Women In Comics

The relationships between comic book characters is often very difficult to divulge, their complex on-going storylines mean that in one issue the couple could be married, and the next one could be decease. The archetypal relationship within comic book history is that of Superman and Lois Lane. Everybody knows how their love story develops, her first falling for the man of steel, and not being capable of seeing his clear resemblance to her clumsy, bumbling co-work Clark Kent. Of course this is overcome and expanded on in the newer versions of Superman, for example, the main focus to their relationships is the continuing narrative in the television programme, 'The new Adventure of Superman' and this also follows onto the recent film 'Superman Returns' (2006). But the example set by Superman and Lois Lane has continued to influence other co-comic book characters.The relationship Wonder Woman had with Steve Trevor is very similar to that of Superman and Lois Lane. Princess Diana is from a fictional tribe called the Amazons, based on many Greek myths, her mother is Queen Hippolyta. When a young, attractive intelligence officer from the American army crashes onto her island, Wonder Woman nurses him back to health and ends up falling in love with the man known as Steve Trevor. She returns with him to America and is known as Diana Prince, by day she is a quirky, nervous secretary, secretly in love with her boss Steve Trevor, however she has also the alter ego of Wonder Woman. Steve Trevor fought his own battles but also pinned for the love of his rescuer in many tight situations, that of Wonder Woman without stopping to ponder the resemblance to his secretary. We are use to this storyline with Superman but strong females with men who can act as the 'damsel in distress' are less common. The creator or Wonder Woman, William Marston, was very deliberate in reversing the roles seen in the relationship with Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman, and for Trevor to be attracted to a woman with infinite more power than him, was still a radical theory to be accepted. Wonder Woman even came against controversy when deciding if she should or should not marry Steve Trevor, the following image is from an issue of Sensation Comics no.94, where is it is even stated in jest that 'Only a sudden call for help could prevent Wonder Woman from marrying Steve Trevor!' Whether it was a tactical decision to keep Wonder Woman from marrying, is for individual opinion but I believe that at the time she eventually had to be married off for fear that the woman may become to independent, even Wonder Woman's place had to be in the home at some point. Marston was once stated as saying; 'Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world' however after Marston died and another writer took over, the personalities of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor were some what sacrificed, Diana became apologetic for her great powers, and instead of needing to rescue her lover, she found herself often in a situation she herself couldn't escape from and Steve Trevor was called upon to rescue her. Steve Trevor became jealous of her power and threatened her existence; this was not the morality check that Marston had intended for these characters. The importance of Steve Trevor accepting Diana for who she was, was crucial to not only the narrative but also the audience. Marston had aimed this theory of women being accepted at his young male audience to show them the example to follow. Within society this storyline had to blend with the change of the time, after the women's contribution during the war, they had been pushed back to the boundaries of the home, and strong independent women were not tolerable. If the storylines were too biased towards the role of the woman they would have surely been cut immediately.Supergirl first appeared in the Action Comic, number 123, published in august 1958. There have been many incarnations of Supergirl, commonly used merely to represent the female version of Superman. Supergirl is Superman's cousin from their home planet and is sent to earth by her father. Supergirl acquires similar powers to that of Superman when she arrives on earth, and even has her own sidekicks, that of her orange cat Streaky, who gains superpowers after being in contact with X-Kryptonite and also the more popular Comet the Superhorse, a former centaur and Supergirl's very close equestrian sidekick. It can be interpreted that Comet the Superhorse in fact had his own attraction to his master, and in a later depiction of Supergirl, she falls in love with a half man half horse character called Comet, who it is described as having a 'long, silvery mane'. Although Superman and Supergirl are related and so aren't in any form of heterosexual relationship, the relationship they do hold is interesting to analyse for the factor of how Supergirl is introduced to the comic book world. During the 1950's the woman's place was still very much in the home, there were very few careers for women, and this was reflected in the material that came through in comic books. Supergirl had to be introduced to society when Superman believed her to be ready. Even though she had the same superhero qualities to her older cousin and eventually her own companions she was viewed very much as a feeble woman, and although the stories are fictional, the function of introducing Supergirl was also to instigate a reaction from the young male audience. Due to the decade in which the character Supergirl was created, she had to be introduced to society within the story to integrate within the reader's society as well, in a similar way to Wonder Woman's powers being toned down during this period, Supergirl was viewed very much as a sidekick to Superman more often than not needing rescuing or aid from Superman and not aiding herself, but of course she did play her fair role in his survival at times. In present day, comics are more 'sexed' up for the audience's attention, Supergirl now has her own comic and place within the 'Legion of Superhero's' . It is of course still clearly Supergirl, but her outfit is skimpier, her figure slimmer, her hair blonder, she has been made over into the new all American girl, in a similar way to the manufactured celebrities and pop singers that thrive in America. Her appearance is to entice more readers, and to continue in the ever changing society that she was born into. Women in fiction have always suffered for their power; it seems that in a fictional world women are incapable of having all the power, a man to love them and the success they desire. This feeling is echoed through out many narratives, but brought back up to date in the recently finished television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'The show was initially aired on March 10th 1997 until May 20th 2003. This series was centred around a teenage girl called Buffy Summers, who was selected as the next Vampire Slayer, a long line of slayers went before her all young women, chosen by fate to fight demons and vampires that lurk in Sunnydale, the 'peaceful' town that the series is set in. Buffy has a some what large entourage that help her through the series. The show was very much aimed at a cult audience and even evolved its own spin off series called 'Angel'. The show depicts Buffy fight against evil whilst also showing her troubled home life and family issues, against the teenage world of fitting into life with her peers at school. Buffy has a somewhat large aid in fighting the demons and vampires of Sunnydale, and there is great contrast between that of her slaying alter ego and her attempt at a normal home life. Buffy in my opinion has three main love interests, the two vampires with souls, Angel and later Spike, and Riley, a soldier. The first relationship that Buffy encounters is with a Vampire 'turned good' called Angel. He offers the role as Buffy's love interest but also is known as the Vampire with a soul, however he leaves Buffy to make amends for his previous sins and appears in his own Spin off that of 'Angel'. When Buffy and Angel consummate their relationship, Angel experiences a moment of true happiness, which breaks his curse set upon him many years previous and releases his true vampire spirit onto Sunnydale, forcing Buffy to turn against her boyfriend and crucial Sidekick and send the vampire to hell. Joss Whedon has stated in the text, 'Reading the Vampire Slayer' that, 'All relationships on the show are sort of romantic' The text also goes on to say;Other shows such as those in the Star Trek franchise, have carefully avoided the implication that characters not formally in a relationship are attracted to each other; Buffy and Angel have consistently implied both heterosexual and homosexual relationships outside the shows official canon. ( Kaveney: 2004: 11)Riley, Buffy's next serious relationship after Angel some what resembles a similar character to Steve Trevor, a respectable military figure, set in place to combat evil. He unlike Angel and Xander is intimidated by Buffy's powers, especially when his artificially enhanced powers are destroyed. Setting Buffy back in the ways of female heterosexual heroines before her, and punishing her for extreme abilities. The final male sidekick to aid and hinder Buffy is the vampire known as Spike. His role varies through the whole series, once the enemy of Buffy, in series six they developed an overwhelming lust for each other, causing Spike to hunt out a soul that Buffy may fall in love with, when he is turned 'good' he protects and helps Buffy and her kid sister, and in fact becomes a hero in the final episode, sacrificing himself to save Sunnydale.These science-fiction crossed with melodramatic productions came into television at a similar time, as a fresher version of the comic book for the youth of the day. Other examples such a Smallville-the new adventures of Superman have also been truly successful, but I have chosen Buffy as my example due her to similarities to that of incarnations of Wonder Woman and Supergirl, even the characters that play companions to The Good Doctor. In a heterosexual relationship, Women are always the punished or the hurt partner, no matter who has the power. In relation to Wonder Woman, she in fact in a very similar way to that of Buffy had to denounce her powers in favour of a man, because the men in their lives couldn't cope with the pressure of being in a relationship with a powerful woman, this theory is seen through-out the whole of society in citizens own personal lives but is often focused on through film and television for dramatic effect, a line that embodies this feeling is in the film depiction of 'Charlie's Angels', a film which summarises the ideology of strong women, and weak men. Dylan says 'You don't want to be with a man who's intimidated by a strong woman anyway.'