This is the guest post I did for DC Women Kicking Ass, which went up this morning.
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If there’s one thing you can take to the bank, it’s a super-hero’s origin story. Superman, the tiny infant rocketed from Krypton. Batman, the kid mourning his gunned-down parents under the streetlight. Green Lantern, picking up a ring from Abin-Sur. Flash, splashed with chemicals from a lightning bolt. They’ve been tweaked a bit here or there, but they’ve stayed largely the same. They are the modern mythology of our era.
For women with powers far and beyond those of mortal, um, women, the origin tale isn’t nearly as constant a tale. Especially, it seems the more powerful the super-woman we’re talking about.
Take SUPERGIRL. We’ve got Kara Zor-El of Krypton (until the Crisis on Infinite Earths). Then Matrix via alternate universe Lex Luthor. Then Matrix merges with Linda Danvers to become the Earth-Born Angel Supergirl, who eventually meets Kara Zor-El again. Both of whom vanish into continuity, only to have yet another Kara Zor-El (this one from Krypton proper) show up.
Okay, you could argue that a lot of those were different people. Fine, how about POWER GIRL? She’s Kara Zor-L, a/k/a, Karen Starr, the Earth-Two analog of Supergirl. Oh, wait, post-Crisis she’s the descendent of Arion of Atlantis. No, wait, she’s from Earth-Two again (the one that doesn’t exist).
Or how about, Who Is … DONNA TROY? She’s Wonder Girl, an orphan rescued by Wonder Woman and power-boosted on Themyscira by the Purple Ray. No, wait, post-Crisis, she’s an orphan (one of several) fostered and powered up by the Titans of Myth. She’s Troia! No, she’s a Darkstar! Oh, and she was actually a magical clone of Wonder Woman, cursed to die horribly over and over again. No, wait she’s the post-Crisis merger of every Donna Troy in the Multiverse, resurrected by the Titans of Myth. Then she’s Wonder Woman. Then she’s … who knows now? (Except there’s no sign of her in the DCnU.)
So, what does all this mean? I suggest this lack of consistent origin (or consistent persona) undermines all of these characters by giving them a lack of consistent identity. It makes them less sellable. It fractures their fanbase. It makes it easier for them to be ignored in favor of the more constant icons. It makes it easier for them to be taken in radically new (usually abusive) directions. It makes it easier for them to be simply replaced by some newer character of some current writer’s preference. And when it comes to the media beyond comics (books, TV, movies), only the most iconic, stable, recognizeable characters will break out. You’ll never see a Power Girl movie, or one featuring Donna Troy.
There are a few (possible) counter-examples amongst super-women. Nobody’s messed with Big Barda’s origin, largely because messing with the King is one of the last taboos in the comic biz. Besides, she’s (conveniently) dead. Mary Marvel’s origin has stayed pretty constant, but the Marvel Family has never been all that prominent beyond Billy, and thus Mary’s been open to crazy-ass abuse over the past few years.
And what about the biggest super-woman icon of them all, one of the ostensible Trinity in the DCU? Until a year ago, Wonder Woman’s origins were pretty fixed in place. There were minor tweaks and variations and reboots here or there (more details added, the parthenogic origin from clay, when she entered “Man’s World”), but these were evolutionary, not revolutionary. It’s only with the recent Issue 600 reboot / “Odyssey” storyline that things have been made all higgledy-piggledy. What her origin, place, or leg-coverings will be in the DCnU is as yet undetermined (telling in of itself), but I believe the major revision of her origin has already caused (or been a symptom of) a weakening of her place in the DC Universe.
It’s probably worth noting that it’s not just DC Women who have suffered this fate. Aquaman and Hawkman have similarly had their own origins shuffled around so many times they tend to serve more as fill-in characters, re-imagined each time they show up rather than having an identity that’s respected. In parallel, the role of Robin has been filled so many times by so many characters, the figure can hardly break through to the media without leaving at least some viewer scratching their head. One might also consider the order of cause and effect — are characters weakened by having their origins screwed around with, or are origins screwed around with because the characters are seen as weak?
But regardless of the causality, it’s also a good indicator of the long-term force of bias. The characters most immune to screwing around with are the oldest (Wonder Woman as a noteworthy most recent exception). Given the Golden Age (and early Silver Age) prejudice in favor of men, it’s not surprising that the most iconic DC characters, substantially unchanged in their origins, are male — whereas women, even longer-term ones, seem to be more open to revisionism, changed origins, and pliable identity.
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There’s a lot of very cool commentary at the DCWKA site that extends the points above. At the moment, the post has 69 likes or retumblings, and about 20 comments by people other than me. Sweet! Many thanks to Sue for the opportunity to write the guest post.
Yay, you!