Yrra Cynril (Fatality/Star Sapphire)

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Jessica

Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: Green Lantern v3 #83 (February 1997)
Created By: Ron Marz and Darryl Banks

Biography:

The oldest child of the rulers of the planet Xanshi, Yrra Cynril was sent by her folks to be trained by the Warlords of Okaara, which is like finishing school for alien princesses with fabulous hair. While she was offworld, her planet was destroyed by a yellow bomb, thanks in part to a screw-up of John Stewart’s (accidentally destroying a planet is like a rite of passage for Green Lanterns). Oopsies!

Grief-stricken and vengeful, Yrra christened herself Fatality and dedicated herself to destroying all Green Lanterns. However, Hal Jordan had already kind of beaten her to the punch during his wacky mass-murdering Parallax shenanigans, so Fatality had to settle for beating up on Kyle Rayner, which was fun until she lost an arm in a fight with a tentacled alien monster. Comics!

Rearmed in both senses of the word by the Qwardians, Fatality showed up a few more times to attack Kyle, then-civilian John, and Jade. Along the way, she lost the other arm and was given another prosthetic by Earth authorities. She spent some time bumming around Earth as a generic villain (and had her ear bitten off by Scandal Savage) before heading to the Vega system to become a bounty hunter.

After a brief stint in the Sinestro Corps, she was captured by the Star Sapphires and imprisoned in a love cocoon (not a metaphor), which replaced the vengeance in her heart with love. Sure, why not? She tracked down John, laid a wet one on him, and told him she forgave him. Most recently, she joined up with Kyle’s makeshift rainbow corps as their Star Sapphire.

So What’s So Great About Her?

You know what’s kind of weird? How even though there are like fifty planets with aliens who look just like humans in the DCU, they’re all either non-human colors (blue, green, purple, etc.), or white. And by “kind of weird,” I mean “super racist.” Aside from the vanishingly rare minority members of the Legion of Super-Heroes and the Forever People’s unfortunately-named Vykin the Black, Fatality’s the only alien I can think of who resembles an actual Earth minority, Tolkien ears aside. She’s also one of maybe half a dozen black supervillainesses in the DCU, which is a weird thing to shoot for equality on, but it’s nice to see a black woman in comics who’s not the lost princess of a made-up African country or a teen superheroine’s sassy best friend.

No, what Fatality is is a warrior – the most doggedly determined one ever. There’s something both admirable and incredibly endearing about her determination to WREAK VENGEANCE even after losing both arms and an ear; she’s like Monty Python’s Black Knight (“It’s just a flesh wound! I’ll bite your legs off!”). Then, too, there’s the fact that she goes after Green Lanterns – you know, the guys with the rings that can do anything? – with pointy sticks. And wins.

I’ll be honest – I have basically no interest in all this rainbow Lantern Corps stuff, and when I hear about Star Sapphires I mostly hear “blah blah 1960s sexism blah blah skimpy outfits blah.” I wasn’t thrilled to find out that Fatality is now among their ranks (or to see that she looks a lot more white now).

But I am glad that Fatality is getting a big role in the current Green Lantern books, because she’s an interesting and incredibly tough character, and she deserves plenty of focus. If the whole Star Sapphire concept can be redeemed, I have no doubt she’s an excellent character to do it with.

And heck, even if it can’t, that won’t stop her from kicking ass. Nothing else could!

Notable Appearances:

Green Lantern v3 #82-85, 111, 112, 121, 123, 131, 132, 141, 142, 147, 156, 176-178
Villains United #1-3
Salvation Run #3, 5, 6
Justice League of America v2 #13-15
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #3, 4
Green Lantern Corps v2 30, 46
Green Lantern v4 #36, 38, 40-42, 44-46, 52
Blackest Night #1, 7, 8
Blackest Night: Green Lantern #1
Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2

Yrra is currently appearing in Green Lantern: New Guardians.

Posted in DC, Green Lantern, Heroes, Villains | Leave a comment

Selene Gallio (Black Queen)

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Mackenzie

Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: New Mutants #9 (1983)
Created By: Chris Claremont & Sal Buscema

Biography

Selene looked pretty good for a 17,000-year-old. Her beauty secret: being a psychic vampire who fed upon the life-forces of others. (She was an External, a very rare type of immortal mutant.) She tooled around the ages, being generally evil. One of her bad-guy plans was to eat the souls of everyone in ancient Rome, which luckily didn’t succeed.

But she did like Rome enough that she created Nova Roma, an isolated town in the Amazon with residents who believed themselves to be the descendants of actual Roman colonists. (This was retconned into being Selene’s very recent brainwashing of kidnapped people and then unretconned, and I’m not sure what the official story is now. Let’s just go with this.) She had a good time being worshipped, marrying some dudes, having some kids, eating some souls. It was all a lark until the New Mutants, one of whom was her own granddaughter, Magma, knocked her into some lava.

When she resurfaced in New York City, Selene joined that most evil band of Georgian cosplayers, the Hellfire Club, a semi-secret society of rich, powerful, influential, corset-loving people (and mutants, and sometimes robots). She quickly rose to the high rank of Black Queen and set her sights on running the whole stupid chess game analogy, thus earning the contempt of several of her fellow Hellfireans, including Emma Frost, the White Queen.

Eventually, Selene started a group of young mutants, the Upstarts, to go on a murderating spree—one of her major targets were the Hellions, Emma’s group of teenaged students; their deaths haunt her to this day. This reign of terror only ended when she was nearly killed by one of the Upstarts herself. Killing the other few Externals and absorbing their energy was the only thing that perked her up. After all, the best part of waking up is an immortal soul in your cup.

At the pinnacle of her crazy, Selene gathered some of her new pals (mostly lost, confused souls, like Blink and former Hellion 2.0 Wither) to join her in resurrecting millions of dead people in Genosha, a mutant haven that was destroyed a while back. She started absorbing all these newly awakened souls, becoming an actual goddess for like a hot minute before X-Force’s Warpath stabbed her in the chest and ended the party.

So What’s So Great About Her?

I can’t believe I’m actually going to write this, but here goes: Selene is the less classy version of Emma Frost.

Because whereas Emma, for all her (ahem) “frostiness,” can actually feel things on occasion, Selene has exactly zero time for any of that—she will (and has) straight-up murder a dude immediately after he declares his centuries-long love for her. Emma is devoted to her students and snarlingly protective of them. Selene seduces deeply troubled teenage boys when it suits her purposes. Emma is capable of wearing pants for long stretches of time. When Selene wears pants, you get the sense that she looks at it as an amusing yet rare diversion, like cosplaying or wearing that fedora you spent way too much on at Anthropologie just once.

White Queen, Black Queen—the two women are obviously intended to be foils, to be funhouse mirror images of each other in some ways, and thank God for that. There are comparatively few recurring female villains in the Marvel Universe, and so it kind of sucked to see one of the more interesting ones, Emma, be redeemed and on the side of good. Selene, by nature, cannot be redeemed. If she does, she’s dead (again—I have no doubts she’ll be returning someday). She’s just going to keep on absorbing people’s souls like it ain’t no thing, and that’s awesome. It’s good to have a majorly scary, powerful baddie be a woman, and a repulsively evil one at that.

Because seriously, Selene is like a force of nature, and I’m glad the recent Necrosha plot made that clear and got her back on track. I’m fond of the Hellfire Club and its gaudy ridiculousness, but it never made any sense for a 17,000-year-old vampiric mutant to waste her time navigating the social and political intrigues of it all. Just freaking eat them, Selene! You’re allowed wear a corset even if you don’t join their special club! You can totally buy one at JCPenney!

Notable Appearances

New Mutants #9-11
Uncanny X-Men #183-184
New Mutants #22-23
Uncanny X-Men #189
Firestar #3-4
Uncanny X-Men #207-210
New Mutants #51; 53-54; 61; 70-75
Captain America #369
Marvel Comics Presents #78; 89
Uncanny X-Men #283; 301
Excalibur Annual #2
X-Man #7; 13; 16-17; 20-23; 28
X-Force #53-54; 75; 94; 96-99
X-Men Unlimited #33
Uncanny X-Men #452-454
New X-Men (vol.2) #32
X-Force (vol.3) #11; 19; 21-25
X-Necrosha #1
X-Men: Legacy #231

Posted in Marvel, Villains, X-Men | 1 Comment

Elizabeth “Betty” Cooper

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Jessica

And now, the second half of our Valentine’s Day feature!

Publisher: Archie Comics
First Appearance: Pep Comics #22 (December 1941)
Created By: Vic Bloom and Bob Montana; her modern look was created by Dan DeCarlo

Biography:

Betty Cooper lives in Riverdale, Anywheresville USA with her parents, Hal and Alice, and her cat Caramel. She has an older brother, Chic, who lives in New York, and an older sister, Polly, who lives in San Francisco. Though she likes and is liked by pretty much everyone in the entire world, her absolute best friend is Veronica Lodge, the richest girl in town.

Betty is a straight-A student and aspiring writer with an above-average IQ. She’s won numerous academic awards and had her writing published in several magazines. She’s also athletic: she specializes in gymnastics and cheerleading, but also excels at baseball, softball, basketball, racecar driving, scuba diving, karate, swimming, and surfing. She can outrun the fastest male athletes at Riverdale High. She sings backup and plays the tambourine in the moderately-successful band The Archies, but can also handle herself on the guitar, banjo, keyboard, saxophone, cello, bongos, and maracas when necessary. She enjoys cooking, baking, gardening, and sewing, and often mimics Veronica’s designer outfits with her own creations. She loves animals and children and has worked as a babysitter, camp counselor, lifeguard, and Girl Scout leader (because, of course, she’s also good at woodcraft). She also enjoys spending time with the elderly. She loves the environment and is a skilled mechanic. I’m 99% sure she poops apple pies and bleeds pure patriotism.

Also there’s some boy named Archie who she likes. Whatever.

So What’s So Great About Her?

Betty was the first female character I’d encountered who was good with cars. I didn’t read superhero comics until college, but in elementary school I was alllll about the Betty and Veronica Double Digests, and I distinctly remember being surprised that Betty was always fixing Archie’s car. Cars were boy things, and even though Betty was good at sports, she wasn’t a tomboy – she wore dresses and liked sewing and shopping and writing “Mrs. Betty Andrews” 400 times on her Trapper-Keeper, which were definitely girl things. How could this be???

I didn’t understand it, but I liked it – Betty was always my favorite Archie character. And now that I’m an adult, I like it even more! Betty likes traditionally feminine activities, but that doesn’t make her stupid or frivolous, and she likes traditionally masculine activities, but that doesn’t make her any less of a girl. Revolutionary!

Sure, there are a heck of a lot of problematic aspects to the way Archie Comics handle female characters, and Betty embodies many of them: the fact that her niceness makes her undesirable, her obsession with Archie, her competition with Veronica, her tendency to be simultaneously violently jealous and a doormat, and the vague ookiness of perfect teenage girl Americana being embodied in someone so frankly, well, Aryan.

But she’s also one of the only female characters in mainstream American comics that actually targets young girls. And unlike Veronica, who I also love but who is not particularly intended to be a role model, Betty is intended to be – and most of the time is – a shining example of what girls can do. Seriously, there’s no skill that Betty doesn’t have or can’t attain. When she doesn’t know how to do something, she learns it. When she can’t afford something, she raises the money or makes it herself. She embodies good cheer, compassion, and resourcefulness, and those are all important things for girls to see. Betty’s supposed to be “ordinary” in comparison to Veronica’s glamour, yet she shows us that so-called ordinary girls can be extraordinary.

Oh, and speaking of Veronica – yeah, she and Betty fight over Archie. They also, at the end of the day, value each other more than they value Archie. Behind the shallowness of their relationships with Archie lies a real, solid friendship.

Betty’s not exactly a realistic character, but she’s not meant to be – she’s a cartoon. But she’s a cartoon who has shown millions of little girls over the past 70 years that they can excel in any area they choose. If her greatest flaw is bad taste in men, well, we all make mistakes, right?

Notable Appearances:

Nearly everything ever published by Archie Comics? Seriously, she’s in everything, but here are a few of her starring titles:

Archie’s Girls Betty and Veronica (1951-1987)
Betty and Me (1965-1992)
Betty and Veronica Digest/B & V Friends Double Digest (1980-present)
Betty’s Diary (1986-1990)
Betty and Veronica (1987-present)
Betty and Veronica Double Digest Magazine (1987-present)
Betty (1992-2012)

Posted in Archie Comics, Civilians | Leave a comment

Veronica “Ronnie” Lodge

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Mackenzie

Here at Dimestore Dames, we’re firm believers in romance, especially when it makes us want to scream and punch a pillow. Just like in a real relationship! That’s why, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re spotlighting the non-awful players in one of the most famous love triangles in comics—Betty/Archie/Veronica.

Publisher: Archie Comics
First Appearance: Pep Comics #26 (1942)
Created By: Bob Montana

Biography

When uber-wealthy Hiram Lodge moved to humble little Riverdale, his goal was to keep his only daughter, Veronica, from getting too spoiled. But giving her tons of credit cards probably did more harm than if they’d stuck with their posh, big-city ways.

The Lodges could’ve done a lot worse, though. Sure, she’s vain, prone to gossip, has a terrible temper, will do whatever it takes to get what she wants, and is an almost compulsive shopper, but Ronnie can also be kind-hearted and generous (when the occasion allows it, at least). She’s also smart as heck and super-clever when she wants to be (she’s especially good at economics, which will help when she inevitably takes over the family business). Ronnie’s also a very gifted pianist, (wo)manning the keyboard in the Archies, her friends’ band.

When not shopping or backstabbing her way to the top, much of Ronnie’s time is spent pursuing a certain waffle-headed so-and-so, much to the bafflement of almost everyone around her, especially her father (who seems to hate Archie almost as much as Jess and me) and Reggie Mantle, the other main contender for fair Veronica’s hand. Interestingly, her rival for Archie’s affections is Betty Cooper, her best friend.

Recently, we saw a possible future where Archie and Veronica end up married. For Veronica’s sake, I hope does not end up being the case.

So What’s So Great About Her?

When I was a kid, I didn’t read much from Archie Comics. I don’t even really know how I became acquainted with them, other than vague pop culture references and from seeing the covers of the Archie Digests for sale by the cash register at the supermarket. In fact, I only remember actually reading Archie Digest once, when it was purchased to keep me occupied during a long car ride. I really liked it, but apparently not enough to buy another.

But anyway, based on those flashes of Archie Awareness, I assumed Veronica was a 100% straight-up villain. For one thing, if fiction had taught me anything, it was that all rich people, save Scrooge McDuck, Bruce Wayne, and Richie Rich, were evil. But I also knew that Betty was nice, and it did not even occur to me that a comic book could have more than one not-evil girl. And that’s really, really sad.

Because yeah, I didn’t give Archie Comics nearly enough credit for creating a character with much more nuance than many other comics/cartoons/media. Veronica is a villain, but only when her selfishness gets the better of her. Sure, she’s petty, conceited, and absolutely spoiled, but like most of us, she’s a pretty good person at her core. She just has to push her way through the pile of self-centeredness first.

Ronnie’s relationship with Betty Cooper, her best friend and best enemy, is very warm and often quite close. I mean, other times it’s competitive and argumentative, but being best friends doesn’t mean you both get along all the time. (In fact, Jess and I have nearly come to blows over whether Sleeping Beauty’s pink or blue dress is better.) She’s capable of being a good friend to all the Riverdale gang, actually, except for maybe Jughead, but he’s worthless anyway so I don’t really blame her. (I am not a Jughead girl.)

Her only major misjudgment in character—and it is a very major one—is that she actually seems to truly like Archie Andrews, who is freaking awful personified. In Riverdale, the fastest way to a young woman’s heart is to treat her and her BFF like absolute garbage, I guess. I have a deep love of characters that are often intentionally awful—hence why I’m writing about Ronnie rather than Betty, and why Reggie Mantle is actually my favorite Archie character—but douchebags we’re supposed to think are nice are the worst. My only hope is that, before the potential Archie-marries-Veronica future comes to pass, the hates-Archie gene imbedded in her Lodge DNA (thanks, Hiram) kicks in and Archie is left crying at the altar. And then Jughead immediately dies of hamburger poisoning like on Teen Angel.

And can I say, I don’t actually care that she’s rather self-centered? Because seriously, aren’t we all? At least Ronnie owns it. She also sashays around with a confidence that I genuinely envy. Little girls, if you read Betty and Veronica and realize that it’s okay to be ambitious and think you’re cute and awesome, I’ll start donating subscriptions to elementary schools immediately.

Notable Appearances

Pretty much every comic featuring Archie and his pals over the past 70 years has included Ronnie. Unless you have insane amounts of spare cash laying around, my suggestion is that you invest in some trades or digests.

Posted in Archie Comics, Civilians | 2 Comments

Kate Kane (Batwoman II)

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Jessica

Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: 52 #7
Created By: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, Keith Giffen, and Ken Lashley; costume designed by Alex Ross

Biography:

Kate and her twin sister Beth’s 12th birthday was pretty much ruined when they were kidnapped by terrorists. By the time Kate’s father, Colonel Jake Kane, showed up with the rescue team, Kate’s mother and sister were dead.

It was this trauma that inspired Kate to join the army herself as an adult. Despite her distinguished record, however, she was dishonorably discharged as a cadet when her commanding officer learned that she was a lesbian. Stripped of her purpose, Kate fell into a party girl lifestyle back in Gotham, which included a tempestuous relationship with Renee Montoya. While on her way to see Renee one night, Kate was attacked by one of Gotham’s petty criminals, who according to the most recent census make up 125% of the city’s population. She defended herself handily but still drew the attention of Batman himself.

Once again, Kate was inspired. Maybe brooding and deep psychological issues can lead to great things! With the help of her father, she designed a cool new Bat-suit, tricked it out with all sorts of “maybe the army won’t notice this is missing” gadgets, and honed her gargoyle-crouching skills, then burst onto the scene as the new Batwoman. Though she’s been pretty much accepted into the Batfamily, she prefers to work on her own, taking down leaders of the Religion of Crime, including her own sister, who turns out to be not so dead after all. She’s also spent some time training her cousin, Bette “Flamebird” Kane, though that relationship is in a bit of a rocky place right now.

Currently Kate is dating Maggie Sawyer of the GCPD and locking horns with Cameron Chase of the DEO. (Yes, the protagonist, sidekick, love interest, villains, and morally ambiguous foil of Kate’s series are all female. Yes, that is ridiculously awesome.)

So What’s So Great About Her?

I’ll admit it – it took me a long time to warm up to Kate Kane. She came in just as Cassandra Cain was ousted (ooh, that plotline in 52 where the Religion of Crime is looking for “the daughter of Cain” and decide it’s Kate made me mad) and was accepted into the Batfamily with open arms when a still-dead-at-the-time Stephanie Brown had struggled for that acceptance over her decade-long career. Worse, the mainstream media made a big deal over her being a “lipstick lesbian,” which set off alarm bells in my head. The general impression was of a derivative, exploitative character brought in to replace characters the higher-ups at DC didn’t particularly like.

So man, how annoyed was I when Kate turned out to be awesome? I hate it when I’m wrong.

Kate’s helped along by exemplary writers and stunning art, but at her core she’s just an amazing character. She is, above all, devoted to her country and to helping people, but she refuses to live a lie to do so. (Well, sort of. She’s not above “I don’t know how that Batsuit got in my closet”-type lies.) When her commanding officer discovers that Kate’s in a relationship with another woman, he gives her the out – tells her she can deny it and go right back to being a soldier. But Kate honors the oaths she’s taken more than the army’s petty prejudices, and tells him the truth.

Then, too, she’s got all the necessary chops to be a vigilante: brains, compassion, determination. She’s equally good at detective work and punching no-goodniks in the face, and she can take a hell of a lot of punishment and keep on trucking.

But I think what I like most about her is that she’s kind of a big old mess. Batman doesn’t have a monopoly on childhood trauma and subsequent emotional stunting; Kate is stubborn and hard to get close to, and she can be cruel. She’s incredibly captivating when she wants to be, but we’ve already seen two of her romantic relationships go up in flames in what’s so far been a relatively short career, and when she’s hurt by or worried about someone she loves, her first instinct is to push them away as quickly and harshly as possible.

In other words, she feels like a real, flawed person, who also happens to be an impossibly badass creature of the night. Her emotional issues don’t teeter on the edge of parody like Batman’s; they feel raw and honest. Add to that the fact that she’s both DC’s highest profile queer character and their highest profile Jewish one, and okay. Maybe I don’t always hate it when I’m wrong.

Notable Appearances:

52 #7, 9, 11, 28, 30, 33, 34, 36, 45, 47, 52
Final Crisis #4-7
Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1, 3
Cry for Justice #1, 3-6
Detective Comics v1 #854-863
Batman and Robin #7-9
Batman, Incorporated #4-5

Kate is currently starring in Batwoman.

Posted in Batman, DC, Heroes | 3 Comments

Nico Minoru (Sister Grimm)

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Mackenzie

Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Runaways #1 (2003)
Created By: Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona

Biography

Nico’s parents were part of a charitable group that turned out to be not-so-charitable—in exchange for great power bestowed upon them by supernatural beings, they and several other sets of parents murdered innocent people. One year, Nico and the other kids witnessed it, leading them to sensibly run the hell away.

Strangely, the first few months on the lam were somewhat idyllic, with all the kids sort of playing at being superheroes, to counteract their parents’ evil. Nico discovered that, as the daughter of dark wizards, she could perform magic as well with the help of the Staff of One, which conveniently was housed within her chest; she could call it forth by spilling her own blood (certain times of the month made this pretty easy). But eventually, everything came crashing down when Alex, their leader (and Nico’s tentative love interest) turned out to be a mole for their parents and ended up deal.

Nico was the one who stepped up to fill his shoes as leader of the group, though the bad times pretty much kept on rolling. Despite adding a few new members to the Runaways roster, another, Nico’s best friend, Gert, was killed. There was also some tension when Karolina revealed that she liked girls—particularly Nico herself. Nico was further confused by her conflicted feelings when Karolina entered a happy relationship with Skrull shapeshifter Xavin. Her own relationship with robotic Victor ended when he got the hots for another girl while they were time-traveling in the early 20th century.

While on that magic carpet ride to the time of Newsies, Nico met one of her own ancestors, a powerful magic-user in her own rights. She seems to have taught Nico a few new tricks, though Nico’s kept mum about the whole thing.

So What’s So Great About Her?

I think it’s automatic for comic fans to hold the leader characters–the Cyclopses, Captain Americas, Black Bolts–to higher standards than other characters. As team leaders, we assume they are THE BEST there is to offer, both mentally and morally, or should at least be good at resisting the urge to act douchey.

But then there’s Nico, who…doesn’t always make the best decisions. In fact, she’s a leader who’s not even that great a leader; she is, however, the very best option and, to her immense credit, she gamely stepped up to the plate. Because, I mean, who else was going to? Following Alex, a genuinely charismatic and natural leader (to the point that even his online roleplaying buddies felt such an allegiance to him that they agreed to avenge his death), there was a big hole to fill. But Chase, the eldest, is a wildcard, while Karolina is too gentle to head the fight. Gert had unfulfilled potential, while Molly’s a child. Nico was the only one qualified.

She’s also a teenager. Her romantic problems distract her sometimes, and she sort of seems to have an unconscious need to create drama in her life, like kissing Chase, her best friend’s boyfriend. There’s also an unfortunate habit of second-guessing herself, which causes problems both on the battlefield and in her personal life. I’m honestly not sure if her confusion about her feelings for Karolina are genuine or the need for drama thing, but whereas you’d think, say, Superman could keep his heartache under control if it was affecting the team, you can’t really expect that of a teen.

Uh, I don’t mean this to come off as, “Here is a list of the ways Nico is horrible. Buy Runaways!” I see it as a positive. I mean, how many times do we see team comics where a leader seems to emerge with no buildup whatsoever? To pick on Caitlin Fairchild, the leader in Gen13, people just sort of start listening to her, with no real reason why (in fact, as a socially awkward semi-outcast, there are more reasons for her not to be the natural leader). With Nico, we get the chance to see someone evolve into the role, and there’s every reason to expect that she’ll awesome at it someday. I mean, this girl is brassy enough to broker a deal with the Kingpin; she obviously has potential.

Nico also stands out as not only one of very few female team leaders in comics, but also one who’s a person of color. She’s Japanese-American, but the creative team took a soul-achingly amazing turn by not making her a sexy dragon lady, ninja, or quasi-geisha (all depressingly common in comics). She’s still very much tied to the country of her ancestry, but in an entirely modern way, via her interest in Gothic Lolita clothes, a fashion subculture most popular in Japan. Quick, grab the closest comic book! Open it up and look at the female characters—do they A) have a distinct, age-appropriate clothing style or B) wear really tight, cleavage-y tops and booty shorts even when it’s wildly inappropriate? If the answer is B, read Runaways, featuring coolio Nico, instead.

Notable Appearances

Runaways (vol.1) #1-18
Runaways (vol.2) #1-30
X-Men/Runways
Civil War: Young Avengers and Runaways #1-4
Runaways Saga #1
Mystic Arcana: Sister Grimm #1
Secret Invasion: Young Avengers/Runaways #1-3
Runaways (vol.3) #1-14
Daken: Dark Wolverine #17-19

Posted in Heroes, Marvel, Runaways, Supernatural | 3 Comments

Indigo/Brainiac 8

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Jessica

Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1 (July 2003)
Created By: Judd Winick and Alé Garza

Biography:

It started when a badly damaged android from the future teleported to the 21st century. (This is actually pretty common in the DCU.) Frantic, she started seeking out fellow AIs in hopes of finding one who could repair her. In her panic, she took out the Metal Men and severely wounded Cyborg and a good handful of Titans and Young Justice members (whoops) before managing to activate a dormant Superman robot (double whoops). Luckily, she was able to stop him – but not before he killed Lilith and Donna Troy. In grief, the Titans and Young Justice both disbanded.

Naturally, Roy Harper recruited the android who’d started all this for his Outsiders team.

Now fully repaired and calling herself “Indigo,” the android revealed herself to be a very sweet and friendly person. Uh, AI. She had no memory of having attacked anyone or activating the Superman robot, but she still felt bad about it, and decided to get into the superhero gig to make amends. Slowly the team started to accept her, and she even began a relationship with Shift, Metamorpho’s, um, independently animated detritus. (Seriously, don’t ask.)

But it was all a lie. Indigo was revealed to be merely a subprogram of Brainiac 8, sent back in time to ensure the future of her home planet of Colu. She teamed up with her granddaddy Original Flavor Brainiac, Lex Luthor, and a temporarily evil and hilariously bald Superboy to destroy the Outsiders and the Titans, but the Indigo personality managed to resurface long enough to beg Shift to take her out. He did so by granting her heart’s desire: he turned her into a human. But since he could only transform the chemical makeup of her synthetic body into organic flesh and not animate it, the process effectively killed her, as she knew it would.

So What’s So Great About Her?

As I’ve mentioned before, sweet, gentle characters are vanishingly rare in superhero comics, which are generally populated with the brassier temperaments required to put on an armored bikini and punch lizard-men in the face. Outsiders in particular was a fairly dark book, springing out of the traumatic death of Donna Troy and featuring cults, prison breaks, child slavery rings, and foulmouthed badasses. Indigo was a breath of fresh air in the midst of that, with her wide-eyed innocence, social naïveté, and completely adorable relationship with Shift, which seemed to be an assurance that even the most lonely and bizarre among us can find love. I mean, she loves doing laundry! And bowling! And a scary blobby chemical monster in a tank top! All together now: AWWWWWW.

The fact that she was such a powerhouse just made her more likable. There’s something tremendously appealing about combining sweetness with sheer firepower (see also: Mary Marvel). Even while damaged and confused, Indigo took out nearly a dozen superheroes, including two speedsters, a Super, and a Wonder; when she’s firing on all cylinders, she’s got an even more powerful brain to go with her brawn. The fact that she’s cute as a bug’s ear doesn’t hurt; with her pink hair and eyes, bright blue skin, and Fifth Element-esque silver ensemble, she looks more like the star of a sci-fi cartoon for 11-year-old girls than a weapon of mass destruction. (Oh my God, why isn’t that a thing? I would watch that show SO HARD.)

And of course there’s her heroic sacrifice. Honestly, those are kind of a dime a dozen in superhero universes (and the fact that this sweetheart of a robo-girl turned out to be OMG EVUL!!1 just makes Jess circa 2005 sigh and stop buying Outsiders), but the way she went – her heartbreaking wish to be human – just makes her twist the heartstrings a little more. You were too adorable for this world, Indigo!

Mostly, though, when I think of Indigo I don’t think of her plot device-y beginning or Big! Dramatic! Event! ending, but the really engaging and lovable character she was in between. If she never gets resurrected for the DCnU, I’ll take comfort in the thought that she’s in comic book limbo with Shift, doing laundry to her little mechanical heart’s content.

Notable Appearances:

Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day #1-2
Outsiders v3 #1-10, 12, 13, 15-25, 28
Teen Titans v3 #24-25

Posted in DC, Heroes, Outsiders, Villains | 3 Comments

Tabitha Smith (Boom-Boom/Boomer/Meltdown)

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Mackenzie

Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Secret Wars II #5 (1985)
Created By: Jim Shooter & Al Milgrom

Biography

When Tabitha ran away shortly after manifesting her mutant powers (she creates small energy spheres; her dad didn’t appreciate finding one in his meal), she headed for Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. But before she could enroll, she met this cosmic guy known as the Beyonder, who took her to a distant planet and threatened to destroy the universe…you know how it is, when friends get all moody. She ended up helping the Avengers defeat him.

Eventually, after some time as a street kid, Tabitha did end up with an X on her chest—as a trainee for X-Factor, which at the time was still pretending to be a group of mutant-hunters. She made friends with the other trainees, kids her own age, and had a crush on every boy.  At some point, someone in editorial realized it was probably superfluous to have more than one trainee team of teenage mutants, and Tabitha and several of her pals merged with the New Mutants. There, a boy finally crushed back on her—Cannonball, who became her first boyfriend.

In time, the teens grew more surly and eXtreme and felt the need for more belts on their costumes, and also some pouches. Thus, the team evolved into X-Force, which of course was led by a huge guy with a huge gun. One of the team members actually had a gun for a hand. The ‘90s were a beautiful time for comics. Anyway,  Cannonball left the team for a while, and Tabitha reacted in pretty much terrible ways, like falling for Sabretooth’s “I’m lobotomized and totally nice now!” act and letting him free (he promptly eviscerated Psylocke) and cheating on Sam with his best friend. She and Sam briefly reconciled before X-Force imploded.

Post M-Day, Tabitha was one of the few who retained her powers and ended up on Nextwave, a team created to combat terrorism. Only Tabitha discovered that the team was run by a corporation planning to use biological warfare on America. Not good. After some wacky adventures, the team managed to defeat their terrorist backers.

These days, Tabitha is back running around with the X-folks and calling herself Boom-Boom. Her way of embracing ‘80s nostalgia, I guess.

So What’s So Great About Her?

When I was a kid and just starting to hardcore get into the X-books, I was pretty wary of X-Force. This was at the height of Liefeld’s run, and something about the bulky jackets, scrunched-up angry faces, giant hulking man torsos, and the fact that there seemed to be a surfeit of guns and swords even though everyone had superpowers seemed to say to me, “Small Mackeeeeeeeenzie, this is a boooooooy comic.” Even though I had embraced the idea that superheroes can be for girls too, I listened to my gut and stayed away.

Despite this, I became oddly intrigued by several of the X-Forcers through their guest appearances and trading cards. One of them was Tabitha, probably because she seemed to be one of the only members who seemed to smile, like, ever.*

I’ve seen Tabitha described as “white trash,” which is one of my least favorite descriptions ever due to both its racial and classist implications and the fact that a good half of my family could be described as such. What the people who use this term mean is that Tabby comes from a dysfunctional family that is not terribly well-off.

And you know, I like that. So many American superheroes come from extremely comfortable backgrounds (superheroes hailing from other countries tend to swing toward the other end of the spectrum) that seeing one not firmly middle class or above is immediately refreshing. (Her long-term boyfriend, Cannonball, is also a working class superhero, but his family is so idealized that they seem more like Marvel’s answer to the Waltons** than real people struggling to make ends meet.)

Her family is also less than stable; both parents rejected her when she turned out to be a mutant and her dad was at times abusive. You can totally see why it was so easy for Sabretooth to manipulate her—an older man promising that he’s changed, that things will be different now. I think some people chalk this up to Tabby being stupid—another accusation that gets tossed at her all too often—but to me it just seems heartbreakingly obvious.

Maybe Tabitha’s background and crappy family explains why she always seems so gleeful when she’s throwing around her timebombs. The day she manifested her mutant abilities must have been the first time she ever felt like she truly had any power at all. And yet she does everything with such a keen zest for life that you just want to fistbump her and ask if she got her awesome Madonna-clothes at Charlotte Russe.

* In fact, the most embarrassing comics-related moment of my life (so far) was sort of Tabitha-related. When I was in the fourth grade, I was briefly and inexplicably chosen as a fellow “cool girl” by the most popular girl my age in the building where we were both living. We decided that we should each have a rad nickname, and I decided mine would be “Boomer.” The next day, though, when she came to summon me to hang out, she called me Boomer in front of my entire family and I subsequently died of self-consciousness induced palpitations.

** Not this Walton. The ones on the mountain.

Notable Appearances

Secret Wars II #5
X-Factor #11-17
Fallen Angels #3-8
X-Factor #22-23; 27-33; Annual #3
X-Terminators #1-4
New Mutants #72-100; Annuals #5-7
Cloak and Dagger (vol.3) #4
X-Factor #40-41
Marvel Fanfare #50
New Mutants Summer Special #1
Uncanny X-Men #270-273
X-Factor #60-62
X-Force #1-117; Annuals 1992-1993
Uncanny X-Men #294-295
X-Factor #84-85
X-Men #14-15
X-Factor #106
Excalibur #82
X-Force and Cable Annual ’95-‘97
Uncanny X-Men #328
X-Force/Champions Annual ‘98
Uncanny X-Men #379; 388
Weapon X (vol.2) #7-8; 10-13
X-Force (vol.2) #1-6
Nextwave #1-12
Wolverine (vol.3) #51
X-Men: Odd Men Out
X-Force (vol.3) #13; 17-18
Uncanny X-Men #517; 542
Marvel Heartbreakers
Girl Comics #2

Posted in Heroes, Marvel, X-Men | 3 Comments

Sylvia Danvers

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Jessica

Publisher: DC Comics
First Appearance: Supergirl v4 #1 (September 1996)
Created By: Peter David and Gary Frank

Biography:

Like many young couples, Sylvia and Fred Danvers liked to have a drink or two in the evening – but for Sylvia, it didn’t stop at two drinks, and it didn’t stop at evenings. It was only learning that she was pregnant that made Sylvia decide to get sober, and with the help of her strong religious faith, she stayed sober through her daughter Linda’s childhood, increasingly difficult adolescence, and even her disappearance as a young woman.

When Linda was rescued from a satanic cult by Supergirl, Sylvia took it as a miracle – until she learned that the aforementioned rescue had taken the form of Supergirl bonding with Linda so that they were one person, with the ability to shift back and forth between identities and new, godly powers. In other words, a flying blob had absorbed Sylvia’s daughter. A really pretty flying blob, but still! Horrified and despairing, Linda fell off the wagon. This time even Fred threatening to leave her didn’t help.

Luckily, God owed Linda a favor. Or at least Wally, a local little boy who claimed to be God, agreed to do her a favor, and visited Sylvia. We don’t know exactly what happened, but Sylvia emerged with white streaks in her hair, newfound faith, and total acceptance of her daughter, super or not. From then on, Sylvia was firmly in Linda’s camp, supporting her endeavors and praying for her safety – and when you’ve personally met God (maybe), prayers are pretty effective! In fact, Sylvia’s prayer may have been the turning point in Linda’s epic battle with the Carnivore.

Towards the end of the series, Sylvia gave birth to a little brother for Linda. She named him Wally.

So What’s So Great About Her?

Religion’s kind of a mixed bag for comics. You’ve got your evil zealots. You’ve got your helpful clergymen. You’ve got weird portrayals of non-Christians, like Connor Hawke’s not knowing what Christmas is because apparently Buddhists don’t believe in being alive in America in December, and you’ve got weird portrayals of Christians, like Azrael’s, well, everything. It’s rare to find a realistic, nuanced portrayal of a person of faith, but that’s exactly what Sylvia is.

Not at first, though. At the beginning of Supergirl v4, Sylvia comes off as a total cliché: her faith seems less like, well, faith, and more like mindless, naïve overconfidence. She’s far too trusting – she tries to set Linda up with a demon, whoooops – and cheerfully oblivious to danger or corruption.

Then she falls off the wagon. And suddenly we – and Linda – see her for what she is: a woman with her own demons to fight. A woman whose faith is hard-won and, at times, in doubt. A woman who remade herself into a better person for the sake of her daughter.

Sylvia’s renewed faith is literally deus ex machina, but it works, because now we’ve seen both sides of her. Her restored belief doesn’t seem silly or naïve when it’s the result of actual divine intervention (well, probably). And she’s not passive about it either – she starts studying for the ministry. (She’s also, it should be noted, not particularly hidebound in her theology – she readily accepts Linda’s status as an angel and never passes judgment on the beliefs or private behavior of the other characters.)

Look, I’m super-reform-Jewish/agnostic. I’d probably raise my eyebrows in real life, rightly or wrongly, at someone like Sylvia, whose response to adversity is simply to pray. But my beliefs are not the only ones out there. There are many people who find a deep comfort and strength in a faith like Sylvia’s, and I enjoy seeing a well-written character who expresses that so powerfully.

Notable Appearances:

Supergirl v4 #1-11, 13-19, 21, 23, 25-27, 31, 33, 36, 37, 44-50, 60, 64, 68, 75, 77, 78-80

Posted in Civilians, DC, Superman | 2 Comments

Namorita “Nita” Prentiss (Namorita/Kymaera)

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Mackenzie

Publisher: Marvel Comics
First Appearance: Sub-Mariner #50 (1972)
Created By: Bill Everett

Biography

When Namora, cousin of Prince Namor, found herself unable to conceive naturally with her husband, she secretly got her very own clone instead, one that had been enhanced with awesome Atlantean warrior genes. The bonus genes came in extra handy when Namorita—because why would she have been named anything else?—was orphaned at a young age; she even grew up in the custody of her mother’s murderer.

Eventually, Namor remembered his little cousin existed, but she turned out to be way too much of a spitfire for him to deal with. He handed Namorita off to his old flame Betty Prentiss to raise. After all, Betty had been the only person to ever tame him. In time, Betty and Namorita (soon to go by Nita) became super-close, with the young girl even taking her name when Betty tragically died.

She was a college student when she first became a full-time superhero, co-founding the New Warriors. She had a bumpy road with the team, finding friends and real romantic love (with teammate Nova and later literal hottie Johnny Storm) for the first time but also dealing with her own impetuous nature and the problems it could cause. During this time, she also found out the truth about her background and turned blue-skinned, like other non-human hybrid Atlanteans.

Nita and the other New Warriors were involved in the fight that led to the prolonged Civil War storyline—when she slammed the villain, Nitro, into a bus and made fun of him, he basically exploded and killed the heroes and everyone else in the neighborhood, including a school full of little kids. This led to questions about who’s qualified to hero and the lack of government control over who decided to put on a mask and start beating people up.

Recently, a pre-blueskin Nita was brought into the current timeline by Nova. They were happy for like a hot minute, but now it appears he might be dead. Sads.

So What’s So Great About Her?

In the 1970s, when Nita was created, the whole kid sidekick thing was decidedly passé in comics. Even Robin, the kid sidekick poster child, was inching toward independence. So maybe it’s no surprise that Namorita, Namor’s surprise second cousin, was the invention of a writer/artist who’d been at the height of his career during comics’ Golden Age.

Not that Nita necessarily served the same function as Robin, Bucky, and all the rest of her ilk. Rather than be a stand-in for the youthful reader, Nita was, I suspect, there to contrast with her headlining kinsman, just as Betty Dean had done decades before. Whereas Namor was brawny, brunette, and alien in his features, with an almost Frankensteinian flattop and absurdly arched eyebrows, Nita was petite, blonde, and as cute as a bug’s ear, in a rounded, Gidget sort of way. Namor was perennially jaded and angry, while Nita was bright-eyed and curious about the world—though she definitely had a temper of her own.

That concept isn’t entirely new—as I’ve noted before, comics love to contrast big strong heroes with teeny girls. As such, you’d really expect Nita to become a sort of daughter figure to Namor, to soften him. She doesn’t. I mean, sure, he seems to like her okay, and he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her, but when it comes time to truly bond, Nita gravitates toward women.

Comics are largely all about the daddies. Think Batman’s relationship with his Robins, Wolverine and Jubilee and Kitty Pryde, Spidey and his Uncle Ben, baby Kal-El being saved by his birth father. With the major exception of Wonder Woman, we don’t get deeply important, positive mom relationships as much.

Nita, meanwhile, truly bonded not with Namor, but with Betty Dean Prentiss, who took up raising her in Namora’s place. They were so close that Nita took Betty’s surname as her own. And while we never see very much of Nita’s earliest years, all indications are that she and Namora had a close, tender relationship. A recent Namora one-shot has a heartbreaking scene where Namora, who awoke from her coma around the time Nita died, hallucinates a reunion with her beloved “little girl.”

There’s so much I like about Nita and how she’s handled, and I’ve barely even touched her long stint as a New Warrior, which she’s best known for. On the team, we got to see the little girl grow up a bit, becoming strong, developing long-term relationships (both romantic and otherwise), and remain totally feisty. Despite embracing her Atlantean heritage and going blue and webbed for a while, Nita remained generally nuanced, relatable, and human. I mean, I think most women my age can relate to making poor choices in regards to too-tight white pants.

Notable Appearances

Sub-Mariner #50-62; 70
Defenders #5
Marvel Two-in-One #2
Super-Villain Team-Up #7-9
Avengers #155-156
Ms. Marvel #15-16
Marvel Comics Presents #12
New Mutants Annual #5
Thor #411-412
Namor the Sub-Mariner #2; 4-13; 15-34
New Warriors #1-58
New Warriors Annual #1-4
Marvel Holiday Special 1992
Darkhawk #26-27
The Secret Defenders #4-5
Marvel Comics Presents #155-158
Night Thrasher #11-12
Nova (vol.2) #14
New Warriors #62; 65; 74-75
Silver Surfer (vol.3) #124
Marvel Team-Up (vol.2) #9
Nova (vol.3) #1
New Warriors (vol.2) #0-10
The Order #3-6
New Warriors (vol.3) #1-6
Civil War #1
Nova (vol.4) #32-36
Thanos Imperative #1-6
Thanos Imperative: Devastation #1

Posted in Heroes, Marvel, New Warriors | 1 Comment