What doomed the new Batwoman from the start
Published by Avi Green on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at 12:53 AM.
A subject that went into obscurity for some time, DC's unremarkable new Batwoman, Kate Kane, returned to memory after I stumbled over this thread on CBR's board. She may have appeared in the first issue or two of 52, but since vanished up until the last few issues.
I don't know if it's because DC partially backed away in the face of deserved criticism, but here's my take on why this is a failure:
They could've made her an Estonian or an Armenian. Instead, they made her a lesbian.
They've could've made her a Coptic Christian. Instead, they made her a lesbian.
They could've made her a fugitive from Putin's neo-communist Russia. Instead, THEY MADE HER A LESBIAN.
Mind you, nationality alone would not a character make. But it would certainly be more creative than the sleaze they came up with that other year.
But, there's another fatal flaw discovered that dooms this new Batwoman too: seems the reason Kate Kane's been out of the picture for a while was because...she'd been seriously wounded by a villain, and had to spend time in the hospital. There's more of that mentioned in the comments on The Beat.
So, not only was a female character rendered something derivative like being a lesbian, she was also depicted as a loser in a battle against a thug. Two birds killed with one stone, and yet another act of sexism to add to DC's record.
So many chances to prove their attention spans run farther than the domestic-like perceptions they seem to go by, and again, they throw it all away.
I don't know if it's because DC partially backed away in the face of deserved criticism, but here's my take on why this is a failure:
They could've made her an Estonian or an Armenian. Instead, they made her a lesbian.
They've could've made her a Coptic Christian. Instead, they made her a lesbian.
They could've made her a fugitive from Putin's neo-communist Russia. Instead, THEY MADE HER A LESBIAN.
Mind you, nationality alone would not a character make. But it would certainly be more creative than the sleaze they came up with that other year.
But, there's another fatal flaw discovered that dooms this new Batwoman too: seems the reason Kate Kane's been out of the picture for a while was because...she'd been seriously wounded by a villain, and had to spend time in the hospital. There's more of that mentioned in the comments on The Beat.
So, not only was a female character rendered something derivative like being a lesbian, she was also depicted as a loser in a battle against a thug. Two birds killed with one stone, and yet another act of sexism to add to DC's record.
So many chances to prove their attention spans run farther than the domestic-like perceptions they seem to go by, and again, they throw it all away.
Labels: dc comics
