Probably the most largest contributions Surprise Lady has made to the arena in her 80-plus yr legacy is proving that the phrase robust isn’t unique to males, that women and girls will also be simply as robust. On the other hand, as one fan-favorite DC author identified up to now, DC has undermined Surprise Lady by means of villainizing her legacy, necessarily equating robust girls with monsters.
A once-archived submit by means of Kelly Thompson is making the rounds once more, because of dialogue forums that experience resurfaced it and reignited dialog amongst fanatics. The submit comes from She Has No Head!, a column Thompson wrote for CBR (Comedian E-book Sources) that desirous about gender illustration and the portrayal of girls in superhero comics.
Within the column, Thompson ceaselessly explored how feminine characters have been incessantly overly sexualized and held to unfair double requirements in comparison to their male opposite numbers. Whilst the column featured many notable articles, one specifically stands proud: “Is the Destruction of the Amazons the Destruction of Feminism in DC Comics?”
DC Creator Kelly Thompson Discusses the Destructive Misrepresentation of Surprise Lady’s Amazons
Duvet E Derrick Chunk Variant for Justice League Limitless #2 (2024)
Kelly Thompson’s “Is the Destruction of the Amazons the Destruction of Feminism in DC Comics?” first went reside in 2012, but the themes mentioned on this explicit submit are extra related than ever. Whilst Thompson’s submit in the end serves as a critique of ways DC have been portraying the Amazons in storylines (and, by means of extension, a broader deconstruction of feminism in DC’s comics) she grounds her argument in fact by means of pointing to the continuing struggles feminism faces nowadays. Thompson then drives house the base line: “It’s laborious to forget about that this can be a society that more and more hates and distrusts girls, particularly as they acquire any floor or energy for themselves.”
She then loops this bottom-line remark again to fiction, noting that it turns into doubly laborious to witness this hate and mistrust mirrored within the tales we devour. Thompson specifically calls out DC’s portrayal of Surprise Lady’s Amazons, highlighting the travesty of ways narratives on the time took characters who epitomized robust girls and in the end demonized them. As she places it, “[The Amazons were] stripped of the whole thing that could be just right and honorable in order that we would possibly see the broadest, maximum hateful stereotypes of them offered.” In brief, Thompson is stating how this misrepresentation of the Amazons and what they stand for perpetuates the false stereotype that robust girls are monstrous.
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“How May Robust Ladies be The rest however Monsters?” DC’s Amazons Are Pushing a Unhealthy Stereotype
Primary Duvet by means of Daniel Sampere for Surprise Lady #17 (2025)
You will need to needless to say this submit by means of Thompson used to be made in 2012. Therefore, her criticisms in regards to the portrayal of the Amazons most commonly middle across the narratives of that time-frame. That being stated, it’s most probably that probably the most portrayals of the Amazons Thompson is critiquing specifically is Amazons Assault! (2007). This storyline adopted the occasions of Countless Disaster and noticed the Amazons attacking Washington D.C. because of the seize of Surprise Lady. The tale forged the Amazons in a specifically unfavourable and violent mild, sparking controversy for its depiction of them.
Therefore, it’s most probably narratives reminiscent of this that Thompson is relating to when she makes statements on how the portrayal of the Amazons strengthened unfavourable stereotypes regarding girls and gear, along with her mentioning that such portrayals “strengthened another time that girls with energy will grow to be absolute monsters.” Thompson continues to elaborate on her misery over seeing the Amazons become monsters time and time once more, noting how too many narratives have vilified them as “man-hating, man-killing, war-like unreasonable monsters,” which has raised the dangerous query of “how may just robust girls be the rest however monsters?”
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Why Fictional Amazons Subject: The Actual-Global Affect of Villainizing Robust Ladies
Primary Duvet by means of Daniel Sampere for Surprise Lady #19 (2025)
It can be simple for some to disregard Thompson’s criticisms, for the reason that she is technically criticizing portrayals which are going down in fiction. On the other hand, you will need to needless to say Thompson’s remarks transcend simply the fictitious Amazons, along with her criticisms being extra of a remark on what the Amazons constitute in the actual international: robust girls being wrongly villainized. Moreover, as maximum can recognize, fiction is strong and thus influences the perceptions of real-world other folks. Therefore, out-of-characteristically villainizing the archetype of the robust girl units a deadly precedent and pushes a unfavourable stereotype that in the end will have to be have shyed away from.
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It’s additionally vital to notice that Thompson clarifies she would by no means make the argument {that a} matriarchal society could be a utopia. On the other hand, she is arguing that “any society that has inequality can by means of its very nature NOT be a utopia.” Therefore, with those statements, it’s transparent that Thompson is arguing for equality, reasonably than looking to argue that girls are awesome to males, as she very obviously makes it recognized that that isn’t the case she is making. In brief, with narratives that villainize the Amazons, they’re necessarily undermining Surprise Lady’s legacy: which is to turn that girls and women will also be each forces of excellent and robust.
DC Is Formally Therapeutic From Its Amazon Mishaps (& Thompson Is A A part of It)
Dan Mora Variant for Surprise Lady #1 (2024) Reprinting
As famous a number of instances all the way through this text, this observation by means of Thompson came about in 2012. Thus, the portrayal of Surprise Lady and the Amazons has persisted to conform from the storylines that Thompson used to be referencing in her critique. That being stated, it’s specifically attention-grabbing to inspect how DC’s present narratives in regards to the Amazons have advanced. It’s particularly notable how DC has now without delay integrated the villainization of the Amazons into their storytelling, appearing villains reminiscent of The Sovereign wrongly villainize those warrior girls, making an attempt to color them as monsters and prosecuting them as such.
By means of DC’s narratives now acknowledging the villainization of the Amazons and addressing it in some way that makes it transparent the Amazons aren’t the villains of the tale, it seems like a phenomenal full-circle second, one who Thompson would certainly respect. No longer most effective has DC stopped pushing a villainous mild at the Amazons, however their narratives are explicitly calling out their wrongful villainization. Moreover, fanatics of Thompson get to have fun a fair deeper full-circle second, for the reason that she is the author for the continuing Absolute Surprise Lady collection, leading to Thompson now having a say in how Diana and the Amazons are portrayed.
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Supply: Kelly Thompson
