On 13 September, 2006 -- Part I

So this, from the Civil War Files, made me happy yesterday:


It must be official because, really, what's more official than a guidebook like this, even if it is written from Tony Stark's point of view? She-Hulk is strong as Hercules, strong as Sentry, stronger than Iron Man and stronger than Thing. Sure, it sounds silly, like a "this character can beat up that character" sort of thing, but you know? It's still kind of nifty.

Note: I am conveniently overlooking the fact that the whole ID card could be a mistake, inasmuch as it uses the word "equipment" rather than "powers," and the description of said powers is ambiguous. "Resistance to regeneration?" Ouch.

Pinpointing an Issue

Well, this is depressing. I really didn't want to get involved in Ragnell and Kalinara's Damned List but, at the same time, I like helping to disseminate information. And for me (in regards to The List), since I've nearly assembled an entire run of Sensational She-Hulk, that meant helping to pinpoint the issue in which a sexual assault occurred. Which in turn meant pulling suspect issues and reading them for relevant content. I did not attempt to catagorize, only to catalogue that which is suspect. These are my notes. You be the judge.:

Issue 7 (John Byrne): Xemnu attempts to transform Jen into another of his species for the purpose of taking her as his bride in order to repopulate his planet (pp. 18-20.)

Issue 25 (Simon Furman): Brent Wilcox (an old friend of Jen's from college, introduced in Steve Gerber's "Cosmic Squish Principal" arc) sits in front of Jen's apartment with a pair of binoculars, a camera (presumably with a zoom lense), tapes, notebook, and god knows what else. He's jealous of whoever else she might be seeing, and seems to be stalking her (pp. 8, 10.)

Issue 33 (Byrne): Mole Man attempts to take Jen as his bride, as the price for helping her defeat Spragg the Living Hill. She's not entirely unwilling -- she's given her word to pay whatever price for Mole Man's help -- but she's not at all happy about it, either.

Issue 37 (Byrne): The Living Eraser abducts Jen for the purpose of taking her as his bride.

Issues 38 and 39 (Byrne): Mahkizmo, under the influence of one of Eros' (Cupid's) magic arrows, abducts Jen for the purpose of taking her as his bride. In Issue 38, she breaks the fourth wall to yell at Byrne about the whole running theme, and also complains about Santa Clause making a pass at her in Issue 8, and a zombie hitting on her in Issue 35.

Issue 43 (Byrne): Xemnu attacks and threatens to sell Jen as a slave, whereupon she "will be handled and examined by scores of would be buyers," purchased by someone disgusting, become a "helpless plaything" and forced to perform "acts of unspeakable degradation." (pp. 19-24.) (Luckily, Weezie knocks him out by conking him on the head with a spanner, and his evil plan never comes to pass.)

Issue 54 (Michael Eury): Zapper (Jen's boyfriend from her Savage series, now married to someone else) kisses Jen after resurrecting her and giving her a medical examination. She pushes him away, reminding him that he's married. He apologises, and she forgives him (p. 19.)

Issue 55 (Eury): Zapper kisses Jen again. Again she pushes him away, reminds him that he's married, and suggests he and his wife get marriage counseling. She says good-bye and slams the door behind her as she leaves (pp. 18-19.)

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I also went ahead and pulled two other She-Hulk episodes that came to mind. They're not a part of the Sensational run, but they seemed worth including all the same:

Sensational She-Hulk Graphic Novel (Byrne): Jen is abducted by SHIELD. She is forced to strip by SHIELD agent Dooley (on pain of death for Wyatt Wingfoot, who's been abducted with her) in front of a large group of male agents. SHIELD Director Dugan breaks up the "strip search" and yells at Dooley, telling him the required strip search is supposed to be in private and performed by an agent of the same sex (pp 26-29.)

Jen is then subjected to a thorough, invasive and exhausting medical exam (off-panel), again in the nude on Dooley's orders (pp. 31-33.) She later discovers that Dooley has been watching tapes of the "examination" (pp. 41-42.)

Not sure this is worth noting, but evil radioactive cockroaches attempt to invade and take over her body (as they do to Dooley) (pp. 54-55, 68.)

Fantastic Four #275 (Byrne): T. J. Vance, editor and publisher of a sleazy nudie magazine, takes unauthorized topless photographs of Jen (as she sunbathes discretely on the roof of the Baxter Building) for the purpose of printing him in his periodical. (They do get printed, in spite of Jen's best efforts as a lawyer and superhero, but with a mistake that results in a victory, of sorts, for She-Hulk.)

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So! There you have it. I've a new appreciation for what the authors of The List are doing. Not envy, just... appreciation. Yeah. That sounds about right.

*sigh*

On Sexism, Part II

Blog Against Sexism Day continues, and I couldn't find a way to work these into my official entry. Even so, I want this to be a comics blog, so why not stay relevant?

For your consideration, a series of panels depicting Hercules' interactions with She-Hulk through the years.

November, 1989 -- THOR #410:



July, 1998 -- HEROES FOR HIRE #13:



January, 2005 -- SHE-HULK #9:

I won't try to make more of it than it is but, hey, it made me smile.

On Sexism

I want to blog against sexism. I do. But I'm at a bit of a loss as to how without rehashing ideas and statistics heard and seen a thousand times before, uttered and typed by people far more informed, intelligent and insightful than me. I could rehash, but I really don't want to.

This is a pretty safe topic. In America, at least, I like to think that the "A Woman's Place is In the Home" people are a dying breed. How many will really disagree with something that basically boils down to "Sexism bad, equality good?"

And isn't that essentially what I'm supposed to say? That sexism is bad, that the playing field still isn't level, that we're making progress but we're not there yet? We can bullshit about abstract concepts all day and not get anywhere. Discussion is important, don't get me wrong, but it's not like I'm capable of adding anything of note to the dialogue.

So I will do this, instead:

I will acknowledge that I am female and;

I will accept that my tastes, my thoughts and opinions, will reflect my gender, but my gender alone will not dictate my tastes and;

I will do with my life what appeals to me as a person, not what appeals to me as a woman, or as a woman trying vehemently to deny or oppose traditional gender roles and;

I will hope that I am taking an active step (even if it is just a personal step) in the right direction.