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Ms. Marvel

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Psycho
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« on: June 15, 2007, 09:17:35 pm »

Ms. Marvel



Variant Cover to Ms. Marvel #1.
Art by Michael Turner.


Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) is a Marvel Comics superheroine. Created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan, she first appears in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (March 1968).

Danvers is a retired U.S. Air Force Intelligence agent turned NASA Security Chief, and a romantic interest to the extraterrestrial hero Captain Marvel. After exposure to technology from Marvel’s Kree home world, Danvers gains superhuman strength and the ability to fly, among other abilities, and becomes Ms. Marvel.

An eponymous series in the late 1970s features Ms. Marvel, casting her as a distinctly feminist hero. After the series' short life span, the character associates with the Avengers and X-Men, although a series of personal tragedies have complicated her career. Throughout the years, she also uses the codenames Binary and Warbird.

« Last Edit: June 15, 2007, 09:19:28 pm by Psycho » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #1 on: June 15, 2007, 09:20:31 pm »

Publication history

Carol Danvers has had two on-going series named Ms Marvel. She has also featured prominently in the Spotlight on... the Starjammers as Binary and in both the X-Men and Avengers titles.

Ms. Marvel's first solo series was cancelled after issue #23. Marvel Super-Heroes #10-11 (1990) printed the stories originally intended for Ms. Marvel #24-25, though much of #11 is new material. In the story for Ms. Marvel #24, Ms. Marvel battles Sabretooth in a NYC subway; and the story for Ms. Marvel #25 features a run-in with Pyro and Avalanche of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

The new Ms. Marvel comic book series debuted in March 2006, and one of her first battles was a rematch with the Brood and a new enemy: the alien hunter known as Cru.

Also new to the Ms. Marvel rogues gallery is Warren Traveler, the sorcerer supreme of the House of M.

Fictional character biography

Early years

Carol Danvers, born in Boston, Massachusetts has two brothers, Steven and Joseph (Joe) Jr. Steven died in the Vietnam War. Years later, while Carol's memories were inside Rogue, she would visit his name on the Vietnam Memorial, apologizing to him for not being able to visit him recently.[1] When Carol was a young girl, she hitchhiked to Cape Canaveral to see a shuttle launch. Her father "beat the tar out of her," but she never stopped wanting to fly.[2] Since her father didn't want her to go to college, Carol instead joins the United States Air Force to fulfill her love of flying. She's a pilot who later becomes an Air Force intelligence operative. She serves alongside her mentor/lover Michael Rossi and encounters Wolverine, Nick Fury, and Ben Grimm during this time. She becomes a close ally and romantic interest to Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), an alien of the Kree military who gave up his mission of conquering the Earth and instead chose to protect it.



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« Reply #2 on: June 15, 2007, 09:22:55 pm »


Ms. Marvel solo series

Cover to Ms. Marvel #1. Art by John Romita.Carol Danvers becomes Ms. Marvel after she is subjected to the "psyche-magnitron," a device of Kree origin. The device alters her DNA to resemble that of the Kree, and in the process, she gains superhuman strength and durability, the ability to fly, the ability to instantly change to her costume and back, and a precognitive "seventh sense" that provides her with a feeling of what is immediately about to happen (for example, where a foe is about to hit her). Her first costume is based directly on Mar-Vell's second costume, a red outfit with blue mask, gloves and boots; her later, more prominently featured costume is a blue ensemble with a stylized starburst across the chest, along with a red sash around her waist.

At first not aware of being Ms. Marvel, Danvers experiences blackouts, during which she transforms into her Ms. Marvel alter-ego. Soon Danvers and Ms. Marvel learn of each other and remeld into one mind. Danvers becomes editor of Woman Magazine under J. Jonah Jameson and considers dating her psychologist, Michael Burnett. As Ms. Marvel, she fights a number of villains, including Mystique, Deathbird, M.O.D.O.K., A.I.M., and the Scorpion.


Avengers

Ms. Marvel joins the Avengers shortly before her solo series folded, but several months later is sidelined due to a surprise pregnancy. As shown in Avengers #200, her pregnancy progresses at an abnormal speed, and she gives birth to a son within weeks. Her son, Marcus, quickly grows to adulthood and reveals that he is from Limbo, a dimension outside of time and that he has fallen in love with Danvers. The story reveals that Marcus kidnapped Danvers during a previous mission and used mind-control devices to force her to fall in love with him. He seduced and impregnated her, transferred his essence into her womb, becoming his own son. After he makes this revelation to Danvers and the Avengers, she agrees to be his partner, and leaves the team to be with him.

Carol A. Strickland harshly criticized the Marcus storyline in an essay titled "The **** of Ms. Marvel" that appeared in comics fanzine LOC #1 (1981). Chris Claremont, writer of the Avengers Annual #10 (the next story involving Danvers) noted in 1982 that he had read, and found himself in agreement with, Strickland's analysis.[3]

It is later revealed that Carol's departure with Marcus occurred against her will while she was under his control.[4] After their departure, Marcus' accelerated aging continues until he withers away to a husk. This allows Carol to appropriate his advanced technology so that she can return to Earth.

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« Reply #3 on: June 15, 2007, 09:28:11 pm »




Rogue vs. the Ms. Marvel Persona.
Cover to Uncanny X-Men #269.
Art by Jim Lee.

Loss of powers to Rogue


In Avengers Annual #10 (1981), Ms. Marvel loses her powers when the mutant Rogue ambushes her and steals them. Later it is revealed that Rogue's foster mother Mystique had sent Pyro and Avalanche to fight Danvers,[5] but Danvers defeated them. Mystique murdered Dr. Michael Barnett and then read his personal medical files regarding Ms. Danvers. Mystique's partner, the precognitive mutant Destiny, warned Mystique not to pursue her vendetta against Danvers any further, but Mystique reminded Destiny of an earlier prediction that Ms. Marvel would be involved in a tragedy that would harm Rogue, and said she would not allow that to happen. Rogue overheard Mystique and decided to deal with Ms. Marvel herself.

Rogue attacks Danvers at her home in San Francisco. The fight continues longer than Rogue expects, and she permanently absorbs Danvers' abilities and memories and throws Danvers off the Golden Gate bridge. The intervention of Spider-Woman saves Danvers' life, and while Professor X helps Danvers recover her memories, he can not restore her emotional connection to them; Danvers is unable to feel the emotions she once felt for friends and family.

When re-united with the Avengers, the members of the team express sorrow over Marcus' demise: they fail to comprehend that Carol was under Marcus' power when she left the team as his companion. Carol berates the Avengers for having allowed her to leave with Marcus in the first place.

Carol would continue on without an emotional connection to her memories; her personality and memories would haunt Rogue's psyche for years.

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« Reply #4 on: June 15, 2007, 09:33:00 pm »


Cover to Uncanny X-Men #164, Danvers' first appearance as Binary. Art by Dave Cockrum.


Binary and the X-Men

Danvers stays away from the Avengers for quite some time and has a series of adventures with the X-Men.

Her adventures with the X-Men eventually culminated in the entire team’s being kidnapped to outer space by the alien race known as the Brood. The Brood perform painful medical experiments on Danvers which cause her to gain tremendous superpowers, including the ability to survive in space, the ability to manipulate cosmic energy, and superhuman strength; the source of these powers are attributed to a "white hole" – a virtually limitless source of cosmic power.

 

Danvers becomes known as Binary; in her Binary form, her hair becomes a corona of flame and she dons a red-and-white costume with a stylized black starburst on the breast. When the X-Men choose to let the severely disturbed Rogue join their school, Danvers cuts all ties to the group and spends several years in space, often battling alongside the Starjammers.

Eventually, Carol briefly became a slave of the Shadow King and took on the appearance of a zombie so as to attack Rogue and drain her powers. The King's eventual defeat reversed this procedure.


Warbird

Eventually, Danvers' link to the white hole is broken, and as a result, she loses her cosmic-level powers as Binary. She retains a level of superhuman strength, flight, resistance to injury, and enhanced senses comparable to those she once possessed before her battle with Rogue, as well as the power to manipulate and absorb energy. She rejoins the Avengers and changes her code name to Warbird, again donning her classic Ms. Marvel costume. She did not use the codename Ms. Marvel, because during her absence from Earth superhero work, Sharon Ventura, a member of the Fantastic Four, took that name.

Insecurity about her powers no longer being what they once were, combined with a brief restoration of the emotional ties that Rogue had drained, cause Carol to become an alcoholic. When she is unable to function in a coherent capacity, a humiliated Danvers quits the Avengers rather than be expelled. With the help of fellow alcoholic Tony Stark, Danvers curbs her drinking and stabilizes her powers. She rejoins the Avengers for a few missions but leaves again in 2003 to work for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. She works as a parole officer for the newest incarnation of the Thunderbolts.

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« Reply #5 on: June 15, 2007, 09:36:46 pm »


Ms. Marvel Superhuman Registration Card

Ms. Marvel reborn

When Quicksilver convinces his sister Scarlet Witch to create a world where mutants are the dominant species on Earth, most normal humans are viewed as second-class citizens with some exceptions. Danvers is one of these but still becomes the "greatest hero" on this Earth, going by the name "Captain Marvel".
When the world reverts, Danvers retains her memories and is motivated by the realization of her potential, and she concentrates on reinvigorating her career. Danvers retakes the name Ms. Marvel and strikes out on her own, turning down an offer to join the reformed Avengers and leaving her Homeland Security job. Danvers hires a public relations firm.

Ms. Marvel joins the faction of superheroes aligned with Iron Man in enforcing the Superhuman Registration Act.[6] She battles fellow Avenger Silverclaw.[7] Danvers then works with Wonder Man and Arachne to train novice superheroes and hunt down anti-Registration heroes. Her first recruit is Araña. Araña is later critically injured while attempting to help Carol against Doomsday Man, as he rips off the carapace which becomes part of her body when she is in battle. [8] Arana recovers, but her father takes out a restraining order against Carol. Arachne is revealed to be acting against the Superhuman Registration Act, which results in Carol arresting her. Carol believes she has done the right thing but is upset by the trauma the incident causes Arachne's daughter.[9] Arachne (Julia) later escapes from custody and confronts Carol about the whereabouts of her daughter. Carol tells Julia her daughter was left at the Carpenter family home with her parents. When Julia tells her the house is empty, Carol reluctantly uses her government connections to help Julia track down her daughter, and to take her from Julia's parents, even though they have custody. Carol and Tony Stark work out an agreement for Julia to serve her time out to the government by joining the Canadian superteam Omega Flight, which Julia accepts, although she says she can never forget what Carol did to her and her daughter.



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« Reply #6 on: June 15, 2007, 09:39:52 pm »



Cover art to Ms. Marvel #10.
Art by Mike Wieringo.


Carol vs. Carol

A week after the incident, Carol returns home to find Rogue in her apartment. Rogue informs Carol there's a problem between them, and that they're going to solve it.

The problem is the discovery of another woman in Carol's apartment, whom the Beast deduces to be an alternate-Earth Carol Danvers. The alternate Carol, named Warbird, earlier attacked Rogue.[10]

Warbird, who has never fully recovered from her battle with her Earth's Rogue, is an embittered alcoholic. When the Avengers send out a call for assistance during the Brood's assault, she ignores it and, consequently, her Earth is destroyed. A combination of the shockwave released by the planet's destruction and her own energy absorption powers tosses Warbird across several universes before bringing her to the "real" Earth.

Upon learning of Warbird's behavior, Carol does not hide her rage and disgust, and a fight between the two ensues. During the course of the battle, Rogue intervenes; in a fit of anger Carol attacks her and breaks her ribs. Warbird tells Carol that since her world was destroyed, she has been to dozens of alternate Earths, and not only did she kill every version of Rogue she has found, she has murdered every version of Carol Danvers as well. (Each Carol would intervene on Rogue's behalf.) Infuriated, Carol defeats Warbird, who is taken into custody.

Carol later returns to the Xavier Institute to check on Rogue, and questions whether she has truly forgiven her. After the ordeal, Carol flies into space where she can unleash her rage in a place that "nobody can hear her scream."

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« Reply #7 on: June 15, 2007, 09:43:44 pm »

Mighty Avengers

Carol is at a crossroads: her personal life is complicated, and her activities during the Civil War have added to the pressures she faces. She accompanies Tony Stark as he investigates an A.I.M. terrorist attack in Indianapolis that killed ninety-six people, and the two argue over the Civil War. Carol punches Tony, knowing his armor will protect him. She is surprised when he later offers her leadership of the Mighty Avengers. Carol's publicist, who had suggested the new team name to Tony in the first place, encourages her to accept the job. Carol is tempted by the chance of leading such a prominent team, but is disturbed by the number of smaller attacks that go unanswered due to bureaucratic red tape. Tony agrees to allow her access to S.H.I.E.L.D. files and personnel (Agents Locke, Baines, and Sum) in order to take out developing threats. Carol announces the Initiative (Operation: Lightning Storm) at a press conference, announcing that in their first mission, they took down the A.I.M. cell responsible for the Indianapolis attack. [11]

Carol assumes leadership of the Mighty Avengers, despite her reluctance to work against some of her old comrades who are members of the New Avengers.


World War Hulk

Carol is listed on the Hulk's hit list. [12]

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« Reply #8 on: June 15, 2007, 09:45:46 pm »


Ms. Marvel temporarily repowered into her Binary form by the Collective. From New Avengers #17.
Art by Mike Deodato.

Powers and abilities

Ms. Marvel possesses a wide array of superhuman powers. Initially, they include superhuman strength , endurance, formidable resistance to physical injury, the ability to fly, and a precognitive sense.

As Binary, she can manipulate every form of energy in the electromagnetic spectrum and gravitic field on a cosmic level, has vastly increased strength, and can fly at speeds exceeding light speed. After her link to the white hole from which she drew her powers is severed, she loses the bulk of her cosmic powers, but still retains her full potential for energy manipulation in fact in addition to her original powers of superhuman strength, injury resistance, and flight, Ms. Marvel can absorb and manipulate any kind of energy. She can focus this energy into her others abilities like her photonic powers, explosive blasts of radiant energy, which she fires from her fingertips. These blasts are comparable in power to her fellow Avenger Iron Man's repulsor rays. By focusing her powers outward in all directions, she can surround herself with an energy aura which deflects most attacks. She also has some gravitational powers which allow her to boost her already tremendous strength by absorbing the gravitational forces around her. She also demonstrates the ability to absorb other forms of energy, such as electricity, to further magnify her strength and energy projection. As seen in Avengers (vol. 3) # 41, when augmented by enough energy, she can withstand 92 tons of pressure and strike with a similar level of force. Hank Pym theorized that probably would still not be her limit. Carol was unsure if she could absorb magical energy, but she did so when she helped Stephen Strange defeat the mystic menace William Traveler.

Binary has forced open a Shi'ar Stargate, a feat which only Firestar and hosts of the Phoenix Force have managed.

In Avengers (vol. 3) #4, Hank McCoy, the Beast, performs biological tests and theorizes that Ms. Marvel will no longer be able to access her cosmic-level powers. However, in New Avengers #17 and #18, Ms. Marvel still possesses the abilities she had as Binary, only lacking a suitable power supply to maintain them at elevated levels. While battling the sentient energy being The Collective, Ms. Marvel is struck by a bolt of energy which causes her skin to turn fiery red, a side-effect of her cosmic powers. (She displays the flaming energy corona that manifests around her head when she uses these powers.)



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« Reply #9 on: June 15, 2007, 09:50:23 pm »

"The **** of Ms. Marvel"



So I was reading this issue of Avengers, #200 to be precise. Ms. Marvel had suddenly become pregnant -- how she didn't know -- and the pregnancy had lasted only three days, but full-term. In issue #200 we had the grand birth and the revelation of Marcus (the grown baby-no-more) who said he'd wooed Ms. Marvel and won her over and impregnated her with him and la-de-da, wasn't it romantic. All the Avengers said, "Ah!" and Ms. Marvel left with Marcus to a happily-ever-after ending.

But I didn't get it. Here Ms. Marvel had been kidnapped, held for "weeks," according to the narrative provided by Marcus himself, and not been won over even though Marcus had done the A-B-C of stereotypical male-mindset romance: given her nice clothes, serenaded her with history's best musicians. Why, I bet he even gave her candy and flowers. At no time is love or respect -- not even "like" -- mentioned. But apparently she hadn't been won over because he says, "with a boost from Immortus' [mind] machines" (which he had access to), Ms. Marvel finally became his (and we may think of this being the possessive use of the word). At which point he impregnated her using non-technical techniques without her knowledge of what he was truly doing.


Okay, class, anyone see anything wrong with this?

Apparently the guy wanted foreplay before he raped her. I don't know why he couldn't have artificially impregnated her if he just had to use her body. Maybe in some twisted way he thought he was in love with Ms. M.

But the point is, it was **** and obvious **** at that. The writer had to go an extra, knowing step to add that line about mind control. If he'd just left that off, it would have merely been a fanboy romance, where the blonde and buxom heroine is swept off her feet by flowers and candy (no need for romance or love), and readily agrees to anything and everything the hero (or fanboy in clever disguise) wants.

But time went by and NO ONE said anything about the ****! Not one word besides how some readers were so happy that Ms. M had finally found a good man. I wanted to barf.

Granted, I don't presently condone the very vehement tone of the article -- really, I don't know how many Cokes I'd had before writing this, but I bet you money I'd been reading a lot of feminist literature that had me all fired up -- but besides the tone I have to agree still with my sentiments of that January in 1980 within the pages of LoC #1...
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« Reply #10 on: June 15, 2007, 09:54:54 pm »

The **** of Ms. Marvel

by Carol A. Strickland


Am I just overly sensitive, or what? I know that I have a tendency to shoot my mouth off about the role of women in comics, but shouldn't everyone be concerned when a comic displays a struttingly macho, misogynist storyline that shreds the female image apart with a smirk -- and rewards the one who did the shredding? I should think that such a story would create an uproar in fandom -- but where is there even a whisper of discontent?

I realize that females are only a small part of comics readers and fandom, but it should not just be the women who raise the roof over such a story. It should be everyone. Isn't everyone entitled to respect as a human being? Shouldn't they be against somthing that so self-consciously seeks to destroy that respect and degrade women in general by destroyinng the symbol of womankind?

Could it be that the great masses of fandom actually approved of a travesty like Avengers #200: "The Child is Father To..."?

In that issue, an all-male Marvel staff, presided by Jim Shooter and watched by the Comics Code, slaughtered Marvel's symbol of modern women, Ms. Marvel. They presented her as a victim of **** who enjoyed the process, and even wound up swooning over her rapist and joining him of her "free" will. Such a storyline might have fit into the 1950s, when people actually believed such a thing was possible -- I mean, they thought that women invited and enjoyed **** back then -- but to present such a storyline today shows a collection of medieval minds at work. Or at vicious play. For such a storyline to pass throug the echelons of editor, editor-in-chief, and Comics Code can only be a crime.

For those not familiar with Ms. Marvel, or only familiar with her from her unsatisfying stint with the Avengers, let me explain who she is relative to circumstance and character:

Most people know, if they don't truly understand, that women have been stomped on by the comics industry ever since there were comics. From the sniveling Lois Lane of Action #1 right through today's so-called "liberated" heroines (you can tell who they are by their low-cut or see-through costumes and stolen dialogue from the outdated Feminine Mystique), the male-dominated comics industry has gone out of its way to preserve the macho male and weak (or vicious) female image, ensuring the small percentage of females in their reading audience.

You'd think that in the comics of the 1980s there would be zillions of characters who were themselves first, women second, and adventurers always. But look closer; where are they? Wonder Woman is a preaching man-hater with a memory that has more holes in it than her lover has lives, if that's possible. She is a symbol of modern womanhood, supposedly, and that makes her an interesting character. Now think -- name a male comics character who is a symbol of manhood: there is none! That's because a male comics writer realizes that a symbol cannot be of real interest to a reader. But becauase women are all aliens from another planet, it's all right to make them symbols, especialy if they are misshapen cliches drawn from maligners of the women's movement, the people who designate females who want to be themselves as "bra-burners," an archaic and never-correct term.

Black Canary is less than a shadow of her man, the ultra-macho Green Arrow. The Invisible "Girl" whimpers and complains from the nearest corner while her menfolk do the fighting. The Wasp dreams of new costumes and new hunks to pester. Supergirl cries over a broken date.

These are the stalwarts of comicdom's females. The truly liberated women, those Tigras and Elasti-Girls and Black Widows, are resigned to limbo or just prolonged neglect. As of this moment in the comics industry, only Chris Claremont is portraying a modern woman -- and he manages to do it with every one of them entrusted to his care. People may not agree with all that he is doing, but they must agree that he is lightyears beyond the other writers (even Jo Duffy, who is next in line to him), and that is a very sad picture of comics. This is the Nineteen-Eighties, folks. But who would believe it, to look at the state of comics?

Back in '72 Marvel had created a trio of books designed to hook the female audience: the insipid Night Nurse, the violent and poorly-written Shanna the She-Devil, and the interesting Claws of the Cat, written by Linda Fite and drawn (in its first issue) by Marie Severin and Wally Wood. The Cat was a fascinating character, even if she was a bit heavy-handed in places. But like many a TV series, the book was given only a few shots to make it. Cat #4 was the last issue. The concept was later reincarnated as the vapid Hellcat, whose costume-derived powers were never explained. The original Cat's powers came from scientific treatment and training, but the Hellcat merely put on her emblemless costume to be super. I suppose women can't really be expected to train at anything, but must rely on chance to give them the skills they need to make it in the real world.

In 1974 the Cat was revamped in a different fashion: she was mutated into a horror-genre Cat creature named Tigra. When given a solo shot in Marvel Chillers a year later, she surprised everyone by becoming a stylish, snappy-pattered heroine whose future could have been bright. But she was bogged down in a five-issue continued story, and if anything will lose a reader's interest faster than a multiple-issue tryout story, I don't know what it is. Tigra and the Cat-People have been forgotten by Marvel except in two team-up stories since then. Surely such a sparkling, weird hero should be popular in today's menagerie of sought-after non-humans like the X-Men, Hulk, et al.



1976. Marvel decided to try to cash in on the "liberation craze" yet again with a new spin-off from the popular Captain Marvel to be called Ms. Marvel. She would, like the Cat, be a symbol of the liberated woman. They plastered the words "This Female Fights Back!" on the cover and bared a lovely blonde woman's navel -- thus began Ms. Marvel. For the same number of beginning issues, both the Cat and Tigra had Ms. M beat hands down. But for some reason Ms. Marvel stuck with it. There was a shuffle of writers; Chris Claremont admits that he didn't give Ms. Marvel his entire attention at first. Thus it was that Marvel's own origin remained a jumbled mess until almost her twentieth isuse.


 Once Mr. Claremont settled into his job, though, Ms. Marvel began to do things. Things few, if any, women characters (or men, for that matter!) had done before. While her first adventures had been composed of the obligatory fight scenes upon more fight scenes, now her stories began to have plots, now her life as a hero was being tied into her life as a civilian. By the time Carol covered her navel in a Cockrumized costume, the comic had hit new heights of interest in plotline and artwork. Notice I didn't add "for a heroine" there. That's because Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum were both looking at Ms. Marvel as a person -- a beautiful, female person, yes, but a super-hero above all! There is only one drawback to this duo of issues: that existing artwork was changed from showing Carol Danvers (Ms. Marvel's alter-ego) in sensible desert-exploring wear to having her in a midriff-exposing blouse. The Word was to make her more sexy, attract more male readers not so they'd get hooked on Ms. Marvel's electric characterization, but so the comic could become a Code-approved girlie mag.

Ms. Marvel was mature, powerful, intense and sure of herself.


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« Reply #11 on: June 15, 2007, 10:00:37 pm »

The Aftermath
Okay, we can all agree that the issue depicted ****, and that it was deliberately thrown in, probably to get back at a "liberated" woman.

And that there was no negative reaction to it except, seemingly, mine.

I never saw the next issue of LoC, but it seems to me that someone did loan me issue #3, and I remember reading reactions to my article that, summed up, told me that I needed to get laid to get my head on straight. So I continued to think that I was the only one who had recognized this as ****, had recognized the fact that **** is a bad thing, and that Marvel was the personification of the Anti-Christ. Well, that they needed to improve, let's put it that way.



And then came Avengers Annual #10, 1981, written by Chris Claremont.

In the story, Spider-Woman rescues Carol Danvers, who has been mind-wiped by Rogue (this was back in the days when Rogue was a middle-aged hick maniac instead of a sweet young Southern waif). The X-Men get called in (it was an Annual, after all) and Carol winds up recuperating at Professor Xavier's, where the Avengers pay her a visit.

To my extremely pleasant surprise, Carol berates them for leaving her in the lurch. Although the word "****" is never used, the story did concentrate on that "subtle boost from Immortus' machines" line to heavily imply it. It actually seems to sink in to some of the Avengers' minds that **** might not be good. That a woman might be injured in many ways by it.

It was great to know that others had seen Ms. Marvel's plight and had apparently been as pissed off as I had about it.







Then one day in a fit of X-Men frenzy, I bought and actually read The X-Men Companion II (of course I had volume 1 as well), copyright Fantagraphics Books, Inc. 1982, and dropped the book in shock when I got to page 23 of the Chris Claremont interview. He's talking about the portrayal of women in comics:


Avengers #199, where Carol Danvers is introduced to the Avengers, and they're told that in two days she has become eight months pregnant by an unknown father, or by force of persons unknown, and the reaction of the entire crowd, men and women both, is to the effect of: "Can I babysit?" "Can we knit booties?" "Can I make cookies for the baby?" "Oh you must be so happy?" and my reaction was, "What an insensitive crowd of boors." Actually, my reaction was a lot stronger than that. But how callous! How cruel! How unfeeling! Considering that these people must have seen Ms. Marvel only a couple of days before, or even a couple of months before. She wasn't pregnant then. How could she be eight months pregnant now? Now, if that had been the point David [Michelinie] was trying to make, that these other Avengers are callous boors, okay then, I may disagree with the point, but if he followed through on it, it would have made sense. But it seemed to me, looking at the story, looking at the following story, that he was going for: "This is how you respond to a pregnancy."

As Carol [Strickland] pointed out in her article in LOC [#1}, women tend to get very short shrift in comics. They are either portrayed as wallflowers or as supermacho insensitive men with different body forms, who almost invariably feel guilty about their lack of femininity. And it's always seemed to me that, why does this have to be exclusive? Can you not have a woman who is ruthless and capable and courageous and articulate and intelligent and all the other buzz-words -- heroic when the need arises, and yet feminine and gentle and compassionate, at others? That was what I tried to do with Ms. Marvel. I tried to create a character who had all the attributes that made her a top-secret agent yet at the same time was a compassionate, warm, humorous, witty, intelligent, attractive woman.


Of course, Star Trek: The Next Generation did a story where they Ms. Marveled Deanna Troi, giving her an instant pregnancy. But this time the entity that did it wasn't human, didn't know anything about humans, and so it was forgiveable, although she seemed entirely too calm, too accepting of the whole ordeal to me. But then I never really did understand Troi much anyway. She was so wishy-washy until the very final seasons. (Oh, how I wished she could be more like her mother!)

And of course, DC Comics had its own liberated female super-heroine, the equivalent of Ms. Marvel: Power Girl. So what did they do? Impregnated her without her knowing who the father was. Oh, they left off the **** part but they added incest -- weren't they cute?

You win some, you lose some. But most of the time you just hope that some people will grow up. Apparently some comics writers still don't know (1) that women are human and (2) which century we're living in.

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« Reply #12 on: June 15, 2007, 10:08:55 pm »

 
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the Dread Dormammu
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« Reply #13 on: May 20, 2009, 01:12:22 pm »



Ms. Marvel features on the cover of Ms. Marvel vol. 2, #1 (March 2006). Art by Frank Cho.
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the Dread Dormammu
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« Reply #14 on: May 20, 2009, 01:12:41 pm »

Ms. Marvel[1] is the name of a fictional character appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Roy Thomas and designed by artist Gene Colan, the non-powered Carol Danvers debuted as a member of the US Air Force in Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (1968) and as Ms. Marvel — a fusion of alien Kree and human genes — in Ms. Marvel #1 (1977). Writer Gerry Conway played a significant role in the character's subsequent development, who created her as the modern woman's "quest for raised consciousness, for self-liberation, for identity."[2
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