#In spite of the fact that this iteration of the character so far is solely Wanda's child and is therefore unambiguously meant to be Roma

[scarlet--wiccan]

Did you see what Joe Locke said about his casting 😬😬😬

I did. For anybody who's not sure what we're talking about, yesterday Variety published a feature on Joe Locke, which mostly explored his experiences filming Heartstopper and Agatha All Along, as well as his thoughts and feelings about rising so quickly in the industry as a young gay actor.

Towards the end of the article, Locke is asked about the criticisms and backlash that have been directed towards him and his character on Agatha. To be extremely clear-- because everybody I've seen post about it has taken Locke's statement deliberately out of context-- the interview appears to be focused solely on the reception of Locke's character being unambiguously gay. The article touches briefly on homophobic backlash from general audiences before addressing the claims from many LGBT viewers that the character is too "camp" or stereotypical. Locke asserts that you can't demand representation and then get mad when an actor who's simply being authentic is "too gay" for your taste, and then suggests that some of his detractors may simply be jealous.

The article does acknowledge that Locke's character-- who remains unnamed in all official material-- is universally assumed to be an adaptation of Billy Kaplan, but does not mention whitewashing or erasure in any form. Whether or not Locke is aware of this issue-- and he has no excuse not to be-- he was not asked about it here. He's not talking about it in this article. Given the context, it does feels like he's deflecting the bigger issue, but he is not actually dismissing rightful criticism out of hand, as many people on social media are reporting.

This article did not endear me to Locke in any way. If anything, it proved that white gay representation is given precedence over racial and cultural inclusivity, and that white gay fandom can and will shield actors like Locke and projects like Agatha from the necessary conversations about antisemitism and anti-Romani racism. But we as fans need to be hold ourselves to better journalistic and intellectual standards than this.

[blog-of-reaction]

So I finally watched Robin Hood (2018) and these are my unasked for thoughts. This got pretty long so I’m putting it under a readmore.

First off, I knew that the time period was off, I was made well aware that the movie is far better if you go into not expecting it to be placed in a consistent time period, but I thought people were exaggerating when they said that the movie couldn’t decide what time period to be set in so chose all of them but like, they were right. This didn’t interfere much with how invested I was in the story, but there were times here I thought this movie could very well be set in some sort of weird, post-apocalyptic world because there was such a mash of time period stuff in there so yeah, it didn't even try to be accurate there.

I don’t think this actually made the movie worse though. In fact, I’ll even go so far as to say that the movie was actually better for it, as it allowed them to do stuff that they overwise wouldn’t get to. I get why most people didn’t like that part of it but like, it was weirdly nice. It was different and yeah, it was a bit jarring to basically see crusaders wearing kevlar, but I think it worked for this movie. It was different from the many other Robin Hood movies that have been made throughout the years and the off-kilter time period appropriate stuff helped with that. It isn’t the only reason I think this Robin Hood stands out from the others, but it is a contributing factor.

I shipped Robin and Marion in this movie more than I have ever shipped any other version of them, including the Robin Hood bbc show which, while not nearly as good in retrospect, was one of my favorite shows growing up and that version of Robin and Marion was one of my first otps. 

First off, they had an established relationship at the start of the movie and the way they met is like, one of my favorite tropes (and was kind of reminded me when Vin and Elend first met in Mistborn.)

I may be wrong as its been a hot second since I watched any of the other Robin Hood movies, or even the show, but they seemed more balanced (especially compared to the show) than in most movies. Also, the actors had chemistry which not all movies have had in my opinion.

They just complimented each other so well, especially compared to the other iterations. They were both actively working for the right thing (as usual) but despite both having their own separate plans in place, they didn’t know of each others plans until over halfway through the movie. In spite of this, when they did interact, it was golden and full of yearning and also pain on both sides (though for different reasons) and it was golden. 

Additionally, Marion wasn’t the damsel in distress as usual. Which, even when they try to make that not be a thing, is always in the movies (and especially the show. Or rather, robin viewed her as a damsel in distress and I gotta stop myself there because I could write a whole essay on their relationship in the show and I will do that someday but today is not that day.)

Anyways, yeah, Marion was actually like, in distress, in a damsel in distress type of way literally once and then it didn’t feel like a damsel in distress situation. She had her own story outside of Robin and that is both rare and refreshing. Her and Robin played off one another so well, balancing out, working together in their actions like WangXian in battle. 

Speaking of Robin, I loved him, he is my favorite Robin yet. And Marion is my favorite Marion yet as well. And John. And very possibly Tuck as well.

Yahya (John) was amazing and I loved his friendship with Robin. He is literally the reason for Robin’s actions, even more than Marion in a way. And he is just awesome. So badass, an admirable strength of faith, I love him.

Will. I liked Will (up until he screamed at Marion to never speak to him again). Yes, he had a lot of ambition, but ambition is not inherently bad. Having ambition, strong ambition, is not bad, yet so many times in fiction we are given a different message. Was he kind of selfish and self serving? To an extent, but so is everyone. He did a lot for the people of Nottingham, worked hard not only to elevate in his social status, but to help those suffering under the sheriff. He was a light to the people of Nottingham and a light to Marion. It just so happened he was not the light they needed, and when it came to it, he was against taking a different route which, well admirable he wanted everything to be solved peacefully, was not going to help. At first I thought the movie would have been more enjoyable (solely because I wanted more content). Roughly halfway through the movie I realized no. The time constraint in the movie effects the story in such a way that it is better as a movie. I thought I’d do a dive into the things this movie gave me to think upon and the conclusions I drew from it but this is already like three pages long and it’s 3 am so that is coming later. (maybe, assuming I take the time to write it out and if anyone is remotely interested although then again I might just write it for me.)

Anyways, yeah, in the end Will turned evil. He crossed the line he had drawn for himself with his  no violence rule and I guess he decided to commit and instead of taking the time to adjust his moral compass and stuff he decided he’d be evil instead, letting ambition drive him to power and his inevitable doom in which he probably realized he done fucked up. Or maybe before that he slowly came to realize he needed to get over himself and went back to the light. Or, you know, he just committed, and was the bad guy until his last breath. It was an open ending so anything’s possible. (The reason I spent so much time talking about this is because I am upset that they went that way. I saw where it was heading, and I hoped it wouldn't happen because it’s just overdone at this point but then again if it ain’t broke don't fix it.)

Anyways (Yes I say that way to much even when typing I’ve just given up at this point) I need to go to bed. I’m kind of sad I didn’t touch more on both robin and Marion as individuals, nor did I touch on Yahya who was one of my favorite characters. But a lot of what I have to say about him kind of has to do with the stuff I want to make a separate post about later. Also, I didn’t even mention Tuck but again, he is going to have a significant part in my later post. That one is going to be even longer as in addition to my thoughts about the themes in the movie is one of the underlying themes religion which when I talk about it is either very short or very long. Sorry if this is to rambly-ee, again, it’s 3 (almost 4 now) and I'm tired af.

Long story short, good movie, enjoyable, favorite Robin Hood movie to date. 

[bloojayoolie]

Fucking, Google, and Joker: File: black-manta-new-52.jpg (96 KB, 618x412) Damonashu 116 points 1 year ago ALEX DEGEN MAGIC SERPLE 2018 I'd like to imagine that Black Manta spends his time awake at night thinking of new ways to reminds Aquaman how he killed his son 0121121 >»90121140 >>90121185 >»90121418 >>90121437 >>90121471 Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)05:43:49 No.90121094 @ADACTIVITY 90121568 »90121617 »90121781>»90122145 >>90122957 90123029 >90123691>90124826 >>90125587 >>90126898 Share Save What's his problem? Zarester 74 points 1 year ago The pacific ocean has 3.9 stars out of five on google maps MST KILL "Hey, Aquaman. Help me with this crossword. 17 across, seven letters, 'another phrase for a dead body'." "Cadaver?" Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)05:45:30 No.90121140 "No. Has an O." >90121094 (OP) Aquaman "Uhm, A corpse?" Who the fuck is downvoting the ocean "Nnnnope. Doesn't work. Oh! I got it! "What is it?" TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK- I'M DOING IT OUT OF SIMPLE SPITE. Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)05:50:22 No.90121286 "Your son!" >>90121264 Wow, he must really hate Aquaman Share Save Harhan Metal Gear Ray Romano 57 points 1 year ago "Hey Aqua Man, Knock knock." Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)06:03:46 No.90121559 *sigh* "Whose there Black Manta?" The madman took over a terrorist organization that was on the verge of world domination just so he could use them to fuck with Aquaman. Manta is a man of "Not your son. 'Cus you know. I killed him." sheer will and limitless potential Share Save REALLY HATE YOUR GUTS, YOU KNOW... View Same Google iqdb Sauce NAO Aquaman_Vol_7_23.1_Black_Manta.jpg, 2MiB, 1920x2951 strips_of_serengeti Respect the Pipe 28 points 1 year ago I'm pretty sure Black Manta would just adopt an orphan and take it with him on his next nefarious plot, just so he could tell Aquaman that it's Take-Your-Son-To-Work Day, and rub in how great it is to be a father to a living child. PLAGKTA Anonymous Fri 24 Mar 2017 09:54:01 No.52342588 MANTS Report Quoted By: >5234421152356342 And he'd treat the kid well and make him super happy just to rub it in. >>52342483 >>52331311 >>52329634 Share Save Man, I love Black Manta. Especially his modern incarnation where he basically doesn't seem to have any personality at all except when fucking with Aquaman. He's basically Jason Vorhees or Mike Myers in terms of personality. And he's a member of the Legion of Doom. Can you imagine the poor schmuck that has to sit next to him in Legion meetings? Scarecrow's just sitting there, trying to have a nice conversation with Solomon Grundy (Born on a Wednesday), when Black Manta walks in and sits down and proceeds to just stare straight ahead, hands flat on the table, his only movement an occasional grinding of his teeth. HOWB THE WICE The Legion has supervillains and mad scientists and near-literal gods and demons, and Scarecrow is stuck next to a man, smelling vaguely of fish and blood, who mostly just wants to kill people close to Aquaman with whatever's on-hand at the time. But at least it's better than the one time he tried to be social. Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)22:49:55 No.52440454 >52439850 > In the beginning there was a formless presence which cast its gaze onto the new born universe. > As it gained form millennia later it thought but one thing. >One thought randomly generated and with no outside influence. Fuck Aquaman. >"Uh...hey, Black Manta." >...Did you know that you can completely gut some species of fish, and if you put them back in the water, they'll keep on swimming?" >"..uh...no I didn't." >"...I must kill the sea." Anonymous 11/18/15(Wed)21:02:17 No.77559040 77566345 >>77566848 File: f338e5becd29807d401655ce8...). jpg (318 KB, 736x649) Anonymous 03/30/17(Thu)12:49:16 No.52448523 I could only dream of creating an enemy this autistic and hate fueled to throw at my players. Black Manta is a man that both philosophically and symbolically with his suit has encased himself in hate. He is the living manifestation of human hatred brought upon him by the cruel Poseidon like forces of wrathful nature, represented by the ocean. Black Manta has made himself into the very same pitiless, irrational and savage force of hate that the earth lays upon humanity from the seas. He is to Aquaman what a hurricane is to humanity, who he sees as responsible for taking this reckoning upon himself as Lord of the Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)18:20:20 No.52471419 >52447826 52455734 Fucking perfect. I need to add something like this to a superhero campaign of my own >This guy is after you >You don't know why, or how, but he will do everything in his power to slowly destroy you and make you know it was him. >And his power is significant oceans. He has the same all consuming hatred for Aquaman that Captain Ahab had for the white whale The fact that his true origin is purposely obscured makes him even more striking as a shapeless force of nature Anonymous 03/30/17(Thu)14:43:07 No.52450280 >>52430715 Fuck man, Manta has given so many reasons that turned out to be lies to fuck with Aquaman that the real reason could very well be that Manta woke up one day, poured himself a bowl fish-o's, turned on the news, saw Aquaman, and thought, "Fuck that guy and everything he stands for." But really, the reason doesn't matter anymore because Manta doesn't need it. Manta isn't a man anymore. Asking why Manta hates Aquaman is like asking why the stars burn or why gravity exists. They just do. Manta has long ago stopped having a reason beyond the fact that Aquaman exists. Manta has long ago stopped being a man. Now? Now Manta is much like the sea he spends so much time in. You can see it in his eyes, the pitiless cold and the cruel indifference. Manta is a force of nature fueled by hate and spite that has long ago stopped having reason for existing beyond the fact that it does. Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed) 1 2:46:58 No.5243 1077 >>52430715 It's like the OP pic says. He just really, really fucking hates Aquaman. He's givien multiple conflicting backstories and motivations, several of which he admits he made up just to fuck with Aquaman. At this point even if he remembers his original reason he probably doesn't care about it anymore. His sole purpose in life is to screw with Aquaman in any and every way he can. There is no line he won't cross, no action too petty, so long as it hurts Aquaman. He has bent his entire being around making Arthur's life as miserable as possible and he will never stop, never falter, never give up. He is to the king of the ocean what the sea is to angry sailors, cruel, uncaring, and relentless. He's Captain Ahab as a comic book character and we love him for it. Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)14:39:05 No.52467471 >>52430715 He literally just really fucking hates Aquaman. Everything he does is to fuck with Aquaman, any crimes he commits are purely either to fuck with Aquaman or to acquire funds to use to fuck with Aquaman. Not a day goes by in which he doesn't sit down and reflect on how much he fucking hates Aquaman Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed) 12:27:15 No.52430777 Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)18:44:59 No.52471769 >52430577 Quite literally the only reason he didn't kill himself when Aquaman died was because of the off chance that he came back to life since Manta is genre savvy enough to realize that heroes do that often Is there ever a hour where Black Manta don't think about his hatred for Aquaman? Do he even sleep? Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)18:50:27 No.52471853 Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)12:29:34 No.52430813 >>52430715 There is conflicting stories about why he does. It really doesn't matter, because his place is a implacably, actually threatening counter to Aquaman. >>52471769 Well, physically at least, he is still human, so he has to sleep at some point. But he probably uses a form of self-hypnosis to ensure that when he dreams, he dreams about hurting Aquaman Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)12:29:45 No.52430817 >52430758 Naw he was faking that. >52430715 He just fucking hates him. Maybe there is something deeper but its a mystery so far since he keeps faking out actual origin stories. Honestly, part of the appeal is that he is just raw anger towards the king of the sea wrapped in a calm, hate-oozing package. He's the Joker but without having been ruined of all character through numerous iterations. Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)12:31:48 No.52430849 >52430758 Yes, well, I have students that are autisitic as fuck and none of them have tried to overthrow a PMC yet to fuel their crusade against me.

[aion-rsa]

Zack Snyder’s Justice League Review

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

When fans gathered beneath the “#ReleaseTheSnyderCut” billboard at San Diego Comic-Con a few years ago, a finished version of Zack Snyder’s Justice League didn’t exist. Sure, there was a rough edit the director kept for his own collection, saving it from Warner Bros. after being effectively replaced by Joss Whedon during reshoots in 2017. But with unfinished effects, no music, and apparently little polish, this version turned out to be a glorified assembly cut which contained everything, plus the kitchen sink. Yet that fact mattered little to fans who demanded more—more movie, more Snyder, and ultimately more content.

Well, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, as it’s now called, is here. And if more content is what you really want, you’re about to be submerged up to your eyeballs in it. With a running time of just over four hours, the Snyder Cut is four minutes longer than Gone with the Wind and nearly 15 minutes lengthier than Lawrence of Arabia. One suspects Snyder hopes this is considered a cinematic epic on that scale. The new version even bizarrely reverts to a square frame, foregoing the widescreen format the film’s shots were originally composed for—and perhaps coincidentally mirroring recent arthouse darlings like The Lighthouse and First Cow.

But these details are simple affectations, the pretensions of a filmmaker who is otherwise making no hard choices about the excess of comic book gibberish he’s assembled. And for all its now (mostly) finished CG and numbing slow-motion, this still very much is gibberish: a movie that mistakes ponderousness for poignancy, and which remains an assembly cut so rough you’d be forgiven for wondering if anything was left on the cutting room floor. Despite its cinematic airs, this has ironically become bona fide streaming service content, the kind that’s as undercooked or unwieldy as anything else greenlit solely in fealty to an algorithm.

Picking up where Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice left off, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is at heart the same dopey story as the theatrical cut. Following Superman’s death, “the bell has been rung” and a computer-generated behemoth named Steppenwolf—now with a lot more spikes on his armor and a gravellier voice courtesy of Ciarán Hinds—has arrived on Earth to retrieve three “Mother Boxes.”

In spite of that Saturday morning cartoon setup, these elements are unspooled at a glacial pace and with a funereal self-seriousness as Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) recruit a team of superheroes. The newcomers include Barry Allen/The Flash (Ezra Miller), Arthur Curry/Aquaman (Jason Momoa), and perhaps most importantly Victor Stone/Cyborg (Ray Fisher). Together they will brood, recite copious amounts of exposition, and eventually resurrect Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) from the dead. Also they’ll tease an armada of sequels featuring far off aliens, and heavily foreshadowed betrayals, that will never come to anything.

As a finished product, the most interesting thing about Zack Snyder’s Justice League is how it contrasts with the studio-approved version rushed into theaters by Whedon. While effectively the same story, Snyder’s version is the more satisfying iteration, if only because it’s so purely Zack Snyder. It is also a noticeable step up from Batman v Superman thanks to concessions made at the beginning of the Justice League‘s production. Gone is the pseudo-intellectual dialogue about gods and character motivations that better resemble Philosophy 101 term papers.

Nevertheless, we again have a film in which the heroes spend as much time posing for some unseen sculptor as they do interacting with one another, and the protagonists still have a uniformly glum outlook on humanity. Superman remains an ambiguous presence (if not outright insidious at times), and Batman again enjoys blowing holes in his enemies (now with digital blood!), although they’re Parademons instead of human beings this time.

All that said, this is wholly Snyder’s vision played to the hilt, with the filmmaker occasionally finding his peculiar brand of grace notes, such as when he puts Nick Cave’s “There is a Kingdom” over an Aquaman swim. By contrast, the “Whedon Cut” is further revealed for the Frankenstein’s Monster it is—a patchwork of unfinished ideas stitched together on the proverbial slab of a studio committee’s table. There are elements that work much better here. For example, Lois Lane’s grief over losing Clark Kent. And there are others that don’t, such as Batman’s mentoring of the Flash (gone is the “save one” speech).

But taken as a whole, this is a piece with Snyder’s Batman v Superman and Man of Steel, and his insistent grandiloquence can at times be charming in its stony-faced earnestness, if still also exhausting.

Perhaps the characters who are best served by the extended edition are the hero Cyborg and the villain Steppenwolf. The former was reduced to a handful of clichés in the theatrical version. Here Ray Fisher gets a lot more screen time and is good in all of it. New flashback scenes still stumble at making the character fully compelling, but Fisher at least depicts a complete arc across the four hours. None of his other teammates can say that.

Meanwhile Steppenwolf is given a discernable motivation for retrieving Mother Boxes, even if it essentially transforms him into a middle management baddie in the process—the supervillain equivalent of a parking valet waiting on the off-screen Darkseid. Indeed, the latter appears briefly as a CGI brute who’s built up to like Sauron from Lord of the Rings, even as he comes across closer to a mindless Cave Troll in his first big scene.

Darkseid is eventually given a fuller texture as the film shambles along, but then that might be the biggest problem of this iteration of Justice League: the amount of time it takes to get anywhere. Divided into seven chapters, complete with title cards, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is structured, and more frustratingly paced, like a television series. If it had been released in that medium, then more power to HBO Max. But the refusal to make any attempts to wrangle the material down to even three hours means a full 68 minutes will go by before the Flash is introduced, and hours will pass before supporting characters reappear. It gives the proceedings a listless, meandering quality, and that includes the action sequences.

In the end, Justice League 2.0 breaks the cardinal sin of not committing to anything while indulging everything. Even its new scenes from Snyder’s own reshoots last year (you’ll know them when you see them) add nothing to the overall film other than gratifying the director’s worst impulses, which are now unburdened from the restraints of logic or cohesive storytelling.

For the most devoted disciples, moments like Justice League’s new, inexplicable epilogue will be treated like scripture, which is fine. To everyone else though, know that Zack Snyder’s Justice League is a cold and it’s a very broken hallelujah.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League premieres on HBO Max on Thursday, March 18.

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[daresplaining]

Defenders Countdown: 28 Days

Power Man and Iron Fist

  �� The time has come! In less than a month, Luke Cage and Danny Rand will finally be running headfirst (fist first?) into each other in glorious live action. In preparation, here is a quick overview of the history of this most beautiful of friendships.  

    Luke and Danny meet under less-than-ideal circumstances-- though as any longtime reader of superhero comics knows, the best friendships often start with an editorially-mandated Superpowered Showdown(TM). Luke’s loved ones-- Claire Temple and Noah Burstein-- are kidnapped by sleazy mob boss Bushmaster, and threatened with death unless Luke kidnaps one of Bushmaster’s own enemies. The kidnappee in question is Misty Knight-- bionic ex-cop, one half of Nightwing Restorations, and Danny’s girlfriend. Luke, who grudgingly agrees in order to ensure Claire and Burstein’s safety, learns that Misty is at the Rand townhouse and busts in to grab her. 

    Chaos ensues. It just so happens that Misty and Danny are out on a date, and instead, Luke runs into Colleen Wing-- who manages to call for backup just before Luke knocks her unconscious. Misty shows up next, and gets in a few good hits before getting KO’d as well. When Danny arrives and sees what’s happened to his two closest friends, he is... less than forgiving.    

Danny: “Mr. Cage-- turn around.”

Power Man #48 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Francoise Mouly

    As anyone might after getting a building dropped on them, Luke comes up swinging. The fight is as intense as you’d expect, with Danny’s extreme training and chi powers balanced out by Luke’s sheer toughness and strength. They’re both used to winning, and this surprising challenge shocks and impresses them. Seeing at last that the fight can’t go on, and trusting Power Man’s heroic reputation in spite of his current behavior, Danny takes a gamble and lets Luke grab him. 

Danny: “Hands like vise... can’t breathe... But... I... sense at heart... Power Man isn’t... killer. I can try... tiger claw to eyes... last resort... blind him... Then, if that works, if I can summon... strength... pop his eardrums... killing blow, but not yet.”

Luke: “Lord, no-- What am I doin’?”

Power Man #48 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Francoise Mouly

    This near murder shocks Luke out of the fight. Calming down enough to explain himself, he soon earns Danny, Misty, and Colleen’s trust and sympathy. As a team, they rescue Claire and Dr. Burstein from Bushmaster’s headquarters, and then-- with the help of Danny’s attorney Jeryn Hogarth-- free Luke, at last, of the drug charges that originally sent him to jail. 

Danny: “Alone at last. You changed your name, huh? Jeryn says your real, legal identity is now Lucas Cage! [...] Luke, how do you feel?”

Luke: “Kid, if you live a thousand years, you’ll never know [...] how sick I felt when they put me away... an’ how gut-bustin’ good I feel tonight. I ain’t just free, Danny-boy, I been reborn!”

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #50 by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Dan Green, et al. 

    Luke and Danny’s friendship progresses quickly after this. They start hanging out (their first one-on-one team-up occurs while Luke is giving Danny a tour of Harlem), and they come to realize that they really enjoy partnering up. At the time, Luke is working on retainer for Misty and Colleen’s P.I. business, but with Danny in the picture he considers revitalizing his own operation-- this time with some key changes.   

Luke: “Y’know, Danny-- we make a pretty good team. If I wasn’t part of Misty’s detective agency...”

Danny: “You got fired, remember? Although I’m sure they’ll take you back. If you really want them to...”

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #53 by Chris Claremont, Ed Hannigan, Sal Buscema, et al.

    When the offer comes, Danny eagerly agrees to join Luke’s Heroes for Hire business-- for several reasons. Having been born wealthy and then raised in a society without an emphasis on financial gain, Danny has no concept of the value of money. He hopes that joining Luke’s small, low-income business will fix this. It also gives him the sense of purpose and chance to use his skills that he has been desperately searching for since becoming stranded on Earth. But mostly, it allows him to spend more time with Luke. For the 72 issues that Heroes for Hire exists in its original form, Luke, Danny, and friends face down everything from dragons to Daleks (not a joke-- there are actual Daleks in this series)-- while building both a reputation as one of the baddest street-level teams around, and a friendship that is nothing short of legendary.    

Danny: “--It’s me! [...] Are you all right?”

Luke: “Just fine now! Bet you’re the one who saved my hide, right?”

Danny: “Well, I, uh, suppose I did.”

Luke: “I knew that you did!”

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #85 by Denny O’Neil, Keith Pollard, and Christie Scheele

    All good things must come to an end, however, and the first iteration of Luke and Danny’s partnership ends in the most sudden, shocking way possible. In a freak accident, Danny is beaten to death by another superhero, and Luke is blamed for it. 

Tower: “Fact: Iron Fist was pummeled to death by someone with superhuman strength. Fact: the day before the murder you had an argument with Iron Fist. A very loud, very public argument. Fact: Iron Fist’s will names you as sole beneficiary of the Rand fortune. Fact: your P.I. firm, Heroes for Hire, has been going down the drain from the word go. Fact: you’re an ex-con with a reputation for being a hothead. [...] I may not have an airtight case... but I’ve got enough to hang on to you until I do.”

Luke: “What are you pushin’ for, Tower? District Attorney not good enough for you? You runnin’ for mayor or somethin’?! You’re grasping at straws, man. You got nothin’ and you know it. I loved that man.”

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #125 by James Owsley, Mark Bright, and Bob Sharen

    Luke manages to avoid a prison sentence, but the experience seriously damages his psyche. He has once more been accused of a crime he didn’t commit, thus proving that in the eyes of the world, he’ll always be a morally suspect ex-con-- one capable of murdering someone he thought of as a brother. In the wake of Danny’s death he moves to Chicago, trades in the yellow v-neck and tiara for a more subdued, darker look, and starts a new solo act as a tough mercenary who’s only in it for the money. When it turns out that Danny didn’t actually die, but had been replaced by a shape-shifting sentient plant from K’un-Lun (er, long story...), it takes Luke a little while to sort out his feelings. 

Danny: “Like the ‘in it for bucks’ attitude you throw in everyone’s face? That’s not you. [...] And it also stops anyone from getting too close, eh? Like I did?”

Luke: “Yeah! Don’t you get it? You proved the only one I could ever count on’s me.”

Cage vol. 1 #12 by Marc McLaurin, Dwayne Turner, and Kris Renkewitz

    ...But he and Danny figure things out. 

Luke: “Got your ticket and... all, Fist?”

Danny: “Yeah, Luke. Look, despite all that’s happened-- all that’s changed-- I want you to know, you’re still my best friend. And I’ll always be there.”

Luke: “Me too, man. Me too.”

Cage vol. 1 #13 by Marc McLaurin, Scott Benefiel, and Frank Turner

    Since then they have remained BFFs and de facto brothers, sticking together through several more iterations of Heroes for Hire, Luke’s own personal Avengers team, and everything in between. When Luke and Jessica Jones have a baby, they name her Danielle-- Dani for short.       

Danny: “That’s really nice, guys.”

Jessica: “You’re her family. You know that, right? (Unless you’re really a Skrull, then you can go @##$ yourself.)”

Luke: “And you got matchin’ booties.” 

Jessica: “Man, he’s been waiting to drop that joke on you.” 

New Avengers vol. 1 #34 by Brian Michael Bendis, Leinil Yu, and Dave McCaig

    ...And in that one alternate universe where Danny and Misty’s baby is real (stay tuned for our Danny and Misty post for more on that...), they name her after her uncle Luke. 

Jessica: “Lucy, how does your dad look?”

Lucy: “Daddy, you look beautiful.”

Danny: “Thank you, Lucy. Man, you look so much like your mom. How’d I get so lucky?”

Secret Wars: Secret Love, “Misty and Danny Forever” by Jeremy Whitley and Gurihiru

   As is often the case with people who have spent years in close proximity, they’ve rubbed off on each other-- to the point where they can anticipate each other’s behavior, occasionally finish each other’s sentences, and (possibly most endearingly) have even picked up each other’s slang and speech patterns.

Guy: “What about the explosives?”

Luke: “Fist’s taken care of that.”

Guy: How do you know?”

Luke: “’Cause I know him!”

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #89 by Denny O’Neil, Denys Cowan, and Christie Scheele

Danny: “All right, mama, you may be bigger, badder and... a few thousand years more powerful than the last dragon I faced... but then I hadn’t mastered the power of the Iron Fist!”

Immortal Weapons #5 by David Lapham, Arturo Lozzi, and June Chung

    Luke and Danny’s newest H4H venture was recently torpedoed by Diamondback, and they’re both currently working through some major changes in their own lives, but their love is stronger than ever. 

Luke: “It’s gonna be okay, brother. I love you.”

Danny: “Love you, too.”

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 3 #15 by David Walker, Sanford Greene, and Lee Loughridge

    The teasing and baiting of Luke and Danny’s imminent encounter in The Defenders has been relentless-- from Danny worrying about Claire’s unnamed, bullet-riddled friend in Episode 11 of Iron Fist, to Mike Colter and Finn Jones hugging on stage at NYCC last year. In the interviews they’ve done together so far, the two actors have displayed what we consider to be fantastic chemistry, and when questioned about their characters’ relationship in the show, they’ve both indicated a level of care being taken to their interactions that, for us, is a big relief. After all, they can’t rely on viewers having read the comics-- this friendship needs to be built anew in the MCU.   

Finn: "The dynamic between the characters is working really well. Before we started this, because there was such hype around our characters coming together for the first time, there was a worry that it might be too over- sensationalised or too over-written or too over-anticipated. But the way that it’s written and the way that we’re getting on and working together, it feels really natural.”

Mike: "They’re trying to organically allow our characters to get to know each other, without just going, ‘Hey, I like you, you like me, let’s hang out!’”

Source: SFX

    At this point, we know that Luke and Danny will have their all-important bonding fight-- likely not on the building-destroying scale we’d like (see the beginning of the post), but that’s okay. We also know that both characters are starting from different emotional places than when they met in the comics-- with Luke relatively at peace following his acceptance as Harlem’s hero and the end of his prison sentence, and Danny feeling lost and untrusting in the wake of  all his recent betrayals and the disappearance of K’un-Lun. It will be fascinating to see how these altered mindsets impact the development of their relationship in the show. We also have this little tidbit from Finn, which provides some hints as to the source of their initial tension: 

“There's friction there at the beginning, and it's pretty obvious because we come from two different worlds. Luke Cage is from the streets. And he's trying to do good. He cares about community, he cares about lifting the bottom up... whereas Danny comes from a completely different side of New York, one of privilege, power, and money. And so when they come together, they definitely have a clash of ideals which, throughout The Defenders, they are coming to grips with.”

Source: Den of Geek 

    We have to admit to being nervous about this. The class difference is a notable element of Luke and Danny’s friendship, and something that has been a source of misunderstandings in the comics: 

Luke: “Don’t seem fair, somehow... how some folks gotta hustle all their lives just to get by, and others got it made ‘cause they were born rich. Only thing all that hustling ever got me was a term in Seagate Prison-- ‘Little Alcatraz’-- for something I never even did.”

Danny: “Luke, we’re partners now. You’re my best friend. Anything I have is yours... whatever you want. Just name it.”

Luke: “No way! I got little enough as it is without losin’ my self respect, too.”

Danny: “But I didn’t... I only meant...”

Power Man and Iron Fist vol. 1 #56 by Mary Jo Duffy, Trevor Von Eeden, and George Roussos

    Danny’s utter lack of interest in money jarring with Luke’s desire to make a living is a neat thing, and we would love to see it integrated into the show. However... it shouldn’t lead them to actually fight. Unless handled impeccably, that would feel out-of-character and weird. Danny is the most down-to-earth billionaire ever, who lacks the typical mindset of those born rich, and this needs to remain true since it’s a key component of his character. Even if Rand Enterprises had some direct, negative impact on Harlem that were to come to light in The Defenders (which-- hey-- is possible), we can’t imagine a reason why Danny wouldn’t be completely on Luke’s side. 

    But of course, we’ll reserve our judgement until we’ve actually watched the show. For the moment, we can’t wait to finally see this friendship happen. It’s gonna be beautiful.           

[motherhenna]

The Power of the ‘Boy with the Bread’: Gender Roles and Defiance in the Hunger Games

Most, if not all, fans of the Hunger Games trilogy can unanimously agree that Peeta Mellark is a polarizing character in any discourse: some adore him with the same intensity that he adores our narrator, while others wish that he had stayed dead after his run-in with the arena forcefield in Catching Fire. Regardless of one’s personal affection for him, however, Peeta Mellark is still incredibly crucial to the series as a whole: he stands as a foil to the toxic brand of masculinity that tends to plague the heroes of young adult media, and his partnership with Katniss challenges many of the traditional gender roles that are so often thought to be absolute and unconditional. Moreover, he is instrumental to both Katniss’ physical survival and emotional growth, as well as to the flow and coherence of the entire narrative in and of itself. Though many readers accuse him of emotional or physical weakness in comparison to both Katniss and Gale, the truth of the matter is so much more complicated than that.

From the first moment of his introduction, Peeta Mellark is defined by his kindness, a trait that seems to be difficult to find in the dog-eat-dog world of Panem. When his name is drawn for the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss’ first response is distress, as she is intimately aware that he is the one person to whom she owes everything.  “Oh no [...]. Not him,” she thinks during the Reaping. “To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy [...] and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed” (Hunger Games, 25-32). From this point on, it is constantly emphasized how unusual and out of place much of Peeta’s behavior is, especially when compared to the more self-sufficient survivors of District 12 and the gluttonous, apathetic denizens of the Capitol. Indeed, this sort of compassion is so out of place that our narrator spends almost the entirety of the first book trying to analyze and decode his actions, as she is unable to believe that such behavior could possibly be genuine, even though “when young Peeta first gave the scavenging Katniss a loaf of burned bread, he was assuming a great personal risk. Katniss was bewildered. ‘He didn’t even know me,’ she reflects” (Foy, 214). As Katniss is defined by her acute ability to endure and carry on, Peeta is similarly identified by his willingness to sacrifice—not simply for the sake of family and friends, but rather for the greater good. Since this concept is much discussed throughout the series, Abigail Mann reflects upon it in her essay, Competition and Kindness: on the odd phenomena of altruism and how this developed among the human species as a whole. “The fact that some people do give to beggars [...] demonstrates that we don’t always take the easy way out; rather, we choose actions that we think will best benefit others who are in need,” she explains. “Peeta burned the bread and endured a beating because [Katniss] and her family were badly in need of that sustenance at the time, and he cared enough to help” (Mann, 117).

Peeta’s personality also exists in sharp contrast to his harsh and often-violent mother, who regularly berates him, belittles him and even goes so far as to physically abuse him on several occasions. The only positive role model depicted in his life seems to be his father, who extends acts of generosity to Katniss that are quite similar to that of his son’s. For example, Mr. Mellark buys Katniss’ game for unnecessarily high prices, gives her cookies after the Reaping, and even promises to watch out for her beloved sister during her absence. –But the interesting thing about the Mellarks is how they deviate from traditional familial norms. In most iterations of media, the authoritative and controlling head of the household is almost always the man, while the woman is generally the sympathetic yet passive nurturer. In spite of this, said gender dynamics are completely flipped within the Mellark family: rather, the domineering mother is clearly in charge, while Mr. Mellark is described as being meek and soft-spoken: “We always wait to trade with him when his witch of a wife isn’t around because he’s so much nicer. I feel certain he would never have hit [Peeta] the way she did over the burned bread” (Hunger Games, 37). And like the Mellarks, we see similar non-normative gender roles reflected in their son and his eventual relationship with Katniss:

“It may take readers the entire first book, or even the entire series, to realize that from his earliest descriptions, Peeta is an equally complicated match for Katniss. Just as Katniss’ masculinity is expressed in her status as hunter, so Peeta’s femininity is expressed in his role as baker. Even Peeta’s shrew of a mother undercuts his masculinity by suggesting that Katniss might actually win this year, a sharp testament to his perceived feminized weakness.” (Mitchell, 132-33)

Though Peeta’s talents and occupations are never actively gendered either way by Katniss’ narration, baking, cake decorating and painting are all coded as ‘feminine’ skills by modern Western society, and are therefore widely considered to be inferior. This is probably why Katniss is lauded for her ‘masculine’ ability to hunt, kill and suppress ‘negative’ emotions like sadness and fear, while Peeta is mocked for his own penchant for nonviolence and creativity. “Of the major characters in the Hunger Games trilogy, Peeta is the closest to being an androgynous blend of the most desirable masculine and feminine traits,” Jessica Miller explains in her essay, Katniss and the Politics of Gender. “He’s confidant and self-reliant [...but] he’s also trusting and open. He’s physically strong, but avoids violence and aggression except in self-defence. Emotional and expressive, Peeta [...] cried openly when he took leave of his family for the Hunger Games” (154).  So even with his muscular build, physical strength and experience with hand-to-hand combat, Peeta is still not considered ‘manly’ enough for many readers, as they have come to expect only the aggressive, authoritarian male lead and tend to reject any character who differs from this archetype. However, in the end, there is no ‘superior’ skill set: Collins portrays both Katniss and Peeta’s abilities as different but of equal merit and importance. After all, “individuals ‘vary’ [...]. From the perspective of Darwin’s theory, it’s just as natural for Katniss to fail in one environment (as she surely would during the Victory Tour without Peeta, Haymitch Abernathy, and Cinna’s help) as it is for her to succeed in another” (Mann, 106-107). Anyway, it’s unlikely that readers see Peeta as a damsel in distress solely because he ‘constantly’ needs to be rescued by Katniss, as canonically, they support each other both physically and emotionally in relatively equal amounts throughout the series. No, in reality, Peeta is probably designated as weak not because he is unable to protect himself, but because he needs to be saved by a woman at all.

Now, while this titular couple is well known from their differing-yet-complimentary personalities, we actually see that Katniss progressively comes to understand and even adopt many of Peeta’s beliefs over time. From the death of her District 11 ally in the first Games to her ethical conflicts with Gale throughout Mockingjay, Katniss is actually influenced by Peeta far more than many readers care to admit. Truth be told, Peeta “risks a beating because it’s the right thing to do. Strange as that motive must have seemed at the time to young Katniss, she will become more and more like Peeta over the course of their relationship, displaying a growing concern for others and a willingness to sacrifice herself in order to do what’s right” (Foy, 215). In fact, Peeta Mellark’s sense of morality is perhaps one of (if not the most) important aspects of his character, as it directly influences his actions, relationships and inclination towards kindness and altruism, as well as contributes to the grander themes of the trilogy at large. A prominent scene that displays said ethics takes place on the night before the Hunger Games. Katniss finds herself so worried about survival strategies and fear for her own wellbeing that she is unable to sleep, and while wandering the District 12 quarters of the Tribute Center, she discovers that Peeta is still awake too. When she asks him what he’s thinking about, he clarifies:

“I want to die as myself. Does that make any sense?” he asks. I shake my head. [...] “I don’t want them to change me in there. Turn me into some kind of monster that I’m not.”

I bite my lip, feeling inferior. [...] “Do you mean you won’t kill anyone?”

“No, when the time comes, I’m sure I’ll kill just like everybody else. I can’t go down without a fight. ...Only I keep wishing I could think of a way...to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I am more than a piece in their Games.” (Hunger Games, 142-143)

Upon hearing this, Katniss is at first flummoxed, then irritated, and misunderstands his explanation as pretention and superiority rather than a sincere personal dilemma. She is at first unable to grasp that “when [Peeta] insists that he won’t let the Games change him, part of what he means is that he’s unwilling to [...] sacrifice his human decency, even at the cost of his life” (Foy, 214). Katniss goes on to put this encounter out of her mind, and the meaning of his moral impasse remains beyond her comprehension for a considerable duration of the 74th Games. But when her young ally, Rue, is brutally murdered by the male career from District 1, Katniss’ whole perspective turns on its head. Upon killing the boy and comforting Rue during her final moments, Peeta’s words are the first to enter Katniss mind, and it is at this point that she makes the decision to do something that will somehow force the Capitol to be held accountable for their cruelty. This is what leads to her memorial to Rue: the first act of subtle insubordination and solidarity to the rest of the districts that proves to be the spark of what will soon become the final rebellion.

With that in mind, although it was Rue’s death that triggered the defiance that eventually turns Katniss into the figurehead of the uprising, it was actually Peeta who first planted that seed of defiance in her head.  After this, both Katniss and Peeta together are “determined to hold onto their humanity by preserving their ethical autonomy, which includes the sense of moral obligation that Katniss has come to feel, in large part because of Peeta’s example. And because they do, they live to see another dawn” (Foy, 216). With the progression of each book, Katniss’ understanding of the broader concepts of ethics and selflessness increases exponentially, and by Mockingjay, her entire worldview has altered significantly to the point where it has become almost indistinguishable from Peeta’s. For instance, in the later days of the rebellion, Katniss is appalled at Gale’s strategy for defeating the Nut: he suggests that they bomb the mountains around the Capitol stronghold to trap and eventually suffocate both enemy and civilian within. When she protests, Gale “makes a classic ends-justify-the-means argument, insisting that war always involves collateral damage, the sacrifice of innocents, and inflicting tremendous suffering upon others” (Henthorne, 87-88). If this controversy had taken place at the beginning of the series, Katniss might have very well condoned Gale’s merciless viewpoint, albeit reluctantly; however, after both witnessing firsthand the damage this line of thinking can do and coming around to Peeta’s perspective, she is now utterly unable to justify the murder of innocents simply for the ambiguous goal of ‘victory’.  In effect, Katniss eventually divorces from Gale entirely, as she has realized that “choosing Gale would mean a betrayal of one of her highest values: the preservation of innocent life” (Myers, 143). Like Peeta had the day before their first Games, Katniss has come to value mercy over justice.

Be that as it may, if our meadowlark and mockingjay are both as similar as they are different, where does that leave the third member of this infamous love triangle? By the closing of the final novel, Gale Hawthorne becomes the true antithesis to everything that Peeta represents. After all, in almost every sense, Gale is what would be considered a traditional and ‘desirable’ male lead, defined by his ability to hunt and existing as the sole provider for his family. Furthermore, he feels intense romantic feelings for Katniss that he expresses passionately, physically and often without her prior consent.  However, these sorts of Byronic heroes and their displays of what might be considered ‘sexual assault’ in the real world are usually seen as alluring when exhibited in fiction. Many individuals, especially impressionable teenage girls, find themselves unable resist the “slightly mysterious and protective” type: so even though he might be “prone to displays of temper and violence [...], Gale fits the stereotype of rugged masculinity” to a tee (Miller, 153). Consequently, when confronted with the ‘Gale versus Peeta’ quandary, plenty of readers default to the taller, darker and handsomer individual without hesitation. However, if one looks closer, one might notice that Gale is actually a vessel for many a toxic aspect of hyper-masculinity, aspects that are entirely absent from Peeta’s character. For example, Gale is the embodiment of the male concept of ‘friend-zoning’. To clarify, this is a relatively recent slang term formed to describe a common situation in which a person is rejected by their romantic interest (typically a woman) that wants to keep their relationship platonic. Instead of mourning rejection but respecting her decision, ‘friend-zoned’ men typically lash out at their former flames and refuse to remain on good terms—friendship, to them, is insignificant if amorous love is not the end result. Throughout Catching Fire and Mockingjay, we see Gale engage in strikingly similar behavior to what was described above. On multiple occasions, he pressures Katniss to admit her feelings for him, even after she expresses discomfort at the prospect of romance, and he coerces and guilt-trips her into kisses or other displays of affection on numerous occasions. Though it is clear from day one that he does indeed care deeply for Katniss, Gale is still unable to accept her platonic friendship at face value, thus putting his own desires above Katniss’ emotional wellbeing.

In contrast, while understandably stung by Katniss’ romantic indecision after the first Games, Peeta is quickly able to swallow his disappointment and extend the olive branch in Catching Fire. While he admits that he “was jealous of [Gale],” he goes on to say, “I thought if I stopped being so, you know, wounded, we could take a shot at just being friends” (51). Despite the reality of his obvious attraction to Katniss, Peeta is more than willing to simply be with her in any way, romantic or not. This is an incredibly uncommon occurrence with any narrative that features a love triangle, as both parties are generally expected to be possessive of their ladylove. It is because of this that these boys are often keen to ‘duke it out’ with their rivals, so to speak, regardless of the apex of said triangle’s possible qualms; friendship just isn’t part of the equation. And yet with Peeta, Collins gives us a new possibility: that a man respecting his significant other’s choices and happiness isn’t just feasible, but healthier than the more conventional alternative. With that being said, the differences between Gale and Peeta go much deeper than just straightforward appearance and personality. In fact, these two young men stand on complete antithetical sides of morality. On one hand, Gale Hawthorne champions the tactic of fighting fire with fire. To him, morality is irrelevant in war, and he is more than willing to sacrifice others in order to achieve what he believes is just. And yet, in the end, it is Gale who falls short; more than that, he is ultimately reproached and sent away by Katniss: essentially exiled by Collins for the remaining few chapters. ...But why is this so important in terms of toxic masculinity and divergence from the gender norms that so constrain modern fiction? And what does Peeta have that Gale doesn’t? –In the end, ‘EverLark’ is the only resolution that makes sense: “Gale is correct when he says that Katniss would choose the one who would best help her to survive—but it’s not just physically. Peeta helps her to survive as herself, with her values intact” (Myers, 143). Though Katniss could have very well chosen Gale, not only would it have gone against everything she believes in, but most if not all of the uniqueness of the series’ romance would be nullified. So despite the fact that many fans of the books are confused and even angry about the final pairing, it remains evident that “Katniss and Peeta—the hunter and the baker—offer something that Gale and Katniss never could have: a partnership that helps us imagine an alternative to dominant romance narratives and a way of valuing both masculine and feminine roles, regardless of who fills them” (Miller, 159).

           In conclusion, Peeta Mellark is not just an accessory to Katniss, nor is he in any way detrimental or irrelevant to the narrative at large. Though he is involved in what could be viewed as a ‘gimmicky’ love triangle, what matters is that he provides us with refreshing divergence from the aggressive, often-damaging masculinity and misogyny that so many leading men in popular fiction are reduced to. Peeta is a multifaceted and three-dimensional character, but most importantly, he is unique—both within and without the narrative. He is kind instead of harsh, gentle instead of violent, calm instead of domineering: he is the peaceful sunset to Katniss’ raging fire, and the Hunger Games trilogy would not be the same without him.

Works Cited

Collins, Suzanne. Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. New York Scholastic, 2008—

2010.  Print.

Foy, Joseph J. “Safe to Do What?” The Hunger Games and Philosophy. Eds. George A. Dunn

and Nicolas Michaud. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. 193-203. Print.

Henthorne, Tom. Approaching the Hunger Games Trilogy : A Literary and Cultural Analysis.  

Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. Web. Jan. 2016.

Mann, Abigail. “Competition and Kindness.” The Hunger Games and Philosophy. Eds. George

A. Dunn and Nicolas Michaud. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. 193-203. Print.

Miller, Jessica. “Katniss and the Politics of Gender”. The Hunger Games and Philosophy. Eds.

George A. Dunn and Nicolas Michaud. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. 193-203. Print.

Mitchell, Jennifer. “Of Queer Necessity”. Of Bread, Blood and the Hunger Games : Critical Essays

on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy. Eds. Mary F. Pharr, Leisa A. Clark, and Donald

Palumbo. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. 118-128. Print.

Myers, Abigail E. “Why Katniss Chooses Peeta.” The Hunger Games and Philosophy. Eds.

George A. Dunn and Nicolas Michaud. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2012. 193-203. Print.

[queensheva]

One Step for Womanhood, One Giant Leap for White Womankind: Discussions of Intersectionality & the New Doctor Who

Note: before reading my article, please read the article that inspired it, written by @stitchomancy.

Actress Jodie Whitaker has been cast to play the thirteenth iteration of the iconic Doctor Who. In the show’s fifty-plus year run, Whitaker is the first woman to ever be cast as the Doctor. The reaction from fans has been ecstatic. Members of the show’s cast have taken to social media to show their support for Whitaker, and to defend the decision to an expected backlash from male fans of the show.

Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor, has by far been the most vehement. “Change my dears and not a moment too soon,” he wrote. “[She] IS the Doctor whether you like it or not!”

The casting choice is inarguably an historic one -- but fans of color have understandably expressed some disappointment that the first woman Doctor won’t represent more women.

After decades upon decades of exclusion from most media, the last few years have been a golden age of women protagonists -- from Star War’s Rey and Jyn Erso, to The Hunger Games’ Katniss Everdeen, Mad Max’s Furiosa, and now the riotously successful Wonder Woman, among others. But all these female protagonists have one major thing in common: with very rare exception, they’re all pale-skinned.

The whitewashing of womanhood

Fans of color have pointed this out from the beginning -- that “advancement” for women seems to mean explicitly women who are white. Even as men of color begin to see better integration into the Star Wars franchise, for example, in the form of characters like Finn, Poe Dameron, Bodhi Rook, Cassian Andor, Baze Malbus, and Chirrut Imwe, the only female leads are both white women. (White women who -- it’s worth mentioning -- look startlingly similar.)

Furthermore, when women of color have been introduced to traditional white-male-centric franchises -- such as Star Trek -- or in traditionally white female roles -- such as Iris West in CW’s The Flash, and Mary-Jane in Spiderman: Homecoming -- the backlash against them has largely focused on the preservation of white feminine “purity.” This was the main complaint when Zendaya was announced in the role of Mary-Jane -- fanboys complained that the role had been “ruined” or “appropriated” by a black actress.

White Feminists™ tend to be quieter on this front, often neither decrying or (perhaps more damningly) supporting the rare ascension of women of color to the forefront. But when a white woman is cast in a traditionally male role, the complex feelings of feminist fans of color are often perceived as a betrayal of their feminist values. Women, it seems, are finally getting their due -- why should it matter what the color of their skin might be?

Well, fellow white women, I’m here to say: it matters.

When every casting choice designed to “break the mold” of male dominance in media representation churns out white woman after white woman, that choice ceases to be truly revolutionary. Think about it: how many times can white women with the same hair color, the same eye color, and the same approximate build be cast in a “traditionally male” role or franchise before it becomes old hat? Before casting a snarky brunette becomes a relatively risk-free choice? And, before you answer, let me remind you that this has been done in every one of the following franchises:

Jessica Jones

Agent Carter

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Rogue One

Mad Max

The Hunger Games

We’re no longer living in the world of Aliens or The Long Kiss Goodnight. Representation for women of all hues is much scarcer than it has any right to be -- but surely we can all agree that white brunette women are getting their time in the sun. And if blondes are feeling left out, I present Exhibit B:

Supergirl

Atomic Blonde

Game of Thrones

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and now

Doctor Who

White women are getting to see themselves in media more than we ever have before, and while there is always sexist backlash, directors are clearly beginning to feel more confident casting us in leading roles. But when women of color bring attention to the fact that they aren’t being included, white women have a tendency to treat them as enemies, rather than people asking a very reasonable question we’re accustomed to asking ourselves:

“Why not me?”

As a white cisgender woman, I do not feel that my womanhood is any less represented by a woman of color. My experience of being a woman does not go unrepresented. But, in the reverse, a woman of color’s experience of womanhood does go unrepresented when a white woman is in the driver's seat. 

White cis women are privileged to experience our womanhood in a sort of vacuum, removed from any other type of oppression we could experience. Our womanhood doesn't intersect with any other type of oppression we could experience -- save, of course for those of us who identify as queer. And even then, our experience is distanced from that of women of color.

When a woman of color comes onscreen, I don't feel like there's anything I've experienced because I'm a woman that she won't represent or faithfully depict. I don't have any concern that she will speak for me in bad faith. But when a white woman comes onscreen, women of color know that their experience as women of color can't be faithfully represented -- and they bear the brunt of the fallout as white women turn on them for not “getting with the program.” It benefits us to ignore the completely reasonable complaints by women of color that they can't depend on white women actresses to depict their experience or represent them -- after all, our ship has come in.

This is the problem with the presumed universality of White Feminism™. It assumes that once problems of representation and visibility are solved for us, they're solved for everyone. It assumes that the way we experience womanhood -- as women first and anything else secondarily -- is true for all women, in spite of the fact that it’s an experience specifically facilitated by our whiteness and our cisness. It is an experience we are privileged to have: that of being women separate from our hegemonic social privilege, it being the sole cause of our misfortune.

That is not to say that white women don’t “deserve” representation in media. We, like all people, benefit immensely from seeing ourselves depicted on the small and silver screen. But, in the words of my favorite superhero, it’s not about deserve. It’s about what you believe. And if you believe that every girl should be able to see herself in that way -- as a leader, and a hero, and as someone permitted to have personality and nuance -- then it’s time to promote the voices of women of color. They should never have to “wait their turn” to be represented.

When the Doctor can be a woman, but not a woman of color, it's time to admit there's a problem -- otherwise, we risk becoming the very people who are decrying the casting of Whitaker on the grounds of her womanhood alone. It's time for white women to uplift our sisters so that they, too, can have what we feel we have always deserved. Women of color deserve to see themselves as someone other than just a companion, too.

[bloojayoolie]

Fucking, Google, and Joker: File: black-manta-new-52.jpg (96 KB, 618x412) Damonashu 116 points 1 year ago ALEX DEGEN MAGIC SERPLE 2018 I'd like to imagine that Black Manta spends his time awake at night thinking of new ways to reminds Aquaman how he killed his son 0121121 >»90121140 >>90121185 >»90121418 >>90121437 >>90121471 Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)05:43:49 No.90121094 @ADACTIVITY 90121568 »90121617 »90121781>»90122145 >>90122957 90123029 >90123691>90124826 >>90125587 >>90126898 Share Save What's his problem? Zarester 74 points 1 year ago The pacific ocean has 3.9 stars out of five on google maps MST KILL "Hey, Aquaman. Help me with this crossword. 17 across, seven letters, 'another phrase for a dead body'." "Cadaver?" Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)05:45:30 No.90121140 "No. Has an O." >90121094 (OP) Aquaman "Uhm, A corpse?" Who the fuck is downvoting the ocean "Nnnnope. Doesn't work. Oh! I got it! "What is it?" TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK- I'M DOING IT OUT OF SIMPLE SPITE. Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)05:50:22 No.90121286 "Your son!" >>90121264 Wow, he must really hate Aquaman Share Save Harhan Metal Gear Ray Romano 57 points 1 year ago "Hey Aqua Man, Knock knock." Anonymous 02/22/17(Wed)06:03:46 No.90121559 *sigh* "Whose there Black Manta?" The madman took over a terrorist organization that was on the verge of world domination just so he could use them to fuck with Aquaman. Manta is a man of "Not your son. 'Cus you know. I killed him." sheer will and limitless potential Share Save REALLY HATE YOUR GUTS, YOU KNOW... View Same Google iqdb Sauce NAO Aquaman_Vol_7_23.1_Black_Manta.jpg, 2MiB, 1920x2951 strips_of_serengeti Respect the Pipe 28 points 1 year ago I'm pretty sure Black Manta would just adopt an orphan and take it with him on his next nefarious plot, just so he could tell Aquaman that it's Take-Your-Son-To-Work Day, and rub in how great it is to be a father to a living child. PLAGKTA Anonymous Fri 24 Mar 2017 09:54:01 No.52342588 MANTS Report Quoted By: >5234421152356342 And he'd treat the kid well and make him super happy just to rub it in. >>52342483 >>52331311 >>52329634 Share Save Man, I love Black Manta. Especially his modern incarnation where he basically doesn't seem to have any personality at all except when fucking with Aquaman. He's basically Jason Vorhees or Mike Myers in terms of personality. And he's a member of the Legion of Doom. Can you imagine the poor schmuck that has to sit next to him in Legion meetings? Scarecrow's just sitting there, trying to have a nice conversation with Solomon Grundy (Born on a Wednesday), when Black Manta walks in and sits down and proceeds to just stare straight ahead, hands flat on the table, his only movement an occasional grinding of his teeth. HOWB THE WICE The Legion has supervillains and mad scientists and near-literal gods and demons, and Scarecrow is stuck next to a man, smelling vaguely of fish and blood, who mostly just wants to kill people close to Aquaman with whatever's on-hand at the time. But at least it's better than the one time he tried to be social. Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)22:49:55 No.52440454 >52439850 > In the beginning there was a formless presence which cast its gaze onto the new born universe. > As it gained form millennia later it thought but one thing. >One thought randomly generated and with no outside influence. Fuck Aquaman. >"Uh...hey, Black Manta." >...Did you know that you can completely gut some species of fish, and if you put them back in the water, they'll keep on swimming?" >"..uh...no I didn't." >"...I must kill the sea." Anonymous 11/18/15(Wed)21:02:17 No.77559040 77566345 >>77566848 File: f338e5becd29807d401655ce8...). jpg (318 KB, 736x649) Anonymous 03/30/17(Thu)12:49:16 No.52448523 I could only dream of creating an enemy this autistic and hate fueled to throw at my players. Black Manta is a man that both philosophically and symbolically with his suit has encased himself in hate. He is the living manifestation of human hatred brought upon him by the cruel Poseidon like forces of wrathful nature, represented by the ocean. Black Manta has made himself into the very same pitiless, irrational and savage force of hate that the earth lays upon humanity from the seas. He is to Aquaman what a hurricane is to humanity, who he sees as responsible for taking this reckoning upon himself as Lord of the Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)18:20:20 No.52471419 >52447826 52455734 Fucking perfect. I need to add something like this to a superhero campaign of my own >This guy is after you >You don't know why, or how, but he will do everything in his power to slowly destroy you and make you know it was him. >And his power is significant oceans. He has the same all consuming hatred for Aquaman that Captain Ahab had for the white whale The fact that his true origin is purposely obscured makes him even more striking as a shapeless force of nature Anonymous 03/30/17(Thu)14:43:07 No.52450280 >>52430715 Fuck man, Manta has given so many reasons that turned out to be lies to fuck with Aquaman that the real reason could very well be that Manta woke up one day, poured himself a bowl fish-o's, turned on the news, saw Aquaman, and thought, "Fuck that guy and everything he stands for." But really, the reason doesn't matter anymore because Manta doesn't need it. Manta isn't a man anymore. Asking why Manta hates Aquaman is like asking why the stars burn or why gravity exists. They just do. Manta has long ago stopped having a reason beyond the fact that Aquaman exists. Manta has long ago stopped being a man. Now? Now Manta is much like the sea he spends so much time in. You can see it in his eyes, the pitiless cold and the cruel indifference. Manta is a force of nature fueled by hate and spite that has long ago stopped having reason for existing beyond the fact that it does. Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed) 1 2:46:58 No.5243 1077 >>52430715 It's like the OP pic says. He just really, really fucking hates Aquaman. He's givien multiple conflicting backstories and motivations, several of which he admits he made up just to fuck with Aquaman. At this point even if he remembers his original reason he probably doesn't care about it anymore. His sole purpose in life is to screw with Aquaman in any and every way he can. There is no line he won't cross, no action too petty, so long as it hurts Aquaman. He has bent his entire being around making Arthur's life as miserable as possible and he will never stop, never falter, never give up. He is to the king of the ocean what the sea is to angry sailors, cruel, uncaring, and relentless. He's Captain Ahab as a comic book character and we love him for it. Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)14:39:05 No.52467471 >>52430715 He literally just really fucking hates Aquaman. Everything he does is to fuck with Aquaman, any crimes he commits are purely either to fuck with Aquaman or to acquire funds to use to fuck with Aquaman. Not a day goes by in which he doesn't sit down and reflect on how much he fucking hates Aquaman Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed) 12:27:15 No.52430777 Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)18:44:59 No.52471769 >52430577 Quite literally the only reason he didn't kill himself when Aquaman died was because of the off chance that he came back to life since Manta is genre savvy enough to realize that heroes do that often Is there ever a hour where Black Manta don't think about his hatred for Aquaman? Do he even sleep? Anonymous 03/31/17(Fri)18:50:27 No.52471853 Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)12:29:34 No.52430813 >>52430715 There is conflicting stories about why he does. It really doesn't matter, because his place is a implacably, actually threatening counter to Aquaman. >>52471769 Well, physically at least, he is still human, so he has to sleep at some point. But he probably uses a form of self-hypnosis to ensure that when he dreams, he dreams about hurting Aquaman Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)12:29:45 No.52430817 >52430758 Naw he was faking that. >52430715 He just fucking hates him. Maybe there is something deeper but its a mystery so far since he keeps faking out actual origin stories. Honestly, part of the appeal is that he is just raw anger towards the king of the sea wrapped in a calm, hate-oozing package. He's the Joker but without having been ruined of all character through numerous iterations. Anonymous 03/29/17(Wed)12:31:48 No.52430849 >52430758 Yes, well, I have students that are autisitic as fuck and none of them have tried to overthrow a PMC yet to fuel their crusade against me.