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Wonder Woman Should Be a Man!
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-21 15:55:46
Quote: Why DC Comics Should Replace Wonder Woman With a Man
In the wake of Marvel Comics' recent announcements that an African American character will take over the mantle of iconic Captain America (after the regular guy loses his super powers in battle with an arch foe), and that a woman will be Thor in future comics, I think it's time for DC Comics to get into the act before they get left behind.
The most logical and sensational choice would be for them to find a man to take over the role of Wonder Woman. Not only would this surprise readers, but define a modern paradigm for superheroes never seen before. To preserve the integrity of the character, not to mention the marketing potential of a brand name like Wonder Woman, they should make sure to preserve Wonder Woman's current costume, replete with the star-spangled Speedos, red bustier and golden bracelets. After all, just because a man will fill those high heels doesn't mean that the public won't want to see the same Wonder Woman they have grown to love and worship.
Of course, there will be some challenges, such as filling the bustier, but in an age of padded bras and other clever devices for creating illusions, that should hardly be a challenge that the DC Comics team can't tackle. The same goes for the lower part of the costume where a beer gut and a pair of hairy legs will certainly add a twist to a familiar tale and delight readers with pleasures that they never saw coming.
So is this idea as ridiculous as it sounds? Yes, but so is the stunt casting by Marvel Comics of its major characters. To be clear, it is great that the powers that be at Marvel Comics are finally paying attention to underrepresented minorities in their stories but by simply plugging them into the costumes and legends of established characters, they are not so much elevating minorities as using them to sell more comics in a progressive age.
If they really wanted to introduce minority characters into their comics, the right and responsible way to do it would be to introduce new characters that are just as powerful and charismatic as Captain America or Thor, and to develop them from the ground up as African American or female. By meddling with characters whose physical imagery has already been ingrained into pop culture psyche for more than half a century, all Marvel Comics is really doing is extending brands that are past their prime and/or trying to be politically correct in the silliest way possible.
Now Marvel Comics supporters might argue that casting minorities in the tights of major superheroes will force us to think differently about those icons, but what's the point of that? Isn't the point to define firm and powerful identities for an African American man in his own right or a woman in her own right rather than hoping that they will somehow be taken more seriously in the reflected glory of famous characters?
Does an example of the latter come to mind? Yes. Wonder Woman -- a fantastic character that stands in her own right as a member of the DC pantheon of Gods and on par with Superman and Batman. That to me is giving respect to minorities, not what Marvel Comics is doing.
Otherwise, we could well wind up with a hirsute guy in blue underwear, giving us a gratuitous view of his superhero assets while flying above our heads in an invisible plane...
Bismarck.Misao
Server: Bismarck
Game: FFXI
Posts: 22620
By Bismarck.Misao 2014-07-21 16:01:12
[-]
Tl:Dr
Not a credible comic source, dumb idea, someone's random oppinion whose jimmies got rustled, not worth the thread.
Server: Shiva
Game: FFXI
Posts: 8022
By Shiva.Viciousss 2014-07-21 16:07:12
Its cool if you don't read comics, but there is no need to write a long winded diatribe detailing how you don't read comics.
Server: Bahamut
Game: FFXI
Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-21 16:09:16
Its cool if you don't read comics, but there is no need to write a long winded diatribe detailing how you don't read comics.
I'm really kinda shocked about how many people are making a fuss about this. They haven't exactly been following the story lines from the comics to begin with, so them changing the race or the sex of the characters shouldn't be a big character imo.
By fonewear 2014-07-21 16:10:26
Oh Huff Post how I missed ye.
Server: Asura
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Posts: 34187
By Asura.Kingnobody 2014-07-21 16:10:44
Not a credible comic source, dumb idea, someone's random oppinion whose jimmies got rustled aka a Huffington Post article.
Sad thing is, it is true...
Server: Asura
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Posts: 34187
By Asura.Kingnobody 2014-07-21 16:11:29
Wonder Man! Now in Spandex!
....I just threw up a little inside....
By fonewear 2014-07-21 16:12:57
Wonder woman's number one oppressor the teenage men that read her in comic books.
Bismarck.Misao
Server: Bismarck
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Posts: 22620
By Bismarck.Misao 2014-07-21 16:13:20
Wonder Man! Now in Spandex!
....I just threw up a little inside....
Server: Bahamut
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Posts: 5381
By Bahamut.Baconwrap 2014-07-21 16:13:33
Wonder Man! Now in Spandex!
....I just threw up a little inside....
By fonewear 2014-07-21 16:14:31
In our modern times I find the word "woman" to be offensive it should be "wonder person".
Server: Shiva
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Posts: 8022
By Shiva.Viciousss 2014-07-21 16:17:45
Bahamut.Baconwrap said: »Its cool if you don't read comics, but there is no need to write a long winded diatribe detailing how you don't read comics.
I'm really kinda shocked about how many people are making a fuss about this. They haven't exactly been following the story lines from the comics to begin with, so them changing the race or the sex of the characters shouldn't be a big character imo.
Movies never follow the storyline completely, they have to change it to make it more appealing to the audience. Look what they did to the recent Xmen movie, it pretty much did nothing right according to the comic, but it made millions, and it was reasonably watchable. Although the Bishop cameo was a letdown.
Also, this kind of stuff happens all the time in comics. Nobody cared when the Fantastic Four was killed off and the new team was Wolverine, Spiderman, Hulk, and Ghost Rider (probably because no one likes the core Four). Thor just lost his hammer, someone else picked it up, for the next year or so the story will be about Thor regaining his worth, and no one that doesn't read comics will know the difference.
[+]
Server: Odin
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Posts: 6558
By Odin.Zicdeh 2014-07-21 16:17:51
The only one of these Marvel Gender-bend racial things I really have a problem with is Thor becoming a woman, because Thor is Thor... It's not a costume, it's not the iconic weapon, it's not even the powers attributed to him, Thor is the Norse God of Thunder, historically male and Marvel founded the character deep in said lore.
My only question is: will news of his son's transsexuality cause Anthony Hopkins to go into another Odinsleep?
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By Dawn Charis 2014-07-21 16:17:55
Wonder trigender pyrofox
YouTube Video Placeholder
By fonewear 2014-07-21 16:19:28
I would say Wonder woman is a role model but who needs a role model when you have Feminism telling you what to believe.
Carbuncle.Kurosawa
Server: Carbuncle
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By Carbuncle.Kurosawa 2014-07-21 16:21:18
They've sorta done it before:
And of course Marvel has had their own Wonder Man for years:
Server: Shiva
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Posts: 8022
By Shiva.Viciousss 2014-07-21 16:28:22
The only one of these Marvel Gender-bend racial things I really have a problem with is Thor becoming a woman, because Thor is Thor... It's not a costume, it's not the iconic weapon, it's not even the powers attributed to him, Thor is the Norse God of Thunder, historically male and Marvel founded the character deep in said lore.
My only question is: will news of his son's transsexuality cause Anthony Hopkins to go into another Odinsleep?
Thor remains Thor, his character hasn't changed at all, he has just lost his hammer. The new female is a completely different person.
Edit- Unworthy Thor:
Quetzalcoatl.Maldini
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By Quetzalcoatl.Maldini 2014-07-21 16:32:22
Fact - close to 48% of Thor comic readers are Female,52 % are male.
Fact - The recent list of Marvel movies (since 2005 to date) are the most lucrative movies ever made.
Speculation:
Disney wants to protect its investment. Realizing the potential profits to be had from future movies based on Marvel superheroes, they have chosen to get today's youth tapped into and interested in the characters.
Fact:
Comic book readership is on the retreat, and has been for a while. Today's youth are less interested in them. (For too many reasons to list here)
For the laymen out there who don't read Marvel comics; there are several marvel universes with alternative realities where good guys are bad guys, and bad guys are good guys and whatnot.
Thor will only be a female in ONE of these universes, and it will be for a limited period of time. I am certain this is a test to see if readership picks up. Thor was huge in the mid 80's to late 90's. But the current generation of youth find Thor irrelevant and not complex enough as a character to relate to. Disney (yes this is a disney project) are re-inventing the less popular major characters in the Marvel universe and experimenting.
This is a tactic/gimmick in their strategy to make the Marvel cast relevant with youth again, so that when they are consumers with disposable income, they spend their money on seeing future marvel movies and buying novelty.
Having said that, it is very likely that this will backfire. As I mentioned above, Thor already has 48% female readership. Why is it people assume women want Thor to be female? What if women actually enjoy Thor as a male? The 48% suggests that this is indeed the case.
Also, and more importantly, Disney/marvel risk alienating the 52% of males.
Its not a gender thing. Its a change at the core level of a character's identity thing. (Just so you know, Male Thor will still exist, but without his powers. He will be stripped of his powers by Odin, and they will be granted to his sister, who will then posses the power of Thor)
What if they made Laura Croft a man? Many males play tombraider and are fans of it, as are female. It appeals to men and women for different reasons. If they were to suddenly make Laura a Larry Croft, it wouldn't be tombraider anymore, it would be something else. That's why the fans have issues with this, not because they are sexist or anti-female equality or any of that PC ***.
By Pantafernando 2014-07-21 16:49:08
Due to my readers, next pantafernando version will be a female otter. And lesbo.
Server: Valefor
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By Valefor.Applebottoms 2014-07-21 17:00:09
I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose.
Leviathan.Chaosx
Server: Leviathan
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2014-07-21 17:15:39
Valefor.Applebottoms said: »I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose. I'm sure he'll get the same welcoming as Obama has gotten.
Server: Asura
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By Asura.Kingnobody 2014-07-21 17:25:56
Valefor.Applebottoms said: »I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose. I'm sure he'll get the same welcoming as Obama has gotten. What, he's going to get a Nobel for being black?
Server: Odin
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By Odin.Zicdeh 2014-07-21 17:29:00
Valefor.Applebottoms said: »I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose.
Reparations! Racism iz ovr guyz!
Seriously though, Captain America is more of a title than a person. Thor is a singular entity, it's either Thor, the Norse god of Thunder, first son of Odin, slayer of the World Serpent, or some skank with a viking hat and huge ***.
Lakshmi.Saevel
Server: Lakshmi
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By Lakshmi.Saevel 2014-07-21 17:31:59
Valefor.Applebottoms said: »I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose. I'm sure he'll get the same welcoming as Obama has gotten.
He's not "The Captain" though he's Falcon who takes on the mission when Steve Rogers becomes extremely ill.
It's all fine to use a new set of characters and keep rolling with the story line, but it's kinda underhanded to try to market it with the same name.
Leviathan.Chaosx
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By Leviathan.Chaosx 2014-07-21 17:53:10
Thor is a singular entity, it's either Thor, the Norse god of Thunder, first son of Odin, slayer of the World Serpent, or some skank with a viking hat and huge ***. The skank, unfortunately, has more power of the masses these days. More power, but way less substance.
Server: Lakshmi
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Posts: 10394
By Lakshmi.Sparthosx 2014-07-21 18:09:38
Valefor.Applebottoms said: »I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose. I'm sure he'll get the same welcoming as Obama has gotten.
He's not "The Captain" though he's Falcon who takes on the mission when Steve Rogers becomes extremely ill.
It's all fine to use a new set of characters and keep rolling with the story line, but it's kinda underhanded to try to market it with the same name.
Comics have been doing this ***for decades and the PR is how they make money. Fans will groan and still pick up that next issue to see how FemThor works out because curiosity. All of the linkage to feminism and whiny passersby are merely people who don't know ***about the world of comics and how they drum up business. How many *** times can people be taken for a ride before they see through the charade?
See: The Death of Superman, Batman dying, Hal Jordan becoming a villain, Spiderman making a deal with the devil, Wolverine dying, New 52, Ultimate Marvel, What If? Bucky retconned back to life, Flash coming back to life etc etc etc. Comics are like soap operas, they have no rules. I repeat, they have no rules. None.
Pull the traditional stick out of your ***, the canon is safe and sound since Marvel uses multiverses and DC has elseworlds.
They can make Spider-Man a gay latino transvestite with 8 arms and a venomous penis and it still doesn't change the fact that Peter Parker is still Spider-Man. If the comic doesn't sell, they'll just come up with something new to pique our curiosity.
Server: Lakshmi
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By Lakshmi.Sparthosx 2014-07-21 18:12:47
Valefor.Applebottoms said: »I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose.
Reparations! Racism iz ovr guyz!
Seriously though, Captain America is more of a title than a person. Thor is a singular entity, it's either Thor, the Norse god of Thunder, first son of Odin, slayer of the World Serpent, or some skank with a viking hat and huge ***.
No.
Quote: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
The only argument here is they're pitching the comics as "Thor" when it isn't infact Thor.
Server: Lakshmi
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By Lakshmi.Sparthosx 2014-07-21 18:15:37
This ***comes down to money. If they made a new comic featuring a female Asgardian with little backstory, they fear that it'll either fail or no one will give it a shot. Many of these characters have six decades of development but new readers don't really give a ***about that barring the 'major' story arcs. To them, the character is whoever is presented to them.
Solution: Rename old characters and graft their traits onto new people. Enjoy controversy and a marked uptic in comic sales... at least until the novelty burns off.
[+]
By Jetackuu 2014-07-21 18:35:15
Lakshmi.Sparthosx said: »Valefor.Applebottoms said: »I'm more surprised that there isn't an outrage over the next Captain America being black.
One step at a time I suppose.
Reparations! Racism iz ovr guyz!
Seriously though, Captain America is more of a title than a person. Thor is a singular entity, it's either Thor, the Norse god of Thunder, first son of Odin, slayer of the World Serpent, or some skank with a viking hat and huge ***.
No.
Quote: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
The only argument here is they're pitching the comics as "Thor" when it isn't infact Thor.
IIRC it isn't Mjollnir either.
Quote: Why DC Comics Should Replace Wonder Woman With a Man
In the wake of Marvel Comics' recent announcements that an African American character will take over the mantle of iconic Captain America (after the regular guy loses his super powers in battle with an arch foe), and that a woman will be Thor in future comics, I think it's time for DC Comics to get into the act before they get left behind.
The most logical and sensational choice would be for them to find a man to take over the role of Wonder Woman. Not only would this surprise readers, but define a modern paradigm for superheroes never seen before. To preserve the integrity of the character, not to mention the marketing potential of a brand name like Wonder Woman, they should make sure to preserve Wonder Woman's current costume, replete with the star-spangled Speedos, red bustier and golden bracelets. After all, just because a man will fill those high heels doesn't mean that the public won't want to see the same Wonder Woman they have grown to love and worship.
Of course, there will be some challenges, such as filling the bustier, but in an age of padded bras and other clever devices for creating illusions, that should hardly be a challenge that the DC Comics team can't tackle. The same goes for the lower part of the costume where a beer gut and a pair of hairy legs will certainly add a twist to a familiar tale and delight readers with pleasures that they never saw coming.
So is this idea as ridiculous as it sounds? Yes, but so is the stunt casting by Marvel Comics of its major characters. To be clear, it is great that the powers that be at Marvel Comics are finally paying attention to underrepresented minorities in their stories but by simply plugging them into the costumes and legends of established characters, they are not so much elevating minorities as using them to sell more comics in a progressive age.
If they really wanted to introduce minority characters into their comics, the right and responsible way to do it would be to introduce new characters that are just as powerful and charismatic as Captain America or Thor, and to develop them from the ground up as African American or female. By meddling with characters whose physical imagery has already been ingrained into pop culture psyche for more than half a century, all Marvel Comics is really doing is extending brands that are past their prime and/or trying to be politically correct in the silliest way possible.
Now Marvel Comics supporters might argue that casting minorities in the tights of major superheroes will force us to think differently about those icons, but what's the point of that? Isn't the point to define firm and powerful identities for an African American man in his own right or a woman in her own right rather than hoping that they will somehow be taken more seriously in the reflected glory of famous characters?
Does an example of the latter come to mind? Yes. Wonder Woman -- a fantastic character that stands in her own right as a member of the DC pantheon of Gods and on par with Superman and Batman. That to me is giving respect to minorities, not what Marvel Comics is doing.
Otherwise, we could well wind up with a hirsute guy in blue underwear, giving us a gratuitous view of his superhero assets while flying above our heads in an invisible plane...
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