, really hard. Cause it'd be so easy, so easy to say 'Meh, Scarlett's just a stupid white woman'.

Skywardprodigal

I lost a member of my Caribbean Diaspora family today. I lost a friend, a fellow daily-life activist, someone who enriched and informed my life, someone who said I helped enrich and inform theirs. It's been about 12 hours or so since I heard the news. It took a couple hours for me to believe the news was real, and for it all to sink in. And now every time I see another post mourning her passing it hurts all over again and then I feel guilty about not making some official statement, something eloquent or at least coherent - but I'm not sure what to say.

I am glad, however, that since it was her birthday last week, I got the chance to tell her how glad I was she was born, and how much it meant to have her in my life. Too often we don't get the chance to remind people of how much they mean to us, how their presence makes breathing easier, stupidity less stinging and hatred and oppression to feel less overwhelming.

I will miss her jokes, her wisdom, her epic sarcasm. I will miss sharing pictures of the Caribbean and discussions of the representations of our people in 'global/us centric' media. I will miss her art spams - showing me PoC in wonderous fantasy environments as well as simply real life beautiful individuals.

I will miss her.

~*~


Anyone interested in memorial donations, please consider the list of charities she wrote up in January for Haiti.

Walk The Line

|this may trigger - hugely|



I was originally not going to comment on Melissa Bruen. Then I learned that there was backlash.

This story seems like a graduating journalist's cry for fame. If I'm mistaken, then I am sorry, but I don't buy into any of it. Sweet picture on the front page, and nice "swimmer's build," but I feel sorry for anyone who is actually a victim of assault and doesn't have such a romanticized story to tell

It's ok, you can look. That link includes comments rebutting such a statement as romanticizing.

But I don't suggest you go scrolling through the comments here from Shakespearessister's blog. It might infuriate you.

Or at least, I hope it would.

It should.

A young woman on a college campus walking back to her dorm is assaulted. She fights back. OTHER random men in the area then group assault her in retribution for her fighting off the first asswipe.

When I first read the story last night, the moment I read her taking more than one swing at the first guy I knew what had happened. You see there is a line women are supposed to walk without ever falling over. Comic bloggers and other fiction bloggers (women) talk about it all the time. We say "Madonna/Whore Complex" until those who aren't getting it, just get sick of seeing it and tune it out.

Big deal they think, so what if this superheroine or that superheroine is walking around showing that much flesh; walking around not protecting her most vulnerable parts (bare stomach, uncovered thighs). It's comics.

Only it's not.

Comics are escapist fantasy. And Super Hero comics are POWER FANTASIES.

Do you have ANY idea how difficult it is to have a Power Fantasy when heroines in the books I read don't pay attention to the Madonna/Whore Complex?????

Oh, that again. Yes, THAT. AGAIN.

During the first assault, Melissa Bruen was just a woman; faceless, without personality or autonomy of her own.. She was an ass to rub off on, an object that should just stand there and take it.

With the first swung blow of self defense she was MADONNA. She became a good girl who was suitably disgusted. The problem is, the MADONNA must be perfectly feminine and submissive while insisting that raw, unwanted sexuality not touch her. She must cajole and coax decent behavior for the sake of PURITY.

Women who're trained in self-defense do so / can do so in order to give up having to play the MADONNA. Playing that role leaves you in the shower for hours trying to scrub away not just the touch of the invader, but something akin to self-hate, that you had to mollify an assaulter in order to survive. Survival is everything. It is the ONLY thing. But it can leave a film.

Melissa Bruen took a second swing and a third. She wanted this asswipe to know his advances were. not. welcome. And she fell, tumbling across the line to WHORE. The whore is not a good girl. She can be a virgin and she's still not a good girl. Good girls know their place. Good girls don't claim power. Good girls don't say no and follow it up with pressure and physical hurt.

I realize this is Frank Miller logic, and you may think I've gone crazy. But please, try to hold on until the end. Cause I KNOW this.

Let's break it down:

Not! A Good Girl = WHORE.

WHORE = SEX.

A WHORE DENYING SEX = EMASCULATING BITCH

How do men who feel emasculated react? By re-affirming their power.

What's the easiest way to re-affirm that power? Sexual humiliation.

It doesn't matter that they weren't the original assaulter. They witnessed it. Their world view was shaken. A good girl isn't violent. A good girl would have let them pull her off her attacker, would have let them mollify her. Would have let them make her apologise to him; for hitting so hard, for getting out of control, for making it a big deal and not taking it as a joke.

So they gang assaulted her. And she had to fight and fight and keep fighting just to get clear.

This turning of the tides? This group/mob mentality? It's not an isolated incident. It's not a one off. You think women are surprised by this? You think it's not going through our heads everytime we resist a group on the corner throwing cat calls? Or anytime we're on a well lit street, but it's late at night and there's more than one man lounging somewhere who feels free to say something, or make some motion in reference to our bodies or sex?

You think, for those of us who read comic books, that we're not damn well aware that our heroines fucking teeter on that Madonna/Whore line? That there aren't bad guys from street thugs on up to Supervillians (Except Doom, who's too self inflated to feel emasculated) who don't want to 'teach a bitch a lesson, just who does she think she is, strutting around, fighting back???'

You think we complain about heroines fighting in their damn UNDERWEAR because we're just trying to ruin your fun??? Your little bit of titillation?

No. We think about this. ALL. THE. DAMN. TIME. We're fucking geniuses at figuring the odds, some of us. Meta class geniuses, those of us who've dared say no with more than words. And don't say "Well what about Melissa". This was her first time using more than words. Why should she be thinking of rules no one tells you until you face the consequences?

Except for WoC. We know those rules at a pretty young age. Why? Well most of the time we never hit MADONNA. Jungle fever, and jigaboo and Jezebel and more; White Men are often convinced they have a fucking right to just reach out and touch us however they want. The days of slavery (and dominating colonialism) are gone, however, so they'll put a polite fiction over it:

* You're so exotic.

* I've never seen hair like that before

* You have the loveliest complexion

Has Misty Knight ever broken an idiot's hand for him? Because if she has, I need to read that. How about Betsy Braddock?

I get that vigilante/super heroic heroines are playing on the prey factor to draw in bad guys a lot of the times. I get the theory. But where is the moment they throw off that illusion and show strength? Why must the fighting ALSO be sexy and inviting? Why must the after fight resting be submissive and alluring?

We ask these questions over and over and over and over again in the name of the Melissa Bruen's, past and present. And in the name of those deemed Jezebels, past and present. We want to see strength that doesn't have to be tempered by mollifying fellow heroes by showing them skin and ass and tits so they don't have to feel emasculated.

Yes, I do seriously believe (read fanwank) that PJ's boob window is so that some individuals can comfort themselves with views of the goodies when she power smacks evil across town.

But remember this the hind end of a series of posts where I first did genderswitch after trying to explain that it wasn't about cat-fights? The conversation about heroine clothing wasn't about jealousy? That it was about wanting my heroines to be able to swoop in and be feared immediately, without pulling a bait and switch, without having to dance on that line?

*sighs*

Does explaining things like this make a difference? How masculine attitudes (perceived and experienced) and the ever present objectification and the realities of dark actions and implications in every day life, wear down a woman? How power fantasies shouldn't have those things wearing it down? How many women are always aware, from issue covers to panels that their hero is ever one step away from being used to re-affirm some male character's masculinity and power?

Cause it's there in society. It's there in the subconscious of the artist and the writer. It's THERE. We see. We don't seek it out. We see it because we KNOW it.

Do you understand now?

Does breaking it down like this make a difference? Are you thinking?

Or did you tune out at Madonna/Whore ?

|link backs are on|

Let There Be LIGHT!

I can't quite remember when I found FLARE online. But she reminded me so much of Dazzler, that I loved her instantly thinking of her as a combination of Dazzler & Wonder Woman. Recently with Wowio.com I've had a chance to peruse issues and back issues. I've made another go at the Herioc Publishing website.

I ended up sending this letter in their feedback form:

Is there any particular reason you have an all white universe?

Will you ever have characters of colour and specifically black characters among your heroes?

I think I saw one mention after much searching of your site of a possible heroine but I could not figure out what super powers the afro-ed, short shorts wearing, wiggling her backside to the camera, individual was supposed to have. And I certainly couldn't find any book layouts or panels of her interacting with others.

Is Heroic Publishing, pro Apartheid, pro Segregation?

Do you simply not want blacks and other minorities to buy your products?

As a little girl, Alison Blair and Tandy Bowen were my heroes, they could light up the dark. They made nightime not scary. I adored them, totally adored them. I still adore them. Except I'm old enough now to realize I've never seen a brown or black person with those kinds of powers. They tend to get shadow powers.

Terri Feran could join the first two in a heroic triad of characters that make my inner little girl get up and sock'em rock'em punch'em.

But it's incredibly demoralizing to me, to look at the comics produced and see no people of colour at all. Maybe here or there in the backgrounds, especially when one of the reformed Nazi characters is having a moment 'These people, these savages, these non pure bloods' but not heroes.

One would think that in a universe where there are heroes who were raised secretly in Brazil by Nazis to be the ubermen who'd rule the world, who then turned against their masters, there'd be some importance in showing a black or brown or red or golden face among the heroes and their new allies.

Heroic's website is partially confusing however, so maybe there are wonderful characters of colour in their universe that I just can't find with a site map.

MY BIRTHDAY; a little happiness, some rant, some smack talk and plea for reccs

Let us describe what I did with my birthday.

I relaxed. I had easy, yet delicious food. I bundled up for warmth. And I read comics. All. Damn. Day.

I read me some NextWave. Agents of H.A.T.E - FINALLY. And got me some squee over Monica (Who will ALWAYS BE MY CAPTAIN MARVEL).

I read me some Shadowpact. Ragman is f*Cking cool! Seriously. Jewish hero. Kicking ass. Taking names. And BRINGING YOU YOUR REDEMPTION!

I think I'm in love.

Also it was very sad to learn that they stopped at #25. Also I only read up to #21.


Also also? Shadowpact? That was one white ass team, yo. WHITE. ASS. And I sincerely appreciate Nightmaster's vague allusion to that fact (mentioning getting his white ass handed to him)

Also? The JL in that series? WHITE AS WONDER BREAD.

Are there no POC magical heroes in DCverse? And please don't tell me Blue Devil is a person of colour, or I will rip your still beating heart from your chest and piss on it.

Which reminds me I've had a post brewing to one side about Supergirl getting kicked to the curb from the WHITE AS MOON ASS Teen Titans - but it's a rant involving lots of frothing at the mouth from me, at how things went down via summaries from Maid of Might and scans_daily. So it might not ever see the light of day.

Seriously the only way that whole set up could be redeemed to me is if someone comes back and does THE STORY WE DIDN'T KNOW, where Cassie fricking Stargirl had herself some lesbian experimentation using Super-Girl as something to hump in her grieving over Kon-EL, selfishly not considering that using a person, moreover a person with limited understanding of human interactions and no clue this could be a possibility, is WRONGER than WRONG especially when one calls oneself a hero.

*breathes at that run on sentence*

AND the misunderstanding between Cassie and Kara when this is all explained is that Cassie confesses and Supergirl is understandably pissed off and is all very much "Lose my number you user skank!"

*breathes, exhales*

But where was I? Oh yes.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS.

Seriously - WTF is up with that? I repeat. WHAT. THE. F*CK. IS. UP. WITH. THAT.??!

A girl on her birthday tries to get into GLC, look at some stuff, cause the Rainbow Wars look interesting and the latest previews look exciting.

AND................

Apparently in order to know WTF is going on, I have to read shite from 2004! Because Geoff Johns is a -looooooong- view writer?

SERIOUSLY?

SERIOUSLY?

This is supposed to encourage me to buy the TPB's HOW?

Cause you know, so far on my list of things to acquire by the end of the year, I've got - NEW EXCALIBUR (the first half 1-15) and NEXTWAVE.

But I need to know about ION and Sinestro Corps War in order to appreciate The Alpha Lanterns and the fact that the big headed blue dudes have felt fear and like George Bush Jr after 9/11 are now running around going 'PATRIOT ACT!' and 'ILLEGAL PHONE TAPS' and 'OH NOES WE NEEDS US SOME CIA INTERNAL AFFAIRS IN HERE!' ?????

I don't have a clue if I'll even like GL, why do I need to know all that? How is this attractive to the causal but intrigued new series reader?

Also GL fans, are you aware that while Kali921 is one of you, she's also a Nova Corps fan? Not only that, but she and others have been pimping Marvel's Cosmic Comics at me, like it was naked women covered in chocolate whose mouths constantly produce whipped cream and caramel?

And one of the bloody damn hooks of Nova Corps & Anahilation is that I don't bloody well have to do bloody homework in order to understand it??

Despite some scant knowledge of GL's from my childhood, including a parent's love of Alan Scott, I am a definitive DCAU baby! I have one true Lantern and his name is not HAL or KYLE. And my kickass female lantern love is PINK and likes dark meat!


Why do I need to read about people I only know of as peripherals in order to understand a story that seems as if it should have a broader more encompassing pov? Is the Rainbow Corps not a truly epic undertaking after all? Epic as in universal, as in not complicated requiring endless footnotes to comprehend???

*breathes*

Seriously though Nova has a Raccoon and the GLC has a chipmunk, or maybe it's a squirrel. Either way, glowy people kicking ass to save the universe. My money's only going to be spent on that story ONCE. And it's going to be spent on something that's enjoyable and doesn't give me a damn headache.

So if any GL fans out there want to point me to something, or inform me of what to read that's not 4 trades prior to what's going on right now. I think my vote's been cast.

Also. Nova has/is a lesbian.

So seriously. Y'all GLC pimpers are getting rolled!

Right, now that all that bemused WTF is out of my system :) And it is bemused, cause I was all about the happy on my b-day....

Who wants to recc me something to spend birthday money on? Keeping in mind my icons are generally women, with close to cosmic level powers who'll kick a bad guy in the face or groin?

Also, is there a light based heroine (maybe even hero) I DON'T know about?

Monica, Allison Blaire... (I know I'm forgetting someone)

Supergirl

I wish Cir-El were found alive.

I wish she could hear the fate of Kandor (well, the Kandor left to be ruled by Ultraman)

I wish she could find a way to get there.

And I wish Supergirl would go back too and clean up the mess.

*looks at thoughts*

*looks at blank word document*

*looks at the head honchos at DC*

Yeah, this might be like flying cars. If you want one you probably have to build it yourself.

Got the name.

SuperRamble: Supergirl, Powergirl - A Story Redux.

Now that I've gotten the 'OMG the bare ass' out of the way, I want to see what I can write up about Superman/Batman:Supergirl and Supergirl Vol 1. But I highly doubt it'll make much sense. There's too much stewing.

I like outsider stories. I like stories where people try to figure out how to fit in, why to fit in and what makes them who they are. I like the base thread of Supergirl (the new Kara from Krypton)'s story so far. But I only like the base thread. It took me a while to figure this out, since I was beginning to wonder what exactly I was feeling. I had a lot of excitement and enjoyment and odd offkey disappointment and agitation. I had to sleep on it for a while. And I realized I like outsider stories, so Supergirl's current story appeals to me right off the bat.

However, Supergirl's story, excluding the bit about her being evil and sent to kill Kal-el as a baby, reads a lot like the troubles and turmoils of Powergirl. And I fell in love with Powergirl way back when, because she was an ultimate outsider. She was the Kryptonian with knowledge of Krypton, the one with answers to questions about the culture and society. She was the one who could look at humanity and just plain not understand them. Which is why I've been so disappointed at realizing the story arc where she was seeing things and losing her powers and having conflict went right back to the status quo.

Yes, I wanted some interesting history for her. But moreso I wanted an explanation. I wanted someone to skillfully weave everything that had happened in her life and give it purpose. Was Powergirl out of time? Out of phase? Why had she been so badly used and abused throughout the years?

I didn't get an answer to that. And then on top of it, I get Supergirl playing out Karen's story. Supergirl's the confused one, the alone one, the one seeking out Kon to talk to him, and dealing with all these new feelings and sensations and curiosities and powers and enemies and hormones and boys and...

Powergirl is Supergirl too. And maybe it's my fantasy alone that Powergirl is Supergirl all grown up, come back to where she was originally meant to be in the timeline from the far future, with unstable whatevers that mess with her memory. Maybe it's wrong of me to think of Powergirl and Supergirl as being the same person, from different spots in the time stream and/or one shade over in realities.

But it's a lot harder not to think that, when Kara is walking in PG's footsteps. It's a lot harder not to do it when I end up thinking they're doing PG's story, only updated for the times.

"Am I Superman's Cousin? What does that mean? What does it mean to be a Kryptonian on Earth? Why did I have to live? Do I want to die? Will I ever fit in? Will I ever be what they expect me to be? Do they have the right to expect anything at all? Will I ever measure up to Kal's legacy? Should I? Could anyone? Who am I? What am I? Should I try to have a normal life? Can I? Is it possible without all the years put in to having a normal, human, childhood? What am I missing out on in the human world? Is it anything like what I'm missing out in from Krypton? What do I want? Can I want something for myself? What does being a hero mean? Should I be a hero? Why do I have to handle this all in public? What's my purpose? Why can't I live a normal life if I can manage to blend in and lie and be a human? Why does Kal live a human life? Does he feel anything? Does it feel weird to him? Does anyone understand how weird it feels to me? Should I remember being Kryptonian and of the House of El or should I try to forget? Am I following Kal's footsteps because he's currently the head of the House of El? Does that even matter anymore?.....'

So many questions. So many interesting questions and conflicts and desires and emotions. But I associate them all with Powergirl. And I keep wanting to see them interacting, so I can maybe observe the differences. Except that there's this stupid premise that they can't be too close together physically because they cause each other's powers to act up.

So Kara's alone when she doesn't have to be. She's alone when it makes her story mimic Karen's that much more. She's alone and a teenager and angsty and trying to figure it all out. But the writers so far don't seem to be looking at it from a teenager's pov.

Kara isn't watching teens on the street, or looking at MTV, or flipping through the channels or reading books about teenagers. But she is spending time with the Outsiders and crushing on Nightwing, and wondering why everything gets tongue tied around him. But it doesn't move from there, because there's a crisis and off she runs.

Kara isn't exploring what having powers and doing heroic things means to her. She's aping Kal-El and wearing his symbol and his costume. And in that she seems somewhat less that PowerGirl. Though understandably she's much younger and as a teenager she's going to be easily swayed.

And yet...

It's like they're missing all the edges of the outsider story. They have the frame up, a rough sketch. But the things that give it dimension are missing.

There's more to trying to figure out who you are, in a world where people die, and relatives lose their powers and enemies haunt you just because you're part of the House of El; than exploring smoking, costume changes and man on the street interaction.

There was this beautiful hint at all the anger she feels in her interaction with Cassie. Kara has grief and rage. She's lost the world she knows, moreso than Kal-El can ever imagine. In fact, she has more in common with Batman, in having had her world shatter and break.

As much as I love Batman, he's not the best person to help her deal with that. But I know he'd take her to the person who is, Jonn Jonzz.

I've heard much of Kyle of Green Lantern Fame, and the trip he took where he met up with lots of Superheroes and slowly realized that what he had inside him was a hero's heart. Why can't Supergirl have something similar? Why can't Jonn teach her about celebrating old rituals and customs in private and dealing with the huge weight of loss that will never really go away? Why can't WonderWoman teach her about female empowerment and humanity's history and self-respect? What would be wrong with a series where a strong telepath like Jonn realized the pain she was in and sent her down the right path?

I found something very wrong with Superman calling an assembly of heroes to welcome Kara when she hadn't proven herself yet. I know she didn't join a particular group. But she hasn't had any training. Is it my Batman love showing that I think like this? That I want to point out that when WonderWoman lost her sight, Batman went for her tooth and nail to ensure she could still take care of herself. But he and Superman leave an untrained girl to discover for herself how to do things? Since when do they do that?

The book kept mentioning Clark wanting Lois to meet Kara. Has that happened yet and I missed it? Cause if not, why can't it happen? What's wrong with Lois and or Martha helping Kara see the point of view of human females? Why isn't there a chance for her to see there are things she might want to experience as just a girl without costumes and responsibilities being right there front and center.

I guess I want to see something more. So far I haven't even figured out why Kara wears the S, other than mimicking Kal-El and so once again I find myself thinking of Powergirl's independence in not wearing a symbol. Though I personally wouldn't fret if I saw her belt-buckle had the S. Or that she suddenly sported a ring that held the emblem. Because it means 'House of El' to me as much as it means 'SUPERsomeone' and Karen's worthy of her house.

Is it possible the writers of Supergirl don't understand the 'Outsider' story? That they don't remember being awkward teenagers and don't have the imaginations to pretend to be an alien girl who doesn't even understand why what she wears and how she looks should be more important than what she does? Or perhaps hasn't even had that thought or philosophy enter her head yet?

They've showed that she wants someone her own age to talk to but they haven't given her that someone. Why?

Why does the whole run that I've managed to read, leave me with more questions than satisfaction?

It's All Been Said Before / Same Old, Same Old

There's something to be said for reading a thing yourself versus reading other people's essays and only seeing a couple of scans of a particular comic or comic arc. This past weekend, while having phoneline and connection problems I went out to the bookstore and the library and I had a chance to read Superman/Batman: Supergirl and I believe Volume of Supergirl.

And I have so many thoughts, about Kara and Karen and how I feel like Powergirl's story is being appropriated; about the mess of Kara Zor-El assasin, and Kara's pain and alienation and feelings of isolation and where she might go next. But the first thing I need to talk about is the cheesecake factor.

I actually need to talk about it. It's almost a physical need. I'm so incredulous at what I saw. It only got worse when I got home and a day or so later I got Greg Rucka's WonderWoman graphic novels. Because there was Diana, powerful, sleek, muscled, athletic and beautiful. She was a wonder woman; noble, self sacrificing, loving, stern, determined. And then there was WonderWoman as I'd seen her drawn in Superman/Batman: Supergirl. And that WW looked like Brigitte Nielsen in Red Sonja. I love that movie almost as much as I love LadyHawke, but at no time did I ever delude myself into thinking that there wasn't significant set up for T&A and that a lot of the scenes played on the fact that the woman in charge didn't look as if she could handle herself. To me WonderWoman should always look like she can handle herself. She's the Queen of the Amazons.

I got back into comics almost without realizing, about a year to 18 months ago, possible a bit longer than that. But I had started by catching up. This is the first time I've looked long and hard at what's current (relatively speaking). And I don't know what to think. I was inspired by the comic blogs of so many eloquent women online. But I don't think I'd ever really seen what inspired them to speak. And now I have. Now it's hit me personally and viserally. And if it seems like I'm about to start harping on 'the clothes' like any other 'comic book femminist'; If it is easy to ignore my points because I'm just another girl talking about T&A and how much she doesn't like it; I suggest you move on, because you'll likely never see my point of view. And I point you now to Dictionary.com so you can look up the words in the phrase; 'Consistent Internal Continuity'.

In Superman/Batman, Clark is being overprotective of Kara. There's something in him that sees in her a precious connection to the past and the future. She's like a daughter to him. She's an innocent. A child. All the power in the world wouldn't change the fact that she's a miracle to him. Those wonderfully corny lines when he thinks she's dead, wherein he talks about her smile, and laughter and her first dance and falling in love are all things a Father would wish for his little girl. Moreover, it shows how lonely Clark is; the unique lonliness of the ex-patriot or the exile. It shows beautifully that he longs to have someone else to check in with about human rituals and talk about how they came to mean anything to him or even if they really do mean anything to him at all. Does kissing really do anything, or is it because he's a male Kryptonian with different erogneous zones, or is he some how stranger and more alien than he thought; just for example.

Everything he wants to show her, and teach her and share with her, is akin to parent to child; this world is now your oyster, let me show you the wonders. They make it clear from the beginning before things even get to the point where she's in danger, that he sees 'A little, lost, Kryptonian girl'. That he doesn't in fact give her up and over to Martha to look after says a lot in how much he wants to be in her life and be there for her and share first hand with her. Perhaps he even regrets (in that way that guilt makes no sense) not being able to be there, right from the beginning, for Kon. And it also shows, I think, that as wonderful as he thinks his parents were, he doesn't think Martha will 'get' Kara, without years of human indoctrination happening first.

And yet, despite all this, it doesn't occur to Superman, the Father, to be overprotective of the gazes Kara might draw, when she's walking around like a hootchie-momma?! I'm supposed to believe he doesn't think about how she's blonde and young and you can see her underwear outside and over her jeans and if some jackass tries something, Kara's still too untested to check her strength and she might hurt a human?! Are you telling me that Clark is too stupid to live and that Batman really has reason to think this girl is bio-chemically engineered to mess with Clark's mind, because Clark didn't take one look at all that skin on the girl he thinks of as an innocent child and go 'Kara, I think you still have a problem with human clothes. Maybe I should pick out your outfits.'

Was the point maybe to show that she's not yet accustomed to Earth ways and Earth clothes? If so, wouldn't it have been more recognizable in point for her to have one black shoe and one red shoe? Wouldn't it have been easier to show her putting the bra on the outside of the clothes? And even then, Kara isn't five. You can let the five year old get away with wearing the Fairy Princess dress night and day for a week. Kara's a teenager who needs to start learning how to blend and fit in. Is the only way for that to happen, is to have her be, unconsciously, an over-sexualized teenager? Is the only way for Kara Zor-El to fit into Earth, and among Earth women, is for her to a Virgin/Whore?

The nakedness out of the capsule-ship is logically required in the story. It is connected to plot in that Kara had exposure to yellow sunlight during her trip and stasis so she arrived on Earth with powers. Showing her hip bones however, is not a plot point. And in fact, there is no way I can believe that Lois-Independent-Femminist-PutsClarkInHisPlace-Lane bought those clothes for her; a high cut leotard with low riding jeans; french cut thongs showing over her jeans!

I realize that a lot of young girls and women do wear thongs and you seen the line of the thong sticking up past their pants. But the women are grown and making their own choices about their appearance. And most of those girls, even if they do think they're making a femmnist stance or any stance at all about their bodies, have more life on Earth experience than Kara and practically are very likely sneaking those clothes out of the house, or don't have anyone at home to tell them better(different).

In a perfect society it'd be instantly recognized that an idiot who hit on a woman when it was unwanted was harrassing her. In a perfect society how a woman dresses wouldn't factor into whether or not a man thought he had the right to touch her without permission or force himself on her. DCverse is not a perfect society. In fact there's a long list of just how many DC heroines have been raped or sexually assualted. DCverse is ripe with powerplays of a sexual and violating nature.

Am I to believe that in a society like that, that Lois Lane would give an innocent and ignorant girl clothes that said 'Come and get it' when said girl hasn't got a clue what the clothes say? Because I don't believe it. And I also don't believe that Martha Kent, who thought about aerodyanmics when she made Clark's costume and being a practical farming woman would put a young girl who's going to be zipping through the air in a skirt. And not just a skirt, but a ruffle of a mini. Not a ruffle attached to a leotard for a bit of girly whimsy but a sash with delusions of grandeur matched with a cropped top. Martha Kent; who knows the kind of enemies her Clark has faced, who knows the kind of enemies her granson Kon has faced, puts one of her baby boy's relatives in that outfit?

No. I don't believe it.


What I do believe is that the artist and author wanted her in those clothes for their own reasons. That this was what they wanted to see. And maybe that explains why WonderWoman, Queen of the Amazons was wearing a star spangled thong. Because what every warrior woman needs in the heat of battle is a wedgie and to have her bare ass cheeks available for scoring.

And if this is what every warrior woman wants, it also explains why Artemis had a bodysuit on that had one leg clothed and one leg bare. Because Artimis as the premier fighter among the Amazons, under the Queen, is just the sort of hard core warrior that needs the rage that comes from having an unplanned wedgie caught up in the crack of her vagina and ass. And if this is what every warrior woman wants, then it explains why Darkseid, a being who has as his personal guard the Furies, would put Kara in long pants, but add 'fuck me now' platform heels like something out of 'When Porn Stars Attack!'. Because Darkseid would definitely want his honor guards pissed off and ready to lop heads and even if Kara can fly and as the girl of steel can't twist her ankle, the unecessary frustration of balancing on those heels, with easy access scarves on her arms so her enemies can pull her closer is just the thing to keep her anger on the surface and her darker nature out and free.

Are any of the men writing and drawing this shit fathers?! Are they uncles? Older cousins? Older brothers?!

There's a time and place for cheesecake. There's a time and place to say that this is a young, fresh, nubile, young woman with no body issues. The time and place, however, is not downtown Metropolis on a young, alien, superpowered, girl's very first shopping trip. The time and place is not on Apokolips in its fight or die atmosphere. The time and place is definitely not while fighting Lex Luthor in his green and purple exo-skeleton, and his various kryptonite jewels while a teeny ass skirt swishes, sways and reveals at every movement. Lex Luther isn't the villian to be stopped by a glimpse of underage poontang.

I've got nothing else to say except to wonder if the artists had never heard of skorts, or hadn't thought of Supergirl in spankypants like WonderWoman or if they really wanted that 'distract them with the bare midrift' look, tights, just like her cousin. These artists are artists, right? They've earned that title? They could flip through a couple of online sites for fashion houses and see design? Or a magazine? Or something, right?

Do they realize what they're saying when they draw/ describe women like this? I'm curious now. I think of 'Eyes of the Gorgan' and 'Land of the Dead' and I wonder. Aphrodite walks around in nothing but whisps of fog and ribbon, there's ample opportunity to be risque and yet the sight of her doesn't make me feel as if someone is trying to disempower me as a woman (or disempower my heroes).

Can someone point me to where Greg Rucka has disrespected women some how? Cause I'd rather find out now than later, after purchasing a very low, very accessible pedastal.

NEXT: (or eventually) Supergirl, Powergirl; A Story Redux.

Supe / Bat Pairing (Note to me)

Random brainstorm I want to keep a record of. Instead of Ms. Supergirl of the barely there skirt, and cigarette burning self, bad ass attitude - having a crush/teaming up with Dick/Nightwing; what would happen if she ended up hanging around Jason Todd?

They're both trying to fit in, and get out from under the expectations of a well known hero. They're both confused, messed up, angry, emotional people. They're both trying to find and figure themselves out. Jason's supposed to be getting over his madness and dealing with his impulses to be more violent and vengeful with criminals. But is Supergirl still having impulses of evil? Has she figures out how to deal with her darker aspects yet?

Am I the only one who thinks that'd make an interesting story? A random one off mini-series wherein they become aquainted, bitch, fret, fight, talk....

I can so clearly see Jason taking the meanest potshots on the barely there skirt, and crop top and asking if she wants to be the SuperHo.

I can see Supergirl calling him a monster at some point, and him morphing into that wtf tentacle creature, just for a second, and admitting he doesn't know what or who the hell he is anymore.

Would it be insider to have them wondering about what's real and what's not real? Would it have to be? Couldn't it just be human and young and confused to feel unreal or like the world was unreal because of everything that's happened? Because of expectations? Because of feeling left out, unloved, unavenged, abandoned.

She could explain why she felt so alone among the Amazons even though to all appearances it was the best place for her. He could explain why Batman sucks (from his pov) or maybe someone would actually go deeper with Jason and deal with him feeling replaceable and like some cog in the wheels within wheels the Bat spins.

And then from there, I don't know, a friendship wherein they branch off into their own books after? It's not unusual for a Supe and a Bat to be friends. There was Tim and Kon. There's Kal-el and Bruce. Why not, Kara and Jason?

Dick can get taken under Powergirl's wing and get given lots of books on coming out of the closet and being a modern gay figure and have deep talks about being taken seriously and trying to form identity when so much of you is tied up in another person; but at a far more adult level than Jason and Kara. J and K could be the teenagers trying to sort things out. And PeeG and Dick could be the adults who still haven't figured things out.

And now I wonder if I'll end up writing some hastilly scrabbled summary (it's been ages upon ages since I wrote fanfiction) because I'm interested in the story now. I'm interested in the layers

ETA: Even the 'incest' thing could be explored well between J and K, as part of the confusing emotions and perceptions of being a teenager and coming back from the dead/ being in stasis etc.

SUPERGIRL

My new rule is if I find myself stating having more than three things to say about a comics character in IM, and it's in a ranty manner, I should rant on here. So now I will.

SUPERGIRL. Just saying the name makes me feel eleven years old and oh so excited. She was a girl! She was just like Superman! A girl could be just as strong as Superman and just as smart and just as able. My introduction to Supergirl via comics was rather brief and I admit, I fixated on the movie version for many, many years. But given that I was Batman's girl since the age of five or six, the fact that Supergirl made any impression on me whatsoever is a big thing, a very big thing. She was Wonder Woman, only young enough and confused enough about Earth, that a little kid like I was then could relate to her. I can remember thinking I'd never understand the grown up world, and bucking myself up with thoughts that Supergirl managed to figure out Earth, so I could too.

I wasn't fully satisfied with Supergirl again until The Adventures of Batman and Superman on the WB, where Kal-el found Kara and brought her back to Earth where she could live with the Kents as his cousin. I didn't like her superhero uniform, but I loved her. I loved her family issues, I loved her looking up to, feeling jealous of, feeling overshadowed by Superman. Even though Justice League lost me when it became the JLU, I did actually tune in when there was anything going on with Kara. Because it was going to be about Supergirl!

The Supergirl in the comics now has so much potential. She thinks of Batman and Superman both as her fathers. Supergirl has two dads! How's that for a new way of looking at the world, and Earth and human politics and prejudices etc. She's spent time with the Amazons, surrounded by indepenent strong women who make no appologies for being that way. She has three role models who keep telling her she can tell them anything, talk to them about anything. For me at least, that's total wish fulfillment. As a teenager I'd have given darn near anything to have even one person who wanted to be there for me like that.

Instead everything I read, and see discussed is about this girl who wears a Supergirl outfit, but who's someone totally different. She's trapped in her head with her issues. She's morose. She's potentially masochistic. She's emotional. She feels misunderstood. She's lost. She has no goals. She feels she has no purpose. She has no actual direction and no clue where to go for direction. She has impulses she doesn't understand. And she just happens to have Kryptonian physiology.

Who is this girl? Why does she seem so listless in all her poses? Why does she seem without focus on the covers? How could she have been among Amazons and not learned the basic body language of two feet solidly planted on the ground, spine straight, shoulders back? Why is her skirt so teeny? What true reason does she have to be so lost? How and why did she become a character that I want to avoid? A character who seems spoilt to me and unable to see her blessings? Where's her gratitude gone?

The Supergirl I remember was grateful to be alive. She was grateful for the chance to be a hero and do something with her life. She was grateful for family to feel jealous of in the first place. Where did the gratitude go? The more I write, the more I realize what bothers me is the utter lack of graciousness. There seem to be no wonders of the world, to this new Supergirl. I don't look at her and imagine seeing the world through new eyes. She's world weary and cynical when she should be young enough to bounce back. All my memories of her are about bouncing back. She felt and she felt deeply and she made it ok for girls to cry. If Superheros like her could cry, then I could cry and it didn't take away from my tomboyishness or my strengths or any of my accomplishments. Because crying wasn't weak, it was simply emotion. After Supergirl cried, she did something.

For all the story of Powergirl has become so convoluted and I feel a keen sense of disappointment in the prelude to crisis arc where nothing new came out of having her confront all the varied aspects of her past; Powergirl is more like the Kara I remember as a girl. She's determined, she's sassy, she's powerful, she's a role model.

The new Supergirl seems like an appendage. Since when was it ok for SUPERGIRL to be an appendage?! I don't know about her earliest incarnations, was she Superman's appendage then? Because I remember her as her own damn entity. Even when she was doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, or doing the right thing the wrong way, she was her own person.

Superman was an adult but Supergirl was somewhere in between. She could see adulthood but she was somehow innocent enough that I could put myself in her place far easier than I could with Superman. (And we can get into why I so strongly identify with Batman later). When playing with my cousins and they chose to be Superman and Spiderman and any number of male characters and then told me I couldn't play - I loved saying 'Sure I can. I'm Supergirl!' and whipping out my comic books. Boom. In your face. A real girl superhero!

Can little girls do that with the new Kara? Or do little girls not exist like that anymore? Is that what the new Supergirl comics are trying to say?

Black Superheroines and One Unknown

Brought over from another journal:

So I reconfirmed for myself that there was in fact a black female superhero who had led a team and was called Marvel. It wasn't Ms. Marvel. But Captain Marvel - then - Photon - now - Pulsar.

Monica Rambeau


Man, did she rock.

However, I've just spent two hours trying to track down a another character I know exists. I just know it. I can see the panel in my mind.

A teenaged boy wih the powers to duplicate himself, but somehow it was only astrally. The copies were all black and star field looking. And anything they knew, he knew.

I distinctly remember a series of panels where a member of his team is scolding him for one of his selves/copies peeking in on her in the shower.

Was this an Amalgam version of Jamie Maddrox ? I don't know. The woman seemed muscular with braids/corn row (black hair not white). And I dimlly recall that there were other team mates in the house or apt where they were.

This is haunting me now. If anyone has the slightest clue. Cause I'm running out of things to use as research starting points.

I tried looking up the woman, by looking up DC and Marvel African American Heroes. But I've gone through both lists and haven't seen her so far. And everything about multiple selves or parts comes up Jamie and astral projection gives me telepaths or group efforts on the astral plane.

The comic would have been an early to middle 80's comic.

ETA on 2006/10/28: Link. Also, Monica is apparently part of Nextwave. She hasn't disappeared. Still haven't found out anything about the young man.