Are Comic Books Really Sexist?

This debate has been raging for quite a while now, especially with the new spate of Marvel films being released along with the new Batman films, and comic books in general seem to be enjoying a healthy revival with a lot more women becoming openly interested in the genre.

So are comic books inherently sexist? Of course they are! I mean just look at the outfits, the stereotypical gender roles enforced with every page turn, the way love stories are portrayed and the pièce de résistance – the ridiculously proportioned bodies. It’s no wonder men are up in arms about how their gender is represented in comics, it is truly sexist. See, you all thought I was talking about women and female characters, because that is gender that people get so angsty about, while the male gender just gets brushed to one side.

The most hilarious argument I’ve heard as to why it’s only women who start this sort of argument is because men want to actually be the superheroes and comic books stars that they’re reading about, whereas women just don’t appreciate being represented in such a derogatory fashion. I call bullshit. If I could have some sort of superpower, fight for a team for the future of the Earth (good or evil, I’m not fussy), a fantastic figure, an awesome lycra costume and breasts big enough to loose galaxies in (minus the crippling back problems), then sign me up!

I do think the above argument kind of misses the point though, if you’re going to apply a standard to how one gender is portrayed, then the same should apply to the other gender. If women have to be portrayed more realistically, so do men – let’s give Superman a bit of a beer belly and Wolverine should start losing his hair. Where do we draw the line? Catwoman can’t fight crime today because she’s got really bad cramp…

I suppose the real reason this argument has come about is because of how some men talk about the women in comic books and games as well. Yes, some are objectified, with the most famous probably being Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider series, played by the gorgeous Angelina Jolie in the film adaptations. You’ve also got characters such as Fran from Final Fantasy XII, Storm/Jean Grey/Rogue from the various X-men franchises, Catwoman/Poison Ivy and others from the Batman universe, the list goes on. If you do a quick google search, some of the comments accompanying articles about female characters include some fantastic gems, but there is nothing actually that blunt or sexist, the worst comment I could find (true I didn’t spend hours searching) was “Emma Frost is by far the hottest comic book babe”. Yes, there will be a few sexist asshats out there, but the majority appreciate something more about the characters than just how big their tits are.

The same cannot be said for how women approach the male characters. Think about the release of Marvel’s 2012 film The Avengers. Ye gods, the levels of oestrogen in the theatre when Thor, or Iron Man, or Captain America, or Hawkeye, or even Bruce Banner appeared on film – you could have bottled it! A quick google search comes up with some fantastic comments, including:

• I’d still do Wolverine any day of the week
• [talking about Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye in The Avengers] Good God, the naughty things I’d like to do to that man… Those arms, too… those are some pin-me-up-against-the-wall-and-have-his-way-with-me arms.
• [The Avengers] I’d do all of them… at the same time… everyday… forever…
• [Concerning The Dark Knight Rises]  Bane’s penis will never be lonely as long as I’m alive.

Think about that last (hilarious) comment for a second, then change the character to Catwoman. ‘Catwoman’s vagina will never be lonely as long as I’m alive’ is a damn creepy sentiment, no matter how you dress it up. But women can get away with these sorts of comments, and the amount of objectification suffered by male characters in comics/games far outweighs how objectified women are. True there are other factors at play (men will always be seen as aggressors in this situation, whereas women are just expressing their appreciation for a fit male character) but I believe my point still stands – double standards! And before anyone comments, I will hold my hands up – at various points in this blog I have swooned over Wolverine, Liev Schrieber as Victor Creed, Chris Hemsworth as Thor – but I will quite happily allow men to do the same.

I will agree that the costumes for females tend to be pretty ridiculous, take the X-Men as an example. Jean Grey’s skin tight lyrca would be ridiculous to try and fight in, similarly with Emma Frosts’ outfit that leaves very little to the imagination. Hell, Fran’s outfit in Final Fantasy appears to consist of just a couple of pieces of strategically placed leather and not much else. But then take a look at the male characters – Wolverine, Cyclops, Thor, all of them wear skin tight outfits that accentuate every muscle and leave little to the imagination. True there isn’t quite as much skin revealed as with the females, but surely that’s the point? The point of all comic books, and games, and films. Escapism. The opportunity to experience something different from your own mundane little existence. I want men who have more rippling muscles than physically possible, women with amazing yet impossible figures, superhuman powers, the ultimate fight between good and evil. I want sexy, attractive, powerful people filling my screen and making me feel a little more important for a short space of time. And it’s not like the above description of the costumes is true for all characters – Batgirl wears a full body black suit, as do Storm and Rogue in X-Men. Similarly, the antihero Namor the Sub-Mariner tends to run around the Marvel universe in naught but a thong.

I would understand why people might get annoyed about women’s portrayal in comics if they didn’t have the same opportunities as men – but they do! They can be just as powerful (hell, Jean Grey is far more powerful than any of her male counterparts), they can be good or evil, they can kick arse or be pathetic, they can be emotional or stone cold. There is nothing a male character can do in the comic book world that a female character can’t also do. If this weren’t the case then yes I would agree that comics are sexist, but the reality is far from it! Yes some of them are stereotypically ’emotional’ or ‘hysterical’, but there are male characters guilty of these traits, just like there are some ridiculously masculine women – if you’ve never read Tank Girl I highly recommend them, they’re fantastic!

To wander into the world of gaming for a second, the focus seems to be less on the portrayal of women in games, but more how women who actually play games are viewed. There was recently some outrage over a comment made by Borderlands 2 designer John Hemingway during an article about the upcoming game, specifically concerning a new DLC character currently in progress called the Mechromancer. She is a small girl with a mechanical arm who is designed especially for people who aren’t that good at first person shooters but still want to play co-op with others, a mode which Hemingway very stupidly described as “for the lack of a better term, the girlfriend skill tree”. This immediately brings up suggestions of women not being very good at gaming, they will automatically suck at FPS and will only be useful as a support feature for their superior male counterpart. Even though Hemingway apparently meant the comment more as a nod to couples supporting each other, it was still a very bad phrase to use and if he’d used ‘boyfriend skill tree’ to describe it the outcome wouldn’t be much better. When doing articles/interviews just stay away from using these types of labels to explain an aspect of the game because someone is going to get upset.

So here’s the point that my post ultimately comes down to – who does sexism in comic books hurt? The characters in this sphere are created to entertain, to amaze, to be objects of our affection and lust. That’s the whole idea, and I don’t know anyone who would transfer the objectification they express towards fictional characters over to the real world. Hell, if I saw someone wandering down the street dressed like Poison Ivy I’d wonder what the hell they were doing, or if someone was as muscular as Batman they would have to be on steroids. It’s not real and in turn this allows us to objectify. That makes it sound like that seeing attractive people is the only reason for comics and it’s really not, the point is  entertainment and the freedom that comes specifically with comic books, this whole new world that is created where the human body is capable of amazing things and good (almost always) wins over evil.

I for one hope they don’t change how characters are presented in comic books, because I believe the genre would lose something intrinsic to its nature. I understand why things like film adaptations change the outfits (yes seeing Hugh Jackman running around in yellow spandex would be amazing, but ultimately impractical and distracting) and agree with that wholeheartedly, but leave the fictional characters of comic books and games alone!

The Dark Knight Rises

Warning: There will be spoilers. Tons of them.

This is the third (and final) film in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, following up from the hugely successful Batman Begins back in 2005 and The Dark Knight in 2008. We were promised new villains, new heroes, new machines and the masses lined up in excitement to see the new wonder that is The Dark Knight Rises. 

I’ll say straight off that I really enjoyed both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The first introduced a new, darker batman that was nothing like the previous depictions. The second had what I personally believe is one of Heath Ledger’s greatest characters in centre stage, giving the Joker a scariness that he may have somewhat lacked back in the days of Jack Nicholson. Yes they both had flaws, TDK overran slightly with the plot getting dragged out unnecessarily, BB struggled through the lack of a good baddie, but overall they were enjoyable, fun and exciting films.

Unfortunately, I can make no such statement for The Dark Knight Rises, simply because I’m having a hard time coming to any real solid conclusions about it. I was extremely excited in the lead up to its release, when I heard about the inclusion of Bane I couldn’t wait to see how Nolan had portrayed one of my favourite anti-heroes though the appearance of Catwoman gave me “paws” for thought (da dum tish), I’ve never really been a fan of her character.

I’m not sure how to set this review out, as I kind of want to talk about everything at once, so I’ll just wander from point to point and hope it comes out in some sort of coherent way.

So we meet Bane in the opening of the film as he tries to hijack a plane, and I settled in for what I hoped would be a fantastic film. Then Bane spoke. It took me a second to realise that that was actually Bane talking, then another second to work out what he was saying. It is an exceedingly bizarre voice, some have described it as Sean Connery on helium, to me it sounds like Zazu from The Lion King when he’s trapped under the rhino. The thing is, I didn’t necessarily dislike his voice – it’s educated, measured and gentlemanly, which actually makes it slightly scarier than a bog standard ‘baddie voice’. But it is also quite amusing, in some parts so amusing that what he is saying becomes inconsequential. Kudos to Tom Hardy though, he is presented with a character with more or less no facial expressions due to the mask and does exceptionally well with it, conveying a lot more through his eyes and to a degree his choice of voice than a lot of actors would manage. He definitely looks like the part as well, reflecting that he is both physically and intellectually stronger than Batman, the amount Hardy bulked up for this role is ridiculous and he casts an imposing figure on the big screen. He could have even surpassed the Joker as ‘best baddie’ if it weren’t for the ending Nolan gave to him. This character who has overcome everything, beaten Batman in every way, gets taken out by Catwoman with a gun in a scene lasting less than five seconds. That is the death given to this fantastic character, he is quickly swept off to one side by someone who isn’t even Batman, all because the plot needed to move along. The reveal of Bane’s true motivations is absolute bullshit as well, he is transformed from this amazing character who has overcome so much to an ordinary man who is doing it because of a woman. This isn’t the end or backstory that anyone wanted for Bane.

Speaking of the object of his affections – Talia al Ghul aka Miranda. When the final reveal comes, everyone that I was watching it with looked distinctly unimpressed. This woman has little to do with the film up until this point, and then suddenly she’s meant to be the big bad? Really after Bane is killed the whole film begins to flag, Talia isn’t introduced as a character at all apart from when her and Bruce Wayne suddenly have sex, then she’s revealed as being behind it all, and then she dies in a pretty unspectacular way. She doesn’t really impact on the film, and is ultimately exceedingly unimpressive. 

Bale does his usual good job of Batman, though in this film he actually seems to spend a lot more time as Bruce Wayne than he does as Batman. He begins the film (set eight years after its predecessor) living as a recluse in his mansion, hobbling around with a walking stick because the cartilage in his knees has been worn away from years of heavy duty fighting as Batman. He learns that Gotham once again needs Batman, puts on a leg brace thing and is miraculously fine, no more hobbling, no signs of pain, nothing. I was hoping Nolan would make more of a big deal out of Wayne’s humanity but this is quickly swept to one side through a below par explanation. Overall Bale had little to work with in this final film, there was nothing for his character to really overcome, and the scenes that could really have allowed Bale to explore Wayne fully as a character – namely when he is the prison Pena Dura  – are undermined by the ridiculousness of it. He gets his broken back fixed by someone hitting him in the vertebrae, then by sheer force of will. You may be surprised to hear this, but that’s not how a spine works. Any ‘growing’ that Batman did as a person in that segment was inconsequential next to the stupidity of this scene, which is a shame because that is meant to be the turning point of the whole film. Batman ‘dies’ and rises once again into the light, overcoming great obstacles both mental and physical. There is also a depressing lack of any actual Batman-ing, his fights with Bane are fantastic but other than those there is little combat involving Batman.

Catwoman was a character I was expecting to dislike and I was pleasantly surprised. Anne Hathaway does a fantastic job, making Catwoman less ridiculous than her comic book counterpart but still maintaining aspects of the character. She has some good one liners, an interesting enough personal dilemma to overcome and you’re not quite sure until the end which side she actually fights for.

Police officer Blake is probably the other character given a lot of screen time, and I’m still unsure about him. Played well enough by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the character was at a bit of a discord with the rest of the film and it is almost as though Nolan crowbar-ed him into the narrative just so he could have the ‘Robin’ reveal at the end. Also Blake’s theory about how he knew Wayne was Batman right from the off is pathetic – something about it being in his smile, absolute tosh.

Despite all of my gripes, there are some fantastic scenes and I take my hat off to Nolan’s directing skill. The fight between Bane and Batman where Batman’s back is broken is enthralling – the decision to not have any music accompanying the scene means that you feel every punch land, it makes it a lot more real and you know that Batman can’t defeat this man merely through physical strength. Also their final fight, when Bane begins to go frantic when his mask is broken, is impressive and entertaining, especially when he begins to overpower Batman once more. Alfred’s segments are as heart-wrenchingly British as always, and adds another layer to what would otherwise be just an action film.

I think the main problem that people have with this film is the sheer amount of plot holes, or implausible events. How does Wayne get from the prison and back into Gotham? Why is Wayne not paralysed from a broken back? Where the hell did Ras al Ghul appear from in the prison? What is the point of Bane’s five month plan if the city will be destroyed either way? Why do Bruce and Miranda suddenly hook up? And why do Selina (Catwoman) and Bruce end up together at the end, on a vacation to Florence? It’s just painful trying to work out what the hell is going on at points.

This review by Doug makes another fantastic point – you could actually go from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight Rises and lose nothing by missing out The Dark Knight. It doesn’t especially effect the events of the third film, it is like The Joker never existed. Of course if Ledger was still alive to continue the character, he may have been present in Rises and made the three films tie together more neatly. I was very glad to see the Scarecrow once more in the court scenes, a character who I enjoyed immensely in the first film and Cillian Murphy did a fantastic job in treading the clever/insane line.

You can see why I’m having a hard time actually deciding whether or not I liked this film – it’s good in some respects, stupid in others and occasionally quite boring. More than once I was glancing at my watch.

I think I need to go back and rewatch the film, but I would definitely recommend going to see it, if just for Tom Hardy’s performance as Bane.