Today, I'm going to talk about my favorite Superheroines.
Power Girl...kicking ass as usual!
She Hulk...that pose looks familiar!
I said in a comment at Dick Hates Your Blog:
Power Girl and She-Hulk are my favorite superheroines.
While both are depicted with exaggerated -ahem- features, the writing for both of them focuses heavily on their identities, both related and unrelated to their appearances.
In the Power Girl graphic novel, there is a lot of discussion about her personality, her past, etc. While her appearance is mentioned, it is usually discussed under the framing device of "I want to be seen as more than these boobs."
The entirety of the Dan Slott She-Hulk series is Shulkie trying to reconcile all parts of herself. She wants to be seen as a superhero, a lawyer, a woman, and a sexual being. Sadly, she keeps running into walls with all of these issues.
A recurring theme that just about breaks my heart is that she wants to be as free with her sexuality as her male comrades, but keeps getting derision for it.
Most importantly, to me anyway, is that while both characters have incredible bodies, they don't have the Michael Turner "superwaif" look. They are brickhouses, in every sense of the term. Thankfully, most artists who depict them understand and respect that.
I confess, I'm behind on the latest JSA series. However, it seems worth noting that after the latest Infinite Crisis and all that shenanigan, PG was appointed the leader of the JSA. Characters whose entire purpose are T&A aren't given leadership roles.
I also admit a special affinity for Power Girl. The Amanda Conner-penciled series in 2005 came out at a point in my life I don't miss at all. Much like Power Girl, I found myself desired for all the wrong reasons, by a lot of wrong people, and very confused about who I was supposed to be, and what I was supposed to be doing with myself. These are all questions PG asked in that series.
Power Girl and She Hulk are two characters often cited for their cheesecake factor. I thoroughly disagree.
They are drawn the most realistically of most superheroes- regardless of gender or Universe or publishing company- and the problems they deal with can be applied as allegories to many real-world situations. They are never drawn as skinny "where-are-their-organs-supposed-to-go?" waifs, and they handle themselves with grace under pressure.
Why would anyone count these fictional women as anything but positive role models?
