Who Saves the Day?
By Yas Necati
Is it a courageous woman? Is it a witty young girl? All I see are male, pale-skinned, heterosexual lover-boys. And with the exception of Green Lantern (the first headlining hero to be pronounced gay), all recent heroes of the screen seem to fit the cliché. Enter Thor, Captain America, Spiderman, Batman and Iron-man, the heroes of the stereotypical ideal.
Yes, here, in the 21st century(!?) there is not one decent female protagonist of the superhero scene. Why don’t we just go ahead and pat stereotypes more ancient than the Jurassic period on the back? Men being stronger and more capable than women? Get real! This is supposed to be a time of revolution. Can a woman never save the day?
Some may argue for Catwoman or Susan Storm, but Catwoman is like the porn star of the comic book industry: a sex symbol as objectified as a modern pop star. Then there’s the Invisible Woman who, despite being in her 20s, seems to need constant guardianship from her 15-year-old brother. Obviously, as a woman, she must be intensely vulnerable, to the point of needing protection from a child. Except, hold up a second…isn’t this the same woman who can conjure force fields? Is that not shielding enough? Can a woman never protect herself?
Many of the headlining female acts in the comic book industry also seem to bear an awful similarity to the male ones. For Batman there’s Batwoman, for the Hulk there’s She-Hulk and for Spiderman there’s - you guessed it - SpiderWoman. When are us girls going to stop being male counterparts and get our own, independent storylines?
After slagging the comic book industry off a decent amount, I was delighted to finally discover a miracle. She’s smart. She’s tough. She’s independent… she’s Spidergirl- and she’s ready to kick some ass!
Enter a revolution. Although she’s a spin-off of Spiderman (she is his teenage daughter), she’s the best example of a female protagonist anyone could possibly dream of. Forget skipping around in a bra and some thongs, this girl is all muscle, and all business!
A conscientious high school student and determined worker, Spidergirl (aka May “Mayday” Parker) is exactly the kind of character we need. She’s hard working and caring, a regular volunteer at a shelter for victims of domestic violence, and an asset to her community. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see more characters with determination and morals? We don’t need another Tony Stark (playboy star promoter of worshipping cash and sexy women) -- we need more 21st Century heroes.
Spidergirl is independent, and although she has a boyfriend, she often blows him off… to save the world! She’s a young girl with complete control over her relationship and her life. She’s a great contrast from the typical female characters who appear in comics: women with very little personality of their own, whose sole purpose is to throw themselves at men.
I think by now we’ve established that Spidergirl is epic. So where is her big promotion? Why isn’t she advertised on our billboards, or grinning on the front of our magazines? It’s simple: she’s just another little girl. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is the 21st Century Comic Book Industry. I don’t know about you, but I’m not particularly proud.
We need Marvel and DC to step up and introduce valid characters such as Spidergirl to our supermarket shelves, our television screens, and our lives. Then we’ll witness some real KA-POW!