Making Comparisons Between "Someone" and "Jean Grey."

[fenderlove]

Given a certain recent comic cover, I want to give a rundown of something in comic book history.

Marvel has a history of turning its "weakest" female superteam-member (meaning that the writers didn't want to write those female characters even though they usually have the most excellent of superpowers when probably utilized) into a supervillain to make her more "powerful" and "interesting" than she was before (see for example Jean Grey and Susan Storm). For the purposes of what I'm talking about, I shall be dealing with Jean Grey aka... Jean Grey... because "Marvel Girl" sounded silly (also, comic book trope #127: allowing older teenaged young women and older women to be called "girl" in their superhero title instead of "woman"). So, anyway, Jean, with her telekinetic abilities, is considered weak, so in the 1960s, the writers juiced up her abilities by allowing an alien entity to enter her body that gives her infinite cosmic power. Unfortunately, this being, the Phoenix, corrupts Jean's body and mind, turning her into a universally destructive force. Jean regains control of herself just long enough to commit suicide to save the world. She's resurrected later only to have this storyline keep reoccurring. Rinse, lather, repeat. And is the story really about Jean? NO! It's about fucking Scott Summers and his man-pain. Even in the X-Men animated series, it's less about Jean frickin' dying and more about the Scott/Jean/Logan love triangle. It turns into Wolverine's pain and not about the fact that Jean's very person was violated and destroyed by something outside of her control. In point of fact, it was the strength of her own powers that led to such a violation; being a woman who pushes her strength and power to the limit will die due to her own hubris, basically.

Susan Storm (The Invisible Woman) had a similar transformation into the entity, Malice, caused by epic motherhood drama and nearly destroyed the world. And we'll see it again with Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch), again on a universe-destroying scale of "woman" drama.

So when I see an "homage"/rip-off of the cover of Cyclops holding Jean's dead body (or even one of Superman holding Supergirl's dead body), I can't help but be reminded of these kinds of tropes... and not be very pleased by them.

Comments

[shapinglight]

But you must admit, it's par for the course.

I enjoyed the Dark Phoenix story enormously at the time.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

But you must admit, it's par for the course.

Yes, but I still don't find this course of storytelling acceptable on a visceral level.

Writing and art-wise, the Dark Phoenix Saga was one of the best stories Marvel has ever told. If I could isolate that story in a bubble (away from all other things, including its aftermath and repetition), I could enjoy it more. However, when it gets turned into a parody of itself as this kind of story gets told over and over again, it just grates my cheese.

[rahirah]

I suppose we're lucky that these tribute covers rarely have anything to do with the issue. (If they were going for a Dark Phoenix thing, then S8's world-destroying space frak issues would have been way more apropos.)

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

I suppose we're lucky that these tribute covers rarely have anything to do with the issue.

... Except when it has to do with Buffy having things amputated... but then again, I'm still not sure where they're going with that... I'm not sure where they're going with anything at this point because it's all been absurd.

Also, I'm not so thrilled that Buffy is judging Spike as the least bad thing she could latch onto but that she's so "awful" that "even" he doesn't "deserve" her. He is the lowest common denominator of boyfriends or something. It's the same old thing. Spike doesn't deserve someone good. He deserves someone "okay" or "not bad," but he never deserves someone that deserves him in return. I'm reminded of "Clerks"- Most significant others won't make you lasagna and bring it to you at work; most of them are just going to cheat on you.

[rahirah]

Wasn't thrilled with that either. But the phrasing is weird because it at once implies that she sees Spike as someone who doesn't deserve anyone good, and that she's thinking of him as a romantic prospect anyway. Which is Season 6 all over again, and thank, you, no.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Honestly, if they go body thief... expect body thief to actually reciprocate and Spike buy it. It'll be Buffybot without epiphany or Intervention.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Didn't Riley already have to go through the body thief thing... only it became less about him being violated by someone impersonating his girlfriend to sleep with him and all about Buffy's violation (which needed to be addressed, but at the expense of someone else... again)? Oh, well, I guess I'm just supposed to assume that men will eff anything without a care in the world about their own feelings, sense of personal safety, or security.

You know what? I miss the darn Buffybot.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

This could... turn out badly.

But it's Joss and Dark Horse, so this isn't exactly a new revelation.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

In my fandom, Spike is Jossless.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

So say we two.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

It is known,

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Haha! XD

[kats-meow.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I have to thank you for the history lesson. When I saw it, I thought of the comic book cover from "Chasing Amy" about the two superheroes that the Ben Affleck and Jason Lee characters draw, Bluntman and Chronic, and their last issue about the inevitable death of Chronic, LOL:

But now I know where that cover REALLY came from. Yeah, I would be annoyed, too.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

I completely forgot about that one. It's perfect! *hearts Silent Bob forever* :D