Sean Howe, author of Marvel Comics: the Untold Story explains: The comics and storylines created in this period - lasting into much of the '70s - were inclusive and empowering but often skewed toward heavy-handed prescriptivism. The twin effects of the Civil Rights and women's liberation movements began making their mark in the minds of comic book writers and artists during the mid '60s. But the comic book industry was changing without her. In 1970, Captain Mar-Vell's solo book was canceled, spelling a brief hiatus for Danvers. It sets up the rest of her journey throughout the years. And though she's playing a stagnant role, it's an important one. Despite all this imagination and a realm of infinite possibilities, comic book writers, when it came to women, were still constrained by the shackles of real life and the social attitudes of the time.Ĭarol Danvers was used as a love interest for a long while - not unlike other female characters at the time.
Those things just weren't being done by women. Some tapped into the mysteries of the universe with magic. Men built suits that could fly like planes. Walter Lawson - a little bit like Superman's Lois Lane:Įxtraordinary things were being done on the pages of Marvel comic books during the 1960s. She was a supporting character, a trope really, who had a thing for Captain Mar-Vell but was harsher to his alter ego, Dr. Women were either there to play damsel in distress or to lure men into sexual temptation.ĭanvers's primary role, despite being a NASA security chief and former Air Force officer, was to be a love interest. Black Widow, meanwhile, was a Russian femme fatale and thorn in Iron Man's side. Grey and Storm were considered the weakest components of their teams and were bailed out often by their husbands and boyfriends. The ways women were introduced on the pages reflect how women were seen at the time. And Black Widow, the only female Avenger to make it to the big screen so far, was just a "gorgeous new menace" in a dress (no costume) in her debut in 1964.Ĭomics have long been a mirror of American society. Susan Storm, a member of the Fantastic Four, was introduced in 1961 as the Invisible Girl. Jean Grey, an original X-Man, was introduced five years earlier in 1963 as Marvel Girl. It's a fossilized example of the comic book industry's archaic view of women, a view that was too often applied to Danvers.ĭanvers wasn't the only superheroine marginalized in her first appearance. "And, indeed, even the shock-resistant senses of Captain Mar-Vell are stunned by the awesome sight they behold," Thomas writes, comparing Danvers to a vehicle. Written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Gene Conlan, Danvers is ostensibly a security officer at NASA's Cape Kennedy Space Center, but in actuality, she's primarily introduced as a "girl" who, to Captain Mar-Vell, a man who's actually a Kree alien, is as stunning as the heavily guarded aircraft. The GirlfriendĬarol Danvers makes her first appearance in Marvel's Super-heroes no. And it starts where those stories often started: with the woman as an admiring, leggy love interest. ĭanvers' rise through the Marvel-sphere is, in many ways, the story of women in comics in miniature. And in 2018, she is going to be Marvel's first female superhero since 2005 to have her own movie. Today, however, Carol Danvers is Captain Marvel, a feminist icon in her self-titled comic book. The plot involved kidnapping, inter-dimensional roofies, and rape, and it ended with Danvers riding off into the sunset with her rapist as her Avengers teammates wiped away tears of joy. In 1980, Carol Danvers was part of perhaps the most irresponsible story Marvel Comics has ever put to paper.
0 kommentar(er)
