The Men Who Can

Image Courtesy: Strike Magazine Tallahassee

A hero is not only defined by their resilience, undeniable courage, and contagious charisma but by their appearance as well. The presentation of a hero distinguishes them  and provides them with a sense of character. In comics and film adaptations, the male heroes were placed in costumes that allowed their power to shine and complemented their persona; however, superheroines did not receive the same treatment.

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Rather than focusing on their character, female heroes were dressed and stylized to be sexually appealing and desirable, especially since the superhero genre mainly catered to male audiences. Reducing a superheroine’s identity for sexual purposes diminishes their expression of femininity when in reality, that’s their greatest power.

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In earlier comic illustrations and movie adaptations, superheroines were seen as secondary to their male counterparts and often existed for sexual entertainment. A frequent victim of this treatment was the Black Widow, especially during the earlier phases of Marvel movies. Since her first appearance in Iron Man 2 (2010), Scarlett Johanson’s role as Natasha Romanoff served as a sidekick amongst her male peers, but most notably, was purposefully advertised and marketed as the hot, sexy, female hero. The character poster used to promote The Avengers (2012) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) had Natasha placed in positions that explicitly emphasized her butt and chest in a skin-tight suit with her hair down. The supervillain turned anti-hero, Harley Quinn, also fell victim to this treatment. The 2016 film, The Suicide Squad, placed Harley in a t-shirt with the caption, “Daddy’s Lil Monster”, and sparkly underwear held up with a black belt. With her hair in pigtails and her makeup highlighted with a bold red lip, the character is clearly set up to not only appear and be submissive towards the Joker but to the audience as well. Superheroines like Black Widow and Harley Quinn were seen as advertisements for the male gaze, not as genuine representations of heroism. Their beauty was marketable as their expression of femininity was stripped and replaced with what men felt womanhood looked like. By having no autonomy in their femininity, their identity depended on male validation, and even if it was not said explicitly or directly to them, it was implied by those who created them and the audiences they were catering to.

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Despite a history of misogyny and misrepresentation, superheroines have been garnering more respect and care. For instance, Marvel’s 2019 limited series, Wandavision, used Wanda’s femininity and womanhood as a vessel for her story. Wanda’s multiple costume and makeup appearances paying homage to various decades of television matched the essence of her character and the inner turmoil she was facing within the show as she was dealing with the loss of her partner, Vision. Rather than using her to promote Vision, the show emphasized that her greatest strength came from her emotion, an aspect that was often dismissed in earlier depictions of feminine heroes. Wanda’s strength and beauty came from how she dealt with her grief and overwhelming feelings of sadness, confusion, and isolation. When she finally embodied her potential as the Scarlet Witch, her costume was elegant and extremely powerful, capturing her newfound strength without sexualizing her.

In addition to Wanda, the inclusion and representation of superheroines of color depicted an aspect of heroism that was often overlooked, as most stories with a female hero were white. With the introduction of Monica Rambeau in Wandavision, Shuri and Okoye in Black Panther (2018), and most recently, Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel (2022), heroines of color are starting to have the spotlight, with their stories and growth as people being the focus rather than their physical appearance. For example, Shuri’s power comes from her intellect, while Okoye’s stems from her exceptional combative skills. Neither of these women is placed in situations that forcefully portray or define their physique, especially with Okoye, who is bald. All the women within the Dora Milaje (the all-female warrior group Okoye is a part of) are bald, highlighting that their femininity doesn’t come from the way that they look, but the way that they act and protect those that they care for.

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With improvements having been made to Natasha and Harley Quinn in their most recent film appearances, Black Widow (2021) and Birds of Prey (2020), the superhero genre is starting to appreciate its superheroines. Femininity and womanhood are no longer being shown through one shallow lens, rather it’s diving into what makes the experience of both truly beautiful. The expression and illustration of female pain, rage, joy, strength, and beauty are multifaceted and complex, and when it’s emphasized through heroism, it makes the depiction and representation all the more important. Their individuality and journey to finding a sense of identity are what defines a heroine, or as Wonder Woman so eloquently once said, “a man who can”.

Strike out,

Writer: Sophia Ferraro

Editor: Addy Crosby

Graphic Designer: Lindsay Merrill

Tallahassee