The Comic Book Discrimination Dossiers

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Articles: 1, 2, 3

Conclusion
2008-03-27 11:07:00
Time to give it a restWell, I?ve put in many entries whenever I could, and now, I think is the time to end. As Shakespeare once said, and Stan Lee may have quoted, ?all good things must come to an end.?So many posts did I write here on various ladies, and even a few men, whom I could find at least one thing done to them that could be or was discriminatory, as well as occasionally give mention to some writers and what they did wrong at their end too. It wasn?t that often, but, I did my best to see what info I could find, and even tried to update some of the entries whenever possible according to what developments had taken place of recent.In the end, I wonder if maybe it hadn?t turned out to be quite what I had intended for this blog to be. Of course there were a few things where I might?ve done something awkward. But, I won?t worry about it too much. And I am happy that I was able to do as much as I did, entering data on as many different protagonists as I could find, and adding a p...

Profile: Wonder Girl 2
2008-03-22 23:01:00
Cassie Sandsmark, Wonder Girl 2First appearance: Wonder Woman #105 Vol. 2, January 1996.Current status: a leading member of the Teen Titans.Was subjected to the followings acts of discrimination: when John Byrne introduced her years ago, it was a rather peculiar way to begin: he didn?t want for her to be a team player, despite that she can and does work well with one, and succeeding writers did make good use of her. Well, until more recently, that is. She also joined Supergirl, during Amazons Attack, in an assault on the president?s plane in the DCU that turns the US public against her.What?s wrong with how this was done? The story in Amazons Attack was already bad enough in how it featured a ludicrous story that may have been intended as an swipe at the US administration for its policies on Iraq, depicting the Amazons out-of-character and depicting Cassie doing something as irresponsible as attacking the US president?s plane in order to bring him to the would-be Hyppolyta, who actu...
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Profile: She-Hulk
2008-03-09 21:21:00
Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk First appearance: The Savage She-Hulk #1, February 1980. She was one of the last superhero-type protagonists created by Stan Lee, with John Buscema the co-creating artist. Her initial adventures, which were scripted mainly by David Anthony Kraft, were played mostly straight, but it was decided early on to make her into more of a tongue-in-cheek character who could have comedic potential, and 7 years after the first series ended, during which time she was an Avengers and Fantastic Four co-star, that potential was realized in The Sensational She-Hulk, which ran 1989-93.Current status: continuing with her job as an attorney that she began in Los Angeles.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: while there were a good amount of stories in Fantastic Four where Jennifer shone, there were still a few cases where she got knocked down far too easily (on the cover of Fantastic Four #284, she was shown being kicked in the head). In West Coast Avengers, s...
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Profile: Mary Marvel
2008-03-08 18:03:00
Mary Batson, Mary Marvel First appearance: Captain Marvel Adventures #18, December 1942. She?s the twin sister of Billy Batson, Captain Marvel extraordinaire, who grew up under different legal guardians, and as his sibling, found herself also gifted with the powers that her twin brother received from the Egyptian wizard Shazam.Current status: as far as I know, she is Mary Marvel again, after going to the dark side.Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: after losing her personal powers, she went over to the dark side in Countdown to Final Crisis by taking up the powers of Black Adam, and becomes a darker, angrier version of herself that then comes to work with Eclipso, which was Jean Loring possessed by the evil diamond, and who?d come under the influence of Darkseid.What?s wrong with how this was done? I think that?s easy to answer: Mary Batson was clearly seen by editorial as a sacrificial lamb, and unlike her brother Billy, the editors thought they could get away wit...
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Profile: Supergirl 1
2008-02-23 20:37:00
Kara Zor-El, Supergirl 1First appearance: Action Comics #252, 1959. Her reintroduction was in Superman/Batman #8, 2004.Current status: member of DCU again.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: during the Bronze Age, when she first had a solo series during the early 1970s, she?d be depicted quite a few times reacting to a failed romance by sobbing. Since her re-intro, or during the time between then and early 2007, they overly sexualized her with the way they draw her skirt almost sliding off her hips on the cover art. (Example: issue #21 of the current series.)What?s wrong with how this was done? Her characterization during the early 70s was awkward at best and hardly at all a good way to depict someone dealing with failed love life. And today, as welcome as Kara?s return to the DCU is, it was still very awkward. To make her a beautiful Maiden [of Might] is important, certainly, but that doesn?t mean they should overly sexualize her, as they seem to have done since ...
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Profile: Big Barda
2008-02-09 21:12:00
Big BardaFirst appearance: Mister Miracle #4, Vol. 1, October 1971. A most interesting twist Jack Kirby gave when creating her is that she is physically stronger than her husband, and is very protective of him.Current status: apparently dead.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: during John Byrne?s run on Action Comics, in issues #592-593, a evictee from Apokalips named Sleez (getting the picture?) captures her and uses mind control to enslave her and also Superman when he comes to rescue her. Later in 2007, in one fell swoop, she was killed in the first issue of the Death of the New Gods miniseries.What?s wrong with how this was done? Does Byrne?s weird little story in Action sound exploitative? Close enough. As for Death of the New Gods - no fight till her last gasp, no nothing. She just turned up dead on the floor of hers and Mister Miracle's suburban house in Connecticut, and whether it was one of Darkseid?s minions who did her in is not important, it?s that DC...
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Profile: Meggan
2008-02-01 10:01:00
MegganFirst appearance: Mighty World of Marvel #7, 1983. As a mutant human, she was born during a blizzard, and adapted to the weather by growing special fur. She fell in love with Brian Braddock, the former Capt. Britain, and they were married for a time.Current status: unknown since House of M.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: she had a rather strange upbringing as a child, being naïve and detached from reality. Because her parents were scared that she?d be persecuted (she was born near the site of an ancient British castle where dark magic was said to dwell), they hid her in their trailer where she watched a lot of television, and thought that Gerry Anderson?s world on television was real. Later on, during House of M, to stem a tidal wave of multiple realities coming from the Omniverse, she sacrificed herself to stop a lot of the chaotic energies coming from it.What?s wrong with how this was done? House of M, which was an extension of Avengers: Disassembled, ...
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Profile: Power Girl
2008-01-31 18:03:00
Karen Starr, Power Girl First appearance: All-Star Comics #58, Jan/Feb 1976. She was created by Gerry Conway as the cousin of the Earth-2 Superman, though it was Paul Levitz who did much of the writing for her at the time.Current status: member of Justice Society in its current formation.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: during the time she was with Justice League International, she was depowered so that she was considerably less tough than Superman, and Gerard Jones, when he took up the writing, would write sexist jokes at her expense. She was once impregnated by the magics of Arion in a storyline that tied in with Zero Hour, where her ?son? Equinox fought a villain called Scarabus and then promptly disappeared. In Infinite Crisis, Superboy-Prime turns her into a ?tuning fork? to be used by one of the Lex Luthor clones from the new Multiverses introduced before she?s rescued from it. There was also a pointless battle between her and the new incarnation of Kara Z...
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Record: Jeph Loeb
2008-01-13 18:51:00
I?ve thought about the works of Loeb for some time now. As far as I know, he may have first worked as an assistant to Steven Spielberg years ago in his former Amblin production company before he began to write comic books beginning in the early to mid-1990s. More recently, he?s been a producer for Heroes on TV, and has even written for Smallville and Lost. But, studying his works of the past decade, I?ve had to come to the conclusion that he?s an awfully overrated writer with very questionable elements featured in his writing, and I?ll try here to list some of them. When Loeb first helmed the Superman/Batman team-up series, where the new take on Kara Zor-El first made her modern-day debut, he had her climb out of the spacecraft her father sent her in to escape Krypton?s destruction?naked. She then walked around Gotham, in whose vicinity she?d landed, that way, before getting a drape to over herself in. This had the fairly unpleasant effect of over-sexualizing the Maiden of Mig...
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Profile: Marvel Girl 2
2008-01-03 22:49:00
Rachel Summers, Marvel Girl 2First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #141, January 1981. She was the daughter of Jean Grey from what turned out to be an alternate future (going by what Alan Moore once established, that would be Earth 811), and was a member of both X-Men and Excalibur for many years.Current status: last time I checked, she?d taken up the title of Marvel Girl.Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: Rachel once tried to settle a grudge with Selene Gallio, a member and Black Queen of the Hellfire Club who?d either committed some murders or tried to (Uncanny X-Men #207). But before Rachel could finish off Selene after besting her in a clash, Wolverine arrived on the scene and stopped her by stabbing her in the chest. Later, suffering from grave injuries, she was lured into Mojoworld where she ended up at the mercy of Spiral.What?s wrong with how this was done? Many know that Logan, aka Wolverine, didn?t have a problem with killing criminals himself, right? So what?...
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Profile: Arachne
2007-12-19 23:00:00
Julia Carpenter, Spider-Woman 2/ArachneFirst appearance: Secret Wars 1, issue #6, October 1984. She became a supporting cast member of West Coast Avengers and Force Works.Current status: member of a new Omega Flight team following Civil War.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: she was attacked and had her powers stolen, just like the first Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew, by the villainess Charlotte Witter, after which she retired from the superheroing business to raise the daughter she had as a regular mother. In Civil War, following her stint as a double agent, she’s arrested and her daughter taken from her. She had to agree to be a member of the new Omega Flight to sort things out.What’s wrong with how this was done? She was thrown away as a character when she first had her powers robbed by Witter years earlier, and the Civil War storyline that led to her being a member of an Omega Flight team that, unlike the original crooks gang, is a heroic team, was badly don...
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Profile: Dr. Mid-Nite 2
2007-12-06 22:58:00
Beth Chapel, Dr. Mid-Nite 2First appearance: Infinity Inc. #19, October 1985. She was a medical student of Charles McNider, the first Dr. Mid-Nite. She also had an affair with Rick Tyler, the son of the first Hourman.Current status: deadWas subjected to the following act of discrimination: put to death in Eclipso #13 by the title villain, along with her fellow Infinitor, Yolanda Montez.What?s wrong with how this was done? The same argument surrounding the death of Montez applies here too. A gratuitous death done only to get rid of a supposedly useless character.She?s not alone though: shortly afterwards, Charles McNider was killed off in Zero Hour, along with the original Atom, Al Pratt. As was told once in JSA, they were hit the hardest from the assault conducted by the former Hawk.
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Profile: Wildcat 2
2007-12-05 21:37:00
Yolanda Montez, Wildcat 2First appearance: Infinity Inc. #12, March 1985. She was the goddaughter of Ted Grant, the first Wildcat. Unlike him, she had mutant powers including retractable claws.Current status: deadWas subjected to the following act of discrimination: killed in Eclipso #13 by the title villain, along with the second Dr. Mid-Nite.What?s wrong with how this was done? If you?re wondering where the whole notion of killing off characters that?s become so prevalent today began, look no further than the 1990s. This may have had what to do with a crossover called The Darkness Within, and it was just as bad as the Bloodlines crossover, which featured quite a bit of ugly bloodshed.And this was all before Zero Hour too.In a way, it?s also disturbing how Ted Grant, as the original Wildcat, is one of a couple characters who?s outlived his younger peers, whose own potential to develop into their own characters was thrown away.Strangely enough, in 2006, an illegitimate son named Tom...
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Profile: Fury
2007-11-28 19:45:00
Lyta Trevor/Kosmatos Hall, Fury First appearance: Wonder Woman #300 Vol. 1, February 1983. She was originally created as the daughter of the Golden Age Earth-2 WW and Steve Trevor. After Crisis on Infinite Earths, she was reworked as the daughter of a Golden Age Greek superheroine of the same codename, whose real name was Helena Kosmatos, who appeared in All-Star Squadron. Lyta was one of the first members of Infinity Inc during the 1980s.Current status: in death limbo along with her husband, Hector Hall (Silver Scarab and later a new Dr. Fate).Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: she went nuts after Daniel Hall, her son, went MIA in the Sandman series. She was later captured and rendered unconscious by Mordru in JSA. She was later saved from this effect, but then, in 2005, she and her husband were banished by the Spectre to hell. Daniel Hall later brought them into the Dreaming, after which we see that they?re presumably dead with their spirits now in the Dreaming....
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Record: Mark Millar
2007-11-19 21:09:00
The errors I can find that Millar made in his own writing career took place in the Ultimate Marvel line during 2001-2003. Here are at least two examples of what this decidedly pretentious writer did: In the Ultimates, just 5 issues into the series, he regurgitated the infamous 1981 Avengers story where Hank Pym beat up on Janet Van Dyne. Pure sensationalism. Of all the storylines that could?ve been used as fodder for a new twist, that?s not one we needed to see. Certainly not if Jan was being pegged as the one who?d provoked Hank into being violent towards her (but no, I don?t think I?ll try to describe just what happened). In Ultimate X-Men, the Ultimate version of Wolverine leaves Cyclops stranded or for dead in a deep valley, all so that he can then seduce Jean Grey for sex (and she may be underage!). Yet he?s never expelled from the Ultimate X-Men. Supposing your own best friend left you stuck in a valley where you had to survive on rock plants for a week so that he could go...
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Profile: Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld
2007-11-07 21:15:00
Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, aka Amy WinstonFirst appearance: Legion of Super-Heroes #298, April 1983, in a special promotional story that served as a lead-in to the maxi-series that followed a month afterwards. Originally a princess from the magical dimension/planet of Gemworld whose parents had been slain by the evil Dark Opal, she was sent to our dimension on Earth, where she was raised as a youngster named Amy by a couple called the Winstons. Since time moves differently between our world and hers, she became approximately five years younger on Earth. On her 13th birthday in her Earthly state, that?s when she found herself travelling to Gemworld again, where she became her older self and discovered her heritage, and did battle with Dark Opal.Current status: after Infinite Crisis, not sure what it is, if at all.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: she?d been blinded at one point, and later merged along with a Lord of Chaos called The Child with Gemworld itsel...
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Profile: Fire
2007-10-31 18:49:00
Beatriz Bonilla da Costa, Fire First appearance: she first appeared in Super-Friends #25, October 1979, and was created by E. Nelson Bridwell and Ramona Fradon. In the pre-Crisis time she was originally created in, she had been the president of Wayne Enterprises? business branch in Brazil, and got her powers via magicians and mysticism. After the Crisis, her origin was redone, making her a model in Rio de Janeiro as well as an actress and a showgirl who became a special agent for the Brazilian government, and her powers were acquired after she was stuck in pyroplasmic explosion that gave her the power to produce eight-inch bursts of green-colored fire. She was reintroduced in Infinity Inc. #32, November 1986. She first took up the names Green Fury and Green Flame, and later changed it simply to Fire. She became a member of Justice League International for a couple years.Current status: an agent for the new rendition of Checkmate.Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: s...
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Profile: Catwoman
2007-10-18 23:22:00
Selina Kyle, Catwoman First appearance: Batman #1, Spring 1940Current status: may be joining Batman and the Outsiders in its new incarnation.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: in 1986, sometime after she?d first reformed, she was tortured and brainwashed by Dr. Moon, which made her forget the first revelation she?d made about Batman?s secret identity, and returned to crime for awhile before reforming again. In 2005, it was revealed that her initial reformation was the result of brainwashing, by Zatanna, no less.What?s wrong with how this was done? In the case of the latter example we have here, it considerably ruins much of the development made for Selina over the years of her career as the Feline Fatale, and makes a mockery out of her personality. That she knocked Zatanna out of a window after the magic maid told her this, even if Zee survived the fall, was also incredibly tacky.I guess it?s also worth noting that this seems to be the justification they used to g...
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Profile: Enchantress
2007-10-09 23:37:00
June Moone, EnchantressFirst appearance: Strange Adventures #187, April 1966. Besides having an origin almost similar to that of Captain Marvel/Billy Batson, it?s possible that the inspiration for Moone at the time may have been Elizabeth Montgomery?s comedic role as a young witch in the Bewitched television series, which ran from 1964-1972.Current status: appeared in Shadowpact in 2006.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: as early as 1980, she was turned into a villainess in Superman Family #204, in a story starring Supergirl. Even after Crisis on Infinite Earths (where she?d been part of the villain?s army), this continued, with June next becoming a cast member of the Suicide Squad. Later on, in 1999, she was reworked again in Day of Judgement as less of a villainess but still far from a real heroine. However, the story had Faust (the son of Felix Faust, I think), murdering the Enchantress portion of June in order to restart the fires of hell, leaving June in a p...
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Profile: Blue Beetle 2
2007-10-03 10:51:00
Ted Kord, Blue Beetle 2First appearance: Captain Atom #83, November 1966. He was the second superhero to take this role after the first Beetle, Dan Garrett. In Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985-86, he and some of the other Charlton characters were merged more fully with the DCU.Current status: deadWas subjected to the following act of discrimination: in 2005?s ?Countdown to Infinite Crisis?, he was targeted for death by an otherwise out-of-character Max Lord, the businessman who?d sponsored Justice League International years before.What?s wrong with how this was done? Plenty! The whole story, co-written by Geoff Johns, Judd Winick and Greg Rucka, was done as part of an editorial mandate, but then those three writers themselves seem to be part of the inner party, which could explain why they?ve gone along in lock-step with almost everything DC Comics has done. Aside from that, there?s also the story, which depicts Ted, instead of trying to fight back boldly against his pursuers even ...
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Profile: May Parker
2007-09-16 22:01:00
Aunt May Parker First appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962Current status: last time I looked, she?d been sent into a coma in Amazing Spider-Man #544, September 2007.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: less than four years after she?d passed away in Amazing Spider-Man #400 during 1994, in what was meant to be a moving swan song at the time and could?ve been a perfect way for her to end her role in Spider-Man?s world, Bob Harras, then EIC at Marvel, decided to have her brought back from the dead by rewriting her ?death? at the time as really being a DNA-duplicated actress hired by the Green Goblin to pretend she was Aunt May, while the real one was kidnapped and put in suspended animation, for what true purpose I have no idea. And, at the end of ASM?s Civil War tie-in, she took a horrendous gunshot wound that was meant for Mary Jane. The result was that she ended up in a coma.What?s wrong with how this was done? In the case of her death by natural causes being undon...
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Profile: Aurora
2007-09-06 16:30:00
Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, Aurora First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #120, April 1979. Jeanne-Marie Beaubier began her superheroine career as a member of Alpha Flight.Current status: hanging around the X-Mansion more recently.Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: multiple personality disorder, and went through a beating at the hands of Malcolm Colcord, the director of Weapon X, a character created by Frank Tieri.What?s wrong with how this was done? The split personalities Jeanne-Marie went through are mind-numbingly ghastly, and indicative of her creator John Byrne?s odd penchant for writing a few of the women in his books as going crazy (a definite example: Scarlet Witch, whom he sent insane during his run on West Coast Avengers, and also Tigra).She may not have been as badly written as her twin brother Northstar ended up being, but still, that?s just simply horrendous! I sometimes wonder if John Byrne, who?d once lived in Canada but is said not to have liked it there, was ...
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Profile: Courtney Ross
2007-09-03 21:11:00
Courtney Ross First appearance: Captain Britain Weekly #3, 1976. She was a college girlfriend of Brian Braddock.Current status: deadWas subjected to the following act of discrimination: she was kidnapped by Arcade and taken to ?Murderworld? where she was forced to perform comedy in order to survive before being rescued by Excalibur. But in what?s surely got to be the most insane thing I?ve ever heard of: a counterpart from an alternate universe named Opal Lun Sat-Yr9 (and there was even another one from still another alternate world who was simply called Saturnyne) wiped her out and took up use of her identity, and since may still be going by the real Courtney?s identity.What?s wrong with how this was done? Ugh, the second example I gave there has got to be the most mind-numbingly awful thing ever to take place in comics. And it only furthers my fears that the X-Men may have had more deaths of worthy supporting characters that I might?ve thought too.The otherworldly counterpart may h...
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Profile: Moira MacTaggart
2007-08-30 22:27:00
Moira MacTaggartFirst appearance: Uncanny X-Men #96, December 1975. A scientist of Scottish heritage, she?d been a close associate and at one time a paramour of Prof. Xavier?s for many years.Current status: deadWas subjected to the following acts of discrimination: Mystique, assisted by Sabretooth, infiltrated her laboratory on Muir Island in X-Men #108 (sans-adjective series), 2000, where the villainess had the idea of forcing Moira to use her research talents to turn the legacy virus into something that would only affect non-mutant humans. Having no success, they destroyed Muir Island?s research center and gave Moira a lethal injury. Moira died while the X-Men were trying to fly her to a hospital and was later buried in her native Scotland.What?s wrong with how this was done? Is it just me, or is the list of death victims among the X-Men?s cast higher than I previously thought? But Moira?s death was definitely another one totally uncalled for, as I think she made as much of a back...
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Profile: Candy Southern
2007-08-29 18:44:00
Candy Southern First appearance: X-Men #32, May 1967. She was a childhood sweetheart of Archangel (Warren Worthington)?s who became more involved with the X-Men and the superhero world after getting to meet them up front at Iceman?s 18th birthday. She later became a cast member of the Defenders. Roy Thomas, her creator, got the idea for her last name from the author Terry Southern.Current status: deadWas subjected to the following act of discrimination: Cameron Hodge, a former friend of Candy?s and Warren?s who later became a villain against all mutants, kidnapped and murdered her by torturing her to death in X-Factor #34.What?s wrong with how this was done? Too obviously, we had yet another case of bumping off the girlfriend for the sake of turning her paramour into a chest-thumping Neanderthal going the revenge route. And yes, did Warren ever go that way, because what he did to avenge her death was to behead Cameron, eye-for-eye style. Maybe villains like Hodge are deserving of the...
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Profile: Hawk and Dove
2007-08-19 22:37:00
Hawk and Dove First appearance: this entry features the first Hawk, Hank Hall, and both Doves, so it?ll thus feature the debut times of both those to take the latter role as well as when Hank first appeared. Hank and Don Hall, the first duo by this name, first appeared in Showcase #75 in 1967, a pair of twins, one a conservative and the other a liberal, who could never really agree on anything (i.e - how the use of force should be managed). Their powers of greater strength and agility were acquired via a mysterious voice. Both were created for DC by Steve Ditko and Steve Skeates, and had a short lived series that ran six issues, after which they became guest members in the Teen Titans many times. The second Dove, Dawn Granger, first debuted in a 1988 miniseries and was revealed to have gained her powers the moment that the original Dove lost them, some more on which anon.Current status: two out of three of them are pretty much dead, with Hank surely having suffered the worst destruct...
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Profile: Spider-Woman 1
2007-08-09 16:12:00
Jessica Drew, Spider -Woman 1First appearance: Marvel Spotlight #32, Feb 1977. She was the daughter of British-born parents(?). She?d fallen victim to a deadly poison while her parents were living on Wundagore Mountain in Europe, the same place where Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were raised following both Magneto and their mother Magda?s disappearances. Her father, a scientist, first tried to save her life by injecting her with an experimental spider serum of his own. But because it didn?t seem to have any real effect, he let the High Evolutionary, Herbert Wyndham, help her by putting her in a special genetic accelerator where she aged at a decelerated rate, emerging little the worse for wear when she was about 17 years old. Lady Bova of the New Men (and Woman) raised her during her first few years in the open on Wundagore.Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: when HYDRA was under the leadership of Count Otto Vermis, he captured and brainwashed her in hopes of using...
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Profile: Dawnstar
2007-07-16 07:10:00
DawnstarFirst appearance: Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #226. Her name derives from the planet Venus as the ?morning star?. She?s a native of the planet Starhaven in the 30th century.Current status: since Zero Hour, everything is uncertain, although she seems to have turned up again in Justice Society of America #2(?).Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: some time after Crisis on Infinite Earths, she was possessed by an evil entity called Bounty, who cut off her wings and forced her to use her tracking power as an assassin. She was later freed of the villain?s control. However, this was never even resolved, and Dawnstar was erased from history during Zero Hour.What?s wrong with how this was done? Taking away her gift of flying with her legendary wings was terrible. As for ZH, that was one of the worst company wide crossovers DC ever made that served little purpose other than to kill off characters whom the company apparently had no interest in developing....
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Profile: Firestar
2007-07-06 10:01:00
Angelica Jones, FirestarFirst appearance: when Angelica first appeared, it was as a cartoon character in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends in 1981. She made her debut as a comic book character in 1985 in Uncanny X-Men #193, and even got her own miniseries about a year afterwards. There may only be a handful of characters out there who went from cartoon to comic, but of all those to make the transition, Firestar was probably the most successfully developed. She?s been a member of the Hellions, New Warriors, Avengers, and was even the paramour of Vance Astrovik (Marvel Boy, Justice).Current status: it seems that she?s quit superheroing?Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: Civil War says it all. As if it weren?t bad enough that her relationship with Vance appears to be over, she retired from crimefighting because she didn?t want to be subject to the Superhuman Registration Act.What?s wrong with how this was done? No true development as a heroine came out of this for h...
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Record: Bill Willingham
2007-06-29 17:37:00
A writer whose works strike me as being more than bit overrated, but whose work on a few DC titles has certainly raised my eyebrows in concern. These include the following: In Robin, he put in quite a few negative swipes at females. For example, at the beginning, there was a female contract shooter tracking the Teen Wonder. Then, there were two of the mercenary Ravens, featured during the Batman: War Games crossover, all for the sake of it. And then, to hammer things to the very bottom, we had Spoiler being tortured by Black Mask?with a drill. She died later on the operating table in the Batcave, and the Masked Manhunter showed no genuine sorrow over her death. The above was made even worse in a subsequent story called War Crimes in Detective Comics where Leslie Thompkins says that she let Spoiler die to teach Batman a lesson about the perils of being a vigilante and superhero. She even invites him to shoot her dead with a firearm because she doesn?t have the courage to do it he...
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