When writing essays based on whim, even with a set course in mind, you can expect long winded articles. There's no helping it. A good outline and several hours of work would result in ever so much better works. The course would be clear, for instance, and not shift midstream.
Case in point, this series. I know I wasn't writing about Power Girl, as the title proclaims. I thought I was writing about my dissatisfaction with Spider-man, which resulted in Power Girl slowly but surely taking his place as Hero Worthy of My Attention. Seemed interesting enough to me, and in many ways, that's what matters. I'm not being paid for this, after all. This is done to improve my writing skills, as well as on occasion discuss various points about the Fantastic (including my own meager contributions to the genre.)
However, I noticed something as I was both writing and thinking about writing this series, something that changed its course. See, it isn't about Spider-man, either. It's about Gwen Stacy, and how the treatment of her character has caused me to drop Spider-man comics all but for good.
Without further ado, let's continue rambling and see where this leads.
What set me down this new branch in my stream of thought was an unexpected thrill. While surfing the web about a week or so ago, I found that the comic book site
When Fan Girls Attack had linked one of the
very first essay in this series. After several moments of confusion that was all too typical of me (with questions running through my head such as: Did they think I was a fan girl? Were they gathering the fan girls to attack
me? Had I done something to deserve this? When
hadn't I done something to deserve this?) I read their banner and realized they compiled links to various articles on female characters in comics. Most interesting.
As this wasn't my first mentioning of Power Girl, I searched the site to see if the other article was listed so that I could bath in the glory of being noticed out of curiosity. It was there I discovered
Dance of the Puppets, written by one Marionette. She has an article on
Power Girl's pregnancy, filled in some blanks on the matter and colored my perception of events further (not that I had a high opinion of the thing in the first place, mind.)
I already knew (and have mentioned earlier) that Power Girl/Kara was impregnated by her grandfather, an Atlantian Mystic known as Arion. Unfortunately, there was even more to it than just that. Let me quote the relevant passage from
Dance of the Puppets. Italics mine:
By the climax of the storyline it is revealed that [Kara's] entire life has been orchestrated purely to produce Arion's "mystical great grandson". Until this point she has had no true free will as she had simply been programmed for this purpose, her whole life directed by Arion and his mystics.
I have come to believe that the word misogynistic is tossed about far too readily, like racist and Nazi. It's come to the point that all three words are losing their power to convince. Which is a damn shame considering there's still a need for them in this world of ours.
In this case, though, a point might well be made. It takes a powerful woman and strips her of her free will. It takes her strength, her bravery, and tossing it aside, setting her into the role of puppet for the "wiser" man.
Now it would be harder to make a case if the story was good. And, in fairness, all I've seen of the story is what I've read on the websites, so I can't really gauge its worth or lake there of.
But honestly, from just what I've read, I can't see any real justification. If Power Girl had still been a Kryptonian at that point, then maybe. Superman, after all, is weak against magic, so why not his cousins?
But as an Atlantian sent through time? Come on! Why couldn't she be the one destined to fight the Big Bad villain? Makes no sense to me at all.*
Gwen Stacy's death, too, inches towards the misogynistic side of the fence. As mentioned in her
Wikientry, Gwen was killed because the writer and editors couldn't figure out what to do with her. It was either marry her to Peter or kill her off, and Lord only knows we can have a married Peter Parker. Fans wouldn't stand for it.
Bear in mind that as I write this, Peter has been married to Mary Jane for twenty odd years and no one's complained.**
What is really infuriating about it all is that Gwen really is the perfect girl for Peter. She studied the same subjects as he did. She had a background in law enforcement. She was brave, smart, and true. While she was depicted as crying at the drop of the hat, that was a fault that could be fixed. Originally she was impish and willful, too, as well as pure at heart.
Mary Jane's... well, at best she's hawt. Her characterization waivers between smart and bimbo. More often than not she's Wendy to Peter's Peter Pan, which is an irritating stereotype as any.
In fact, let me let you into a little secret here. I absolutely
hate Mary Jane Watson-Parker. Completely. I don't think there's any character I dislike more
If Godzilla came through New York (again) and crushed her flat, I would have a little party. In fact, I'd have her marry off to Green Arrow, a fate that not only should be impossible (different comic companies, after all), but also something no mother would want to have happen to her daughter.
Stupid Green Arrowprissy goatee......
Okay, so there's one character I hate worse than Mary Jane.
Off-topic rants about other characters aside, the death of Gwen Stacy should be as bad as the whole Power Girl pregnancy. But, as I said, the story works. It's a bit overwritten in places, but it fits the series nonetheless. More to the point, it does nothing to change the basic nature of the character.
Which leads to the story known as "Sins Past" and what should be the end of this series.
* In the comments section of the article, Ragnell, writer of The Written World, speaks of Green Lantern/Hal Jordan being considered as being the father of Power Girl's child. Reading this, it occurs to me that the Arion storyline might have been a last moment inspiration. Whether it was or not doesn't matter. I can think of several other ways of explaining Kara's pregnancy without weakening the character, and I bet you can, too. There really is no justification for it.
**Until recently, of course. The Editor in Chief at Marvel has officially blamed all the problems on the marriage. Silly me. Here I was thinking bad stories...
