Category Archives: Analysis

Nyota Uhura’s Rising Star

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by Anika

The following analysis contains many spoilers for the film Star Trek Into Darkness.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura are the new Kirk, Spock and McCoy.

  • The posters that feature multiple characters feature the villain, Kirk, Spock and Uhura.
  • The intersecting relationships between these three take up the most screen time and are the most developed in the dialogue and story.
  • They go together on the away mission to Kronos and have a heart to heart, that starts with bickering, on the way down. That’s a classic Kirk, Spock and McCoy move.
  • When Spock dies in Wrath of Khan, Scotty and McCoy are there to support Kirk; when Kirk dies in Into Darkness, Scotty and Uhura are there to support Spock.
  • Uhura tells Spock to give into his rage and go after Khan.
  • Uhura beams down to assist Spock in capturing Khan and convey the message that Kirk could be saved.
  • During Kirk’s speech at the end the camera pans to Spock, then Uhura, then everyone else in a group shot.
  • In nearly the last shot of the film, when Kirk asks Spock where they should go first, Uhura steps into the shot just long enough to be framed as The Trinity.
  • Zoë Saldaña has third billing in the cast list.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura are the new Kirk, Spock and McCoy and it’s awesome. It’s also important. It’s important because Nyota Uhura is a woman of color. If that sounds simplistic or insignificant to you, you are probably not a woman or an underrepresented minority (which in Hollywood is basically everyone who is not a straight, white male).

Uhura is a character who has had quantifiable importance to our society. She has fans in the space program, the entertainment industry, and the White House. She is more than a character, more even than an inspiration, she is a symbol of how far we can go. This is the next logical step.

Kirk and Spock

The rebooted Star Trek universe revolves around the love story of James Kirk and his Vulcan first officer. In the 2009 film the villain has a vendetta against Spock which results in the total destruction of his planet but Spock Prime puts the ghost of his friendship with Kirk ahead of any other agenda. Both Kirk and Spock tell Spock Prime that his word would have set Spock on the course of action they wanted him to take without necessitating an emotional breakdown but that wasn’t good enough for Spock Prime. From a vulcan point of view, it was not the most logical decision. But from a human point of view it’s easy to understand. Spock Prime lost everything; he failed his mission, he lost his family and his timeline, and then his planet blew up in front of him. He lost everything and he couldn’t fix it. But the universe sent him Jim Kirk and he could fix that. And in fixing it, he fixed himself, too, because their relationship was the most defining of his life.

The idea of family as something we create rather than something we are born to is a main theme in this second film and the relationship between Kirk and Spock takes center stage again. From the near death scene in the volcano to the death scene in Engineering, Kirk’s honest desperation for Spock to understand the depth and complexity — and simplicity — of their relationship bookends the action of the film. Throughout the history of these characters, Spock has embodied the struggle to accept and assert their true feelings. As a vulcan, his emotions are not supposed to be evident. But in this film Kirk has an even greater advantage: he melded with Spock Prime. He knows firsthand how strong those feelings are. Spock Prime told Spock James Kirk was his greatest friend, but Kirk got to feel it. When Spock tells Uhura and Kirk that he suppresses his feelings because they are too strong to feel, Kirk realizes it is the absolute truth.

Spock and Uhura

In the original series, Kirk and McCoy are already friends when we join them on the Enterprise. In the first rebooted film, Spock and Uhura are already a couple when we join them on the Enterprise.

Quite a lot has been written about whether or not her relationship with Spock serves the character of Uhura, or women in the Star Trek universe in general. These are valid questions. The romance takes away from Uhura’s status as an independent woman with no ties to a man or relationship. I do not agree with the opinions that the romance makes her less interesting, less important, more whiny, or too much of a girl (frankly, that last one is just offensive). But I understand the concern behind the complaints.

Regardless, the relationship is established, and it is important to both characters. Clearly, Uhura’s romantic relationship with Spock is different from McCoy’s playfully antagonistic relationship with Spock — however it is based in the same conflict of hidden emotion. Uhura wants clear communication of feelings and Spock was raised to avoid them.

Kirk and Uhura

I absolutely love the relationship that has evolved between Kirk and Uhura. It was cute in the first film, but it was based on Kirk’s conquest of Uhura (which is gross). Now he doesn’t see her as something to win.

After Pike’s death Kirk ordered Spock, McCoy and Scotty out of his sight rather than listen to their concerns about his mission and his state of mind. But he opened up to Uhura. And she was bolstered in turn to pull Spock into a conversation about their relationship with Kirk as witness. They have each other’s back without even realizing it. Like siblings they have organically developed a shared language that allows them to communicate with shrugs and pointed looks and half phrases. They bicker and they flirt and they bond because they love Spock. And they understand, without discussing it, that no one else loves Spock the way they do.

Kirk, Spock and Uhura

Along with the concept of found family, the value of feelings is a central theme of the film. It’s most clear in Spock’s story arc, but many characters struggle with and/or exhibit strong emotions. Harewood’s feelings for his daughter and wife lead to his complicity in Khan’s attack. Pike’s paternal feelings for Kirk lead to Kirk’s second chance. The loss of Pike drives Kirk to push away Spock, Bones, and Scotty in succession; Uhura’s acknowledgement of those feelings prompts him to open up to her. Carol appeals to her father’s feelings in her attempt to save the Enterprise. Tears fall down the cheeks of Kirk, Khan, and Spock. Kirk makes multiple impassioned speeches about trusting his gut feelings over any amount of logic or regulation.

But it’s most clear in Spock’s arc. An arc that starts with his peaceful acceptance of imminent death that requires a complete emotional shutdown and ends with a literal murderous rampage through the streets and skies of San Francisco. Which event best serves Spock and the story? The answer is transparent to anyone who cares to understand Spock: neither suppression nor surrender but balance. And it is through Kirk and Uhura, the two people there at each leg of the journey, that Spock finally accepts that truth.

In the end, three things are required for emotional balance, which is in turn a foundation for love and family: passion (Kirk), restraint (Spock), and communication (Uhura).

McCoy

Kirk, to Spock: You saved me.
McCoy: Uhura and I had something to do with it, too.

I saw Star Trek Into Darkness twice its opening weekend. I came up with this thesis after the first viewing and in the second I realized Dr. McCoy is a part of the Kirk, Spock and X trinity more than I’d thought. Still, my thesis was not derailed since the scenes most directly tied to the themes of the film (found family and the value of feelings) included Uhura, not McCoy — and if I didn’t notice or remember McCoy’s presence in certain instances, clearly those were not the instances of greatest significance.

That’s not to say McCoy is not significant. Certainly his friendship with Kirk is secure and important, and he got to banter with Spock and Sulu and Carol Marcus. His significance to the plot is obvious: he saved Kirk’s life. McCoy has not been tossed aside in favor of Uhura by either the characters or the narrative, but she has claimed the spot at the top, between Kirk and Spock.

Uhura is one third of the central trinity of Star Trek and that is important and that is good. But it is not quite good enough. Women are less than one-third of the central or background characters in Star Trek and by rights they should be half. So keep climbing, Nyota!

Shoujoverse manga roundup: “The Magical Girl: Part 2”

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by Marie

Cardcaptor Sakura

It is a truth universally acknowledged by TV Tropes that the Magical Girl genre would be incomplete without a discussion of Cardcaptor Sakura. A quick perusal of site would reveal that not only did they choose her as the genre’s banner girl, but also gave her the silver medal for being its second most popular icon following Sailor Moon. And that’s a tough act to follow.

Cardcaptor Sakura is one of the most well known titles from the all-female manga artist group, CLAMP—whom I mentioned in my last post as the creators of Magic Knight Rayearth. Some fun facts include the group’s humble beginnings as a doujinshi circle (doujinshi meaning “self-published” or “amateur” manga). In any case, it seems that you can’t think about CLAMP without thinking of Cardcaptor Sakura either. In fact, those characters have endured so well that they were reincarnated for titles like Tsubasa (see pic below).

Like most adolescents winding down from Pokemon fever, I tuned in to the Kids WB during the weekends to see what other anime was out there (weekdays afterschool were reserved for the Toonami block). Cardcaptor Sakura (renamed Cardcaptors for American audiences) was one of the shows that fit my bill and paid with interest. It was also one of the few instances I had growing up where watching the anime influenced me to read the manga.

As to my opinion on which medium is better, I think that depends on the amount of depth you’re looking for. As TV Tropes is quick to point out, the manga only featured 19 cards while the anime featured 52 (a full deck). This invited roles to have more dimension, storylines to branch further out, and feature anime-exclusive characters like Meiling. However, one could argue that despite the expansion, the anime’s English dub was lacking in depth overall since its ruthless censorship eliminated much of the backstory.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with either the manga or the anime, Cardcaptor Sakura is the story of a young girl who comes across a set of magical items known as Clow Cards. After accidentally releasing the entities that were sealed inside them, it becomes her responsibility to re-capture them before they wreak havoc in the town that she lives in. As I’ve mentioned before, this kind of mystical endowment echoes a lot of Magical Girl titles aside from Sailor Moon. Often, the heroine doesn’t choose to be who she is, but rather she’s “forced” into her role by way of moral obligation.

This kind of moral obligation acts as the inciting incident for other shoujo manga—Fushigu Yuugi, The Vision of Escaflowne, and of course Inuyasha come to mind. Like Revolutionary Girl Utena, these titles tend to be classified as more Action/Adventure genres or Fantasy/Romance versus Magical Girl. To be honest, I’m not sure how the lines for each genre are drawn. But I think it’s safe to say that each of these titles–CardCaptor
Sakura included—add to the shoujo milieu in rich ways that are often overlooked. What other genre, for example, would portray same-sex relationships or transgender identities without the stigma that we would normally see elsewhere?

It’s easy to see why Sakura fits the Magical Girl genre to a tee. In addition to called attacks, glamorous transformation sequences, and an adorable otherworldly companion, she has a wardrobe full of fantastical outfits that predate Lady Gaga. She’s a very young protagonist as well—younger than Sailor Moon since her adventures begin as early as elementary school. Nevertheless, she’s a heroine that’s determined and a friend that’s just as compassionate.

Perhaps what sets Sakura apart from her predecessor was the emphasis on the strength of the individual versus the strength of the whole group. Sure, Sakura had her allies and supporters— but she often could only rely herself to carry out the plot’s major turning points. And that kind of proactive self-confidence (especially in a protagonist that’s so young) is definitely something I can get behind.

W.I.T.C.H.

One of the best things that made Sailor Moon such a fun series was the ability pick which Sailor Scout you were. Each of the Scouts had their own specific personality traits, but they were still universal enough to largely appeal to their demographic. For me, it was always hard to choose. At the time, I think I picked a different Sailor Scout every week.

Obviously, this idiosyncrasy carries over to other Magical Girl titles. In fact, I feel that it plays a major factor in why Magical Girl titles are so popular. W.I.T.C.H., an Italian comic series published by Disney Italia, is definitely a Magical Girl title that has this criterion. I think it’s also a title worth mentioning given that it made in Europe and therefore integrates a lot of shoujo influences.

First published in April 2001, the series was created by Alessandro Barbucci, Barbara Cenpa, and Elisabetta Gnone. The series concluded last year in October. There was an animated adaptation as well, which aired on Jetix. It might be worth noting that the television series varies largely from the comic book series, and the fandom is generally divided on which was better. Personally, I feel that one’s loyalty depends on which medium you were exposed to first.

The story follows five teenage protagonists who are chosen to become the Guardians of Kandrakar (an “ethereal” dimension that exists at the center of our universe). Again, one can note that theme of mystical endowment. These girls are charged with protecting Kandrakar from its enemies and are thus granted the powers of five elements: earth, air, fire, water, and “quintessence” (energy). These elements can be combined or work in tandem to achieve different effects. The full potential of their powers are also affected by whether or not the team is in harmony. Their names Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin form the acronym W.I.T.C.H.

The comic book series progresses over the course of many different sagas, with each arc featuring the kinds of storylines that are reserved for high fantasy novels. There are other kingdoms, other worlds, and other guardians that have their own intrigues, high stakes, and of course great drama—both in high school and otherwise. That’s another reason why I think Magical Girl genres are so popular: it’s hard not to like a heroine that has to deal with saving the world and then have to study for a Chem final afterwards.

That being said, I think it’s a good series for young fans to get into, especially if they’re still trying to get their feet wet!

Whedonverse comics roundup: Willow

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by Gabby

“The Body” is the first episode I’ve ever watched of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I was in the 6th grade. I knew what the show was, having caught a few minutes here of there. But that night, I switched the TV on, and “The Body” was starting. I was transfixed by what I saw on the screen. It was like walking into a room where two people are having a very intense conversation; I knew I shouldn’t be watching, but I couldn’t look away.

I don’t remember much details from that first viewing. I didn’t watch another episode of BtVS until four years ago when I decided to start from the beginning.

The one thing I remember very vividly is Willow not knowing what to wear. I remember thinking: “I would have no idea what to wear if someone close to me died”.

And with that, Willow became my favorite character. My love for her wormed its way into my subconscious from that moment on, ensuring that when I began my BtVS marathon in earnest all my attention would be focused on her.

Through the series, Willow underwent many transformations without losing what I find makes her her: her yearning to always do the right thing.

There’s just one problem: the “right thing” is a highly subjective concept, and Willow, as we have come to know her, is a very self-centered person. The major decisions she has taken in her life have always had a self-serving purpose: tweaking Tara’s memory to make her forget their fights, bringing Buffy back to life because she couldn’t stand to live without her, always searching to absorb magic to make her more powerful… All under the guise of “doing the right thing”.

The last time we saw Willow was in the pages of Angel & Faith. She was leaving Quor’toth in a quest to bring magic back to Earth after the Seed of Wonder’s destruction by Buffy at the end of Buffy: Season 8. This is where her miniseries, that ran from November 2012 to March 2013, picks up.

I’ll proceed a little differently from my usual Whedonverse recap & reviews. I won’t be splitting this piece by issue, but by “parts”, that I feel flow better with the story.

PART 1: Marrack and the first attempt

From Quor’toth, Willow follows a magical trail that brings her to a foreign dimension. She wishes to find a source of magic so potent that, using the scythe, she will be able to shoot some magic into the Earth. In this new realm, she meets Marrack, a human turned demon-like after he got stuck following the end of magic on Earth. Immediately, it is established that Willow and Marrack have two very different objectives: she wants to bring magic back to Earth and share it with everyone, while he wants to seize it for himself, for power and vengeance.

Already, though, Willow feels the need to proclaim that she’s not doing it for herself:

This is something of a running theme in Willow’s life: magic has always been her weakness, and while she craves it, she knows to be weary of it, for Dark Willow is just around the corner. This is something that will become central in this story. We’ll get back to it.

With an incantation, a trail of fire seems to lead to a magical source. By following it, they find a pond with mystical properties, guarded by a Lewis-Carol-esque caterpillar. At first, they think they’ve found the magical reserve their looking for; however, the pond is the “Spring of memory”, and this brings us to the second central theme of the miniseries. Memory is a concept that resonates with me. I’ve always found “moments”, be they in TV shows or in real life, to be very powerful things. When I remember a specific moment, or watch one, the feelings and thoughts I had while experiencing it for the first time flood my mind. I think it’s the closest thing to time travel that we presently have. The caterpillar echoes this sentiment when he says:

“Whatever we do, wherever we go… Our memories are all we really have, you know?”

When Willow drinks from the pond, every defining moment of her life is depicted in a wonderful full page spread, and just seeing those drawings brought tears to my eyes.

The caterpillar encourages the travellers to carry a canteen of this water, and, after fighting some nasty demons, the pair is off to follow the path once more. As they explore, the dichotomy between Marrack and Willow’s philosophies increases, as Willow chastises the demon, saying that if she chooses his path (of disregard for others and roughness), she will get all “black eyed and terrifying”. But yet, the caterpillar has parting words:

“Energy is released by opposing forces. The lights casts thick shadows, and the path of righteousness employs very dark gatekeepers”.

Could it be that Willow needs this Marrack person to achieve her goal? At this point in the story, I thought so. After all, Willow overcame her darkness in Quor’toth and clearly symbolises the light, whereas Marrack embraces the dark.

But it’s about to get a lot more complex than that, as they come upon no other than Aluwyn, the Saga Vasuki.

Part 2: Aluwyn and the second attempt

After finding Aluwyn and some other mystical witches, Marrack and Willow enter the “Witches paradise”, a place surrounding a magical waterfall that house witches from all the realms. Willow is sure that the deep well of magic is here, so she wastes no time and slices through the waterfall with the scythe; but it doesn’t work. Aluwyn tells Willow that for her idea to work, there needs to be magic on the other side, too.

Willow, desperate, slashes at the waterfall until Marrack interrupts by grabbing the scythe. This move angers Aluwyn, and the witches cast out the man from their sacred place.

Now, there’s room for Willow to explore some of the things the witches can offer her to try and bring magic back to Earth. A mirror supposed to bring answers gives her a glimpse of Marrack which confuses her. A sea creature gives her snapshots of the meaning of her life, where she understands that there is good in everything, and evil, too, but the thoughts escape her as she moves away from the creature.

But as Willow involves herself more and more into this magical sisterhood, her memories start to fade. She even says that “parts of her old life are disappearing”, and a witch says that her own old life seems like a life lived by someone else. It is here that Willow faces her biggest challenge yet. She has found what she is looking for: a place with magic. Her selfish nature is brought back to the surface, as she moves further and further away from the goal of her quest. I start to wonder, was she *really* hoping to bring magic back to Earth for an altruistic purpose?

After Aluwyn and Willow spend a “magical” night together, Willow falls asleep dreaming a peaceful dream, only to be awaken by Marrack who’s wormed his way into her dream. There, he gives her the awakening that she needs: he tells her she’s doing what she swore she wouldn’t (abusing magic, though in a different way that she’s used to). He shows her the faces of the people she intended to save:

But it doesn’t have the desired effect, because she wakes up saying that he’s a liar. However, it does plant a seed of doubt.

You see, Willow has to “feel” things. Unlike me, where only thinking about or seeing a moment sends me back to that place, Willow has to experience them with her senses, submerge herself in them.

And that’s what happens when, thirsty, she reaches for her canteen containing the “Spring of memory water”. Here, I become weary of Aluwyn, as she wants to stop Willow from drinking it, after removing her scythe from her. But she drinks it anyway, and that’s when she feels, thus remembers, all of the people she meant to save.

We learn that Aluwyn, trickster god that she is, wanted Willow for herself, as well as giving her what Aluwyn thought she needed. After Willow confronts her, they somewhat make up, and she’s now ready to embark on her final journey. Having now remembered all that she needed to in order to complete her quest, she needs to settle one last thing.

Has she convinced herself that she wants to share the power? Is she fully entrenched in the “light”, and now needs to find the “dark” to bring back magic to Earth? Or is it something else entirely?

Part 3: Willow and the third attempt

So Willow heads off to find Marrack, as he’s the only person so far as motivated as herself to achieve the task they’d set out to do. They cast an incantation and reach a realm full of pure magic.

Willow sits down, ready to absorb all the magic and “become the light”. And this is where it gets interesting. Willow has been trying so hard, ever since the beginning of season 7, to keep Dark Willow at bay, suppressing every impulse she had that reminded her of “that time”, a lot like Angel does with Angelus. But Dark Willow isn’t like Angelus; she doesn’t exist outside of Willow. She *is* Willow, albeit a very dangerous and uncontrollable one. But every time Dark Willow popped up, it’s because Willow was in a very bad emotional or physical place.

Here, in this far removed realm, she finally understands that she embodies both dark and light, and none of them at the same time: she’s just Willow, and all the spectrum of herself that comes with it.

So now that we understand that Willow is the key to bringing magic back to Earth all by herself, what is Marrack’s purpose? If he doesn’t act as Willow’s foil, what is he, exactly?

As it turns out, he’s a physical manifestation of a very bad memory: Rack, the junkie that helped her feed her addiction in season 6. They get at each others throats, and as Rack slices the air with the scythe trying to harm Willow, he unveils a heart entangled in a web of veins and arteries floating in a starlit sky. They fight some more, as the heart sends forth ripples of energy, and Willow uses this to fully embrace the new-found revelation that she’s making great strides at becoming less of a selfish person:

Rack is finally defeated, but by something a little odd that looks like white blood cells. Sure enough, Willow is floating in the “embodiment of magic”. It reflects what she’s beginning to understand:

I love this. I feel like it redeems season 6’s Willow for me, as I now more fully understand the motivations behind her addiction, and her subsequent “dark magic rampage”. I always felt like it was a ploy, a bad metaphor pushed too far for drug addiction. But seen in the light of Willow as a selfish person, that can’t accept the bad parts of herself and has to feel things to really be alive and remember the important facets of her life, it changes my perspective. If anything, the miniseries exposed more sides of the Willow I always thought of as my favorite character without really knowing why, and gave me a reason to love her.

As she herself comes to these realization, the heart gives her a gift; for magic to exist on Earth, it can’t be funneled from somewhere else. It only lives where it is inherent. So the “embodiment of magic” fills Willow’s heart with magic, as she will become the vessel of magic that the Earth needs. As she gazes at our home planet from the stars, she wonders at San Francisco and proclaims that she misses her Scoobies…

Embodiment of magic: You missed them while still among them. Will that remain a problem?
Willow: … No.
Embodiment of Magic: Then the power you sought is within you.
Willow: But I don’t know what to do with it.
Embodiment of Magic: No? Now you can find out.

As Willow walks down the streets of San Francisco, she understands that, as the only person on Earth possessing magic, she needs to share it. And as she walks past a little boy, her magic floats through him, and he starts drawing something beautiful and fantastical where there was a blank slate before.

With the end of this miniseries comes the end of my Whedonverse comics roundup for Buffy: Season 9. If you haven’t been catching up on Angel & Faith or Buffy, you’re missing some real interesting guest stars, beautiful art, a gay self-made slayer and a certain englishman who is almost-resurrected.

What did you think of this miniseries? And what about that cover art, eh? David Mack is a genius.

Shoujoverse manga roundup: “The Magical Girl: Part 1”

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by Marie

First, what is shoujo manga?

I’ve always been called a Girly Girl.

True, I like dresses. I like make-up. I like shoes. I like waving my arms around to catchy pop songs (because I don’t really know how to dance). I also like glitter and I’m not afraid to admit it—at least, not anymore.

My guilty pleasure.

In middle school, I walked around with a plastic Spice Girls pencil case and a Lisa Frank trapper keeper (mine had the unicorn). It was a time when the phrase “Girl Power” was said without irony. I wore big-ass bows in my hair and I was also still shamelessly into Disney princesses. Like I mentioned in a previous article, I can still recite the entire script of Beauty and the Beast verbatim. It wasn’t exactly my best party trick, but then I didn’t have many party tricks to begin with—or parties to go to.

It doesn’t take a genius to calculate how much I was picked on for enjoying the things that made me happy. To continue with that metaphor, the torture was exponential. So in the midst of my adolescent angst, I turned to shoujo for refuge. Finally, I thought. Here was a genre that not only “got me”, but validated who I was at the time. At first glance, shoujo seems to be the epitome of what can be culturally considered as “Girly.” Young girls are, after all, its target demographic. Just as young boys are the target demographic of shounen.

My refuge (though I don’t actually own these shelves).

When some people think “Girly Girl”, they usually think “vain and shallow.” Girly Girls tend to be the Mean Girls in teen dramas: they’re superficial, territorial, and ultimately ineffectual. They‘re vacuous in that they tend not to think beyond managing their image. Their antics are childish and so are their goals.

Now, this doesn’t mean that I’m vilifying anyone that’s not considered “Girly Girl.” In fact, I find the term “Tomboy” as equally off-putting. I’m just saying that the subject of femininity is an arena that goes beyond petty labels—and that such labels shouldn’t exist in the first place. Can’t girls just be who they are whether they’re into the “cutesy” stuff or not?

Shoujo was what first brought me to that conclusion.

What is Magical Girl manga?

My initial foray into shoujo was Sailor Moon, which is often considered as the title that popularized the Magical Girl subgenre and brought it to the West. Sailor Moon really deserves a post of its own—and it will during one of our next Skipping to Conclusions series! But for now, the main focus of this post will be on the Magical Girl subgenre itself, since I consider it one of shoujo’s most easily recognized icons.

From the Magical Girl Project. Check them out on Tumblr!

In a lot of ways, the Magical Girl subgenre could be viewed as an insult to young girls. Its critics usually pan it for all the “cutesy” weird stuff: bright colors, cheesy pop songs, over the top costumes, campy dialogue, talking animals, and unusually well endowed twelve-year-olds. And yea, I can’t argue that there’s some pretty bad stuff out there. But isn’t that true of all genres (or subgenres for that matter)?

The point is, there’s some good stuff out there too—and I consider it my duty to list them off throughout this roundup series and represent them properly.

So what exactly are the characteristics of Magical Girl manga? For starters, there’s usually:

  • A young heroine or group of young heroines.
  • An emphasis on friendship and its ability to sustain.
  • Magic and/or a transformation; an alter-ego.

According to Wikipedia, Magical Girls can generally be divided into four archetypes:

  • The Cute Witch.
  • The Idol Performer.
  • The Warrior Woman.
  • The Phantom Thief.

The next titles I plan to talk about fall under the Warrior Woman archetype. While this action-oriented archetype could easily be dismissed as “Barbie with a Sword”—which would actually be kind of awesome—there’s a lot more to it than that. Whatever superhuman abilities the Warrior Woman has, she is paradoxically the most emotionally vulnerable. Her “transformation” is not so much about quirkily named attacks as it is about finding inner-strength. This is further complicated by the fact that more often than not, her “transformation” was never intentional but the result of an accident. Therefore, the first title I’d like to introduce is:

Revolutionary Girl Utena

Now that’s a Barbie with a Sword!

This series follows its titular character Utena who, after a life-altering encounter with a valiant prince, makes it her dream to marry one.

Just kidding.

What actually happens is that she decides to become a valiant prince. With this goal in mind, she transfers to the prestigious Ohtori Academy where her ambitions become entangled with swordfights, storybook characters, and a nefarious student council that holds the secret to a world-changing power. You know, typical high school stuff.

But don’t be fooled by the short shorts and the long pink hair. Utena establishes herself as a formidable opponent, both as a duelist and as a loyal friend. As a protagonist, she appears to embody both feminine and masculine traits. This also manifests itself in the way that she dresses, since she insists on wearing a male uniform at school.

One of the inciting incidents in the first volume is Utena’s attainment of the “Sword of Dios” and her engagement to Anshii Himemiya, the “Rose Bride.” Her connection to both can grant her the power to revolutionize the world, as long as she can defend her title from other duelists. But her connection to both is unwitting and before she knows it, she’s caught up in a game she had no intention of playing.

Suffice to say, the topics of gender and sexuality have a kind of fluid, even omniscient presence throughout the series. In fact, the series itself is can be considered highly allegorical and metaphysical—especially in later arcs. But rather than take away focus from the story, I think these topics add more depth. There are many examples of complex issues. For instance, Anshii Himemiya is an extremely shy and passive student that considers herself a possession. She resigns herself to obeying whoever happens to “win” her without question. Obviously, this goes against Utena’s chivalrous principles and becomes one of the many obstacles in her quest to emulate the prince she admires so deeply.

That being said, I feel that Revolutionary Girl Utena is also an extremely subversive title. In many ways, it works to deconstruct not only the Magical Girl genre, but also the entirety of shoujo. Yet in doing so, this title still adds many layers in the form of providing different perspectives. Regardless, it’s definitely one that I would recommend.

Magic Knight Rayearth

So now that I’ve had a chance to talk about female princes, it only makes sense that I mention female knights too. And make no mistake: these are girls with a destiny. In the same vein as Utena, these knights are tasked with saving a princess as well as a world on the brink of destruction. Dramatic, insensate, and apocalyptic evil tend to be a common trope in many Magical Girl titles. Ornately crafted armor that seems in tune with some kind of element is also a common trope, as seen below:

On a tangential note, I love the manga-creator team, CLAMP for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was their most popular title Cardcaptor Sakura—whom I will also hopefully get to comment on in future posts! But since Magic Knight Rayearth was my first introduction to the ever-expanding CLAMPverse, I felt that I couldn’t resist. In any case, what follows is the annotated version of the plot.

The story follows three protagonists: Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi. Initially, the girls aren’t even friends and don’t even go to the same school. They just happen to run into one another on a school field trip. Out of nowhere, they are swallowed by a strange light and are spirited away to the world of Cephiro. Here, the three girls discover that they are the Magic Knights of Legend and that they were summoned by Cephiro’s princess to help save her dying world.

From left to right: Fuu, Umi, and Hikaru.

Remember how I mentioned a dramatic, insensate, and apocalyptic evil tends to be a common trope? Ever stop and think why this evil tends to pitted against a bunch of high school girls? In fact, when the villain first catches wind of their presence, he calls them “a bunch of children.” Even allies call them this. But I think one of the most compelling elements of the Magical Girl genre is the staggering odds the main characters often face, yet somehow are able overcome. They mature throughout their arcs, but maintain their innocence.

Moreover, this is one of those titles that emphasize female friendships, rather than female rivalries. This is also something that I think the Magical Girl genre does very well, especially when the main characters form a team (sometimes colloquially referred to as senshi, Hikaru, Fuu, and Umi each have their own distinct personalities and balance each other out fairly well. In other words, you can regard them all as equals and what’s not to like about that?

So In Conclusion…

I’ll admit that both of these titles are little “out-of-the-box” in that they mix elements from other genres such as Mecha and Parallel World Fantasy. One could even argue that these shows succeed because they incorporate more shounen elements than they do shoujo. This month, I plan to post on something more “traditional”, whether it be a title like Pretty Cure or Tokyo Mew Mew. Like I mentioned earlier, my next post under our Skipping to Conclusions series will involve the reboot of Sailor Moon. So stay tuned!

In the meantime, I would love to hear what your favorite Magical Girl titles are.

Lupercalia!

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Hello all! Today’s post is something we cooked up in honor of Lupercalia, the ancient Roman festival traditionally celebrated on the 15th of the kalends of March. For those in the audience not fluent in the calendars of ancient civilizations (how could you not be?), that means February 15th!

Now, unless you are/were a classics major or spent a good deal of time in the Remus Lupin section of the Harry Potter fandom, this holiday probably means nothing to you. Well, for the sake of clarification (and for re-living my (Sara’s) glory days in the Remus Lupin section of the Harry Potter fandom), Lupercalia is a fertility festival primarily and an homage to Lupa, the she-wolf that suckled Remus and Romulus, founders of Rome.

The ritual involves scantily dressed men running through the hills of Rome, where the women congregate in hopes of being smacked by the goat hides that the scantily dressed men are waving around. This was to guarantee fertility and prosperity.

an artist's rendition of a Lupercalia ceremony

I know what you’re all thinking. How could we have let this tradition die out?!

Unless we didn’t let it die out and there is a small faction of pagan Roman enthusiasts that recreate this ritual in the West Village every year.

Hey, every time I go to the West Village, there are scantily dressed men running around beating people with cloth.

Although, they are mostly hitting other men and the cloth isn’t so much cloth as it is vegan leather bondage whips. And, come to think of it, fertility really isn’t the goal here, so it’s possible that we really did let Lupercalia die out. Endless sad face.

I digress. The purpose of this post (other than educating you on the coolest of the cool ancient Roman festivals) is to pay tribute to the wolves in our fandom lives! Think about it! How many amazing wolves are lurking around Tumblr and Livejournal? Check out our choices for top wolves in fandom below:

SARA

Remus Lupin (Harry Potter)

a still of Remus Lupin as portrayed by David Thewlis

The first and truest of my werewolf loves. When I was in the Harry Potter fandom (I use the past tense in a mostly ironic sense as you can’t really leave the Harry Potter fandom. Ever.), I spent most of my time in the Marauder era, obsessively thinking up ways the Marauders would traumatize the school and themselves in pursuit of a good laugh. My favorite of the foursome was Remus. I’ve always been one to feel a kinship (or a burning adolescent crush) for amazing teachers and Remus fit that bill.

After one blatantly evil, murderous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and another more covert evil and vain Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin was a breath of fresh air. He actually taught Harry things. He carried chocolate. He was one-fourth of the most ingenious pranking group Hogwarts had ever seen until the Weasley twins.

I was in love.

That and I was the Moony of my Marauder pranking group in middle/high school. We were very much alike, at least as far as my headcanon as to his personality in his school days.

Either way, Remus Lupin was my introduction into the world of werewolves and I have had a soft spot for them ever since.

Jacob Black (Twilight)

a still of Jacob Black as portrayed by Taylor Lautner (shirtless)

Before anyone gets into a snit, I know Jacob isn’t a werewolf. He’s a shape-shifter who shifts into a wolf. Because we are paying tribute to the wolves in our fandom lives, he makes the list.

And he certainly brings a lot of, um, assets to the list, doesn’t he? I am of course speaking of the amazing way his CGI was handled in the Twilight movies.

If there was one problem with the third Harry Potter movie that I could have fixed, it would have been the werewolf CGI. Hermione even says in the book that the only difference between a werewolf and real wolf is a shorter tail and a longer snout. I’m pretty sure she would have mentioned the alikeness to a yeti had there been one.

So, as much as it pains me to say, Twilight one-upped the Harry Potter movies in one respect. Their wolves are amazing.

Focusing more on Jacob, I really do enjoy his character for the most part. He’s sarcastic and loyal and warm and protective. All in all, very lupine.

Scott McCall (Teen Wolf)

a promotional image of Scott McCall as portrayed by Tyler Posey

My newest (and rather deep) obsession comes in the form of Teen Wolf, which I picked as my favorite TV show of the moment in a Q&A a couple of weeks back.

I LOVE what they’ve done with the werewolf mythos in this world. More so than Harry Potter and Twilight, Teen Wolf—which has the luxury of focusing on the werewolf supernatural, versus sharing time with vampires and other magic folk—dives into a society that co-exists mostly parallel with run-of-the-mill human lives. Of course, parallel lines never met Peter Hale or Kate Argent, so the show begins when these worlds collide and an ordinary, asthmatic teenager gets bitten and becomes, surprise surprise, a teen wolf.

Fun, huh?

Scott McCall was just taking an innocent stroll through the woods, searching for half of a dead body with his best fri—wait, you guys don’t do that with your best friends? Huh.

Anyway. Scott gets dragged out into some really creepy woods by his best friend and partner in crime in the middle of the night and things happen and he gets bitten by a werewolf. So begins a journey of self-discovery, murder, mayhem, and really attractive shirtless dudes.

No, but seriously. This show is on MTV. There are a lot of shirtless dudes. I’m pretty sure Derek only owns three shirts, because that is the only way he could spend so much time shirtless.

In this show, we get a look at hierarchical structures in a werewolf pack, the trials and tribulations of bitten and born wolves, and—the most cool—how wolves are targeted by humans out to destroy them under the guise of something called the Code.

Scott, who is not always the center of fandom attention, is in fact the main character (don’t let Tumblr tell you otherwise). It took me a while to warm up to him because his relationship drama in season one often took away from the action of the show and I got annoyed pretty quickly. But, thankfully, I came to my senses and learned to love Scott. Who is another one of my precious baby boys.

Well, that devolved rapidly.

He is smart (emotionally), adorable, caring, protective, and fiercely loyal. A+ character.

GABBY

Oz (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

a still of Oz as portrayed by Seth Green (in a rubber wolf mask)

“Who is that girl?”

I must say, though I loved Willow and Tara together, Willow and Oz were my favorite TV couple while I was watching Buffy. I feel like they brought out the best in each other (until they didn’t), and always thought everyone should aspire to be a little more like Oz: aloof, cool, with a little bit of an ironic edge.

I think my favorite thing about him was the matter of fact way in which he turned into a werewolf. Basically, he tickled his cousin, who in turn bit him (apparently he wasn’t fond of tickling!). When Oz wakes up naked in the forest, he calls up his aunt, and asks her if the boy is a werewolf. She says yes, and that’s that. No big reveal, no secrets. Oz has become, as matter-of-factly as his personality, a werewolf. Throughout the rest of his run on the show, Oz represented, to me, the idealized version of a teenager: playing in a band, popular in an underground way, a good friend, and a werewolf, to boot. I wished with all my heart that I would be friends with Oz.

That’s why the way in which he departed from the show made no sense to me; it felt completely out of character. For him to succumb to the “animalistic envies” of his wolf through Veruca felt shallow and undeserving towards the guy who had always been “cool” in the face of danger. I loved the fact that he came back in “New Moon Rising” as I felt more closure with this next-to last appearance. The icing on the Oz cake was the scooby gang’s visit in Tibet in Buffy: Season 8: I loved reading about his new life there, with werewolf wife and son, Bayarmaa and Kelden. A fitting end to a wonderful character; I will always love you, Daniel “Oz” Osbourne.

Tyler Lockwood (The Vampire Diaries)

a picture of Michael Trevino, TVD's Tyler Lockwood

If Oz’ transformation into a werewolf was completely underrated, the same cannot be said of Tyler Lockwood’s. I forget there was ever a before-werewolf Tyler; a mean jock who everyone called a “dick”. The second season was Tyler’s time to shine, though, and in “Masquerade”, as he breaks a girl’s neck, we see in his wolf eyes that the curse of the moon is triggered. Having no idea what’s about to happen to him, he watches a video that his uncle made of his own first transformation. We see it: it looks horrible AND it lasts more than 5 hours. Poor Tyler is scared out of his wits, and who wouldn’t be?

I think out of all the werewolves, his transformation was the most traumatic and well-done. The pace of his whole ordeal is optimal; in five episodes, we go from the trigger of the curse to the first transformation. The manner of his werewolf-ness is entrenched in the mythology of the show, too, and very elaborate. Not only did he have to kill a human to trigger the curse, but he has to spend hours in agony, chained up, every time a full moon comes around. Michael Trevino was amazing in “By the Light of the Moon”, as his body contorted and he was screaming out in pain to Caroline to “make it stop”. I will never forget watching that episode and gripping my pillow so tight my knuckles turned white.

Tyler has gone through many transformations since that first time in the Lockwood cellar; no longer only a werewolf, he’s the last hybrid standing (one of Klaus’ pets, half-werewolf, half-vampire), and apart from Caroline, Tyler has nothing left to lose. I’m excited to see what’s coming up next for his character.

SAM

Dyson (Lost Girl)

a picture of Dyson as portrayed by Kris Holden-Reid

Listen, I’m team Doccubus. I want to get that out of the way immediately, so nobody doubts my loyalties (or sensibilities). But any list of werewolves in pop culture needs to include Detective Wolfy McBrooderfae. He’s, like, a thousand years old, he can only really love once in his entire lifetime, and he gave that up for Bo. Aw. I mean, I guess. He’s no Hot Pants. But he’s the Wolf, and that’s pretty cool too.

There are definitely things I like about Dyson. He’s got awesome vests. The rest of his clothes are pretty cool, too. I like his beard and his Chris Martin hair. Beyond the superficial, I like his loyalty, which seems to be the central pillar of his character. Even when he has a crisis of… self, I guess (I imagine giving up your only chance to feel love will do that to you), he can’t stay away from the fight for long. He’s a good guy through and through, and he’ll fight fang and claw for his friends.

And he seems to take his shirt off a lot. If that’s your kind of thing.

Alcide Herveaux (True Blood)

a still of Alcide as portrayed by Joe Manganiello

Oh Alcide. I love Alcide. I’ve read the Sookie Stackhouse books (well, the first 6 or 7), but book-Alcide never made much of an impression on me. I’m not sure what it is about the television version of Alcide that works so much for me. Maybe it’s his quiet intensity that can build to a pretty epic eruption of passion. Or the fact that he’s a billion feet tall (I met Joe Manganiello at Dragon*Con last fall, and he’s really a billion feet tall). Or that his thing with Sookie ran its course with relatively little drama. Yeah, that helps.

I really loved his storyline this past season on True Blood, when he had a crisis of wolfdom, but stepped up and became leader of his own pack. He dealt with daddy issues, vampire issues, girlfriend issues and political issues, and he he never lost that slow burn intensity that makes him so appealing. I don’t say this about a lot of dudes, but I totally get why people find him attractive. He’s loyal (trend!), strong, and tortured. Basically everything a good wolf in fiction should be, right?

ANIKA

Rahne Sinclair (X-Men)

a picture of Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane in New Mutants

Rahne is one of the Marvel mutants whose been around forever but always on the sidelines. She’s on the fringe teams like New Mutants and X-Factor and the Hellions. Like pretty much every X-person she had a traumatic childhood that culminated in becoming a freak with the onset of puberty. In Rahne’s case she’s a lycanthrope. But she’s more like Jacob than a traditional werewolf because she can control her transformation, and retains her intelligence in wolf form. Rahne can also maintain a transitional part-wolf, part-human form.

Like most werewolves (and most mutants), Rahne often struggles with self-loathing. She’s naturally shy and compassionate. Sweet. But she has a strong temper (she’s a redheaded Scot) and turns into a wild animal. Most of her stories revolve around trying to blend these two sides into a cohesive person she is comfortable being…while supervillains, unrequited crushes, angry mobs, and the occasional war on and/or between mutants explode around her.

You know. The usual.

The X-Men are often touted as an allegory for disenfranchised minority groups and Wolfsbane fits right into that idea. She wants to be herself and have that be okay. Be accepted and supported and respected. And sometimes, when she’s not, it makes her so mad she howls and claws and loses her mind a little bit. And the secret is, that’s okay, too.

Red (Once Upon a Time)

a still of Red as portrayed by Meghan Ory

Ruby Lucas snuck up on me. At the beginning of Once Upon a Time she was shiniest background character, dressed in tiny tops and tinier skirts, with bright red lips and boots and nary a hood in sight. When she started coming out of the background I liked her (Meghan Ory is great, by the way, and has chemistry with literally everyone), but I didn’t love her. I would root for her but I didn’t relate to her. Even when her secret was revealed — Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf are one and the same — I was only mildly interested. I’m not a lover of werewolves or monster within stories. Those aren’t my stories, the ones I am drawn to and relate to and tell over and over.

But in the second season, something changed. One, Ruby met up with Belle and their retelling of Beauty and the Beast is about four hundred million times more interesting to me than Belle’s with Rumplestiltskin (even if it remains a completely platonic friendship). Two, they started to play more with Ruby’s wolf side. She tracks, she snarls, she makes little quips about the situation. She’s traded her red minis for grey furs. She’s becoming comfortable with the wolf, and that is leading to being completely herself instead of two opposing sides. And that leads to three, she’s better off, and happier, in Storybrooke than she was in the Enchanted Forest and she knows it. To me, that is the most interesting place for a character to be — not yet there but self-aware .

The story of Little Red Riding Hood has always been a metaphor for growing up: walking bravely but naively into the dark forest, taking a few wrong turns and trusting a few bad people, and learning from the experience. Ruby’s current story has brought her to a new but equally unknown and dangerous place but she’s gained a few tricks and she’s still brave. She’s not afraid of the big bad wolves; she’s ready to run with them.

The Starks of Winterfell (Game of Thrones)

a still of Robb Stark, as portrayed by Richard Madden, with wolf pups

The Starks would be content left alone in their border kingdom so far North “winter” is synonymous with “power”. Left alone, Ned would be alive, Sansa would be free, Bran would be whole. Life would be simpler. But wolves do not live a simple life. They roam. They howl at the light. And they protect the pack, whatever it takes.

Wolves develop close relationships and strong social bonds. They often demonstrate deep affection for their family and may even sacrifice themselves to protect the family unit. (Defenders)

Ned defined his pack to include the King and the Kingdom — Robb did the same when he accepted the title “King of the North”. Catelyn defines it as her blood, an imagined power Sansa clings to in her exile. Young Bran and Rickon understand that home is not their castle but the land they roam and the family they run with. Clever Arya builds a pack wherever she goes, with whoever is there. And though denied the birthright, Jon Snow is the most wolflike of all.

As a pack they share: pride, resilience, and a generosity of spirit that the rest of the realm would rather burn to the ground. But the wolves will lay down their lives to defend it.

Whedonverse comics roundup: Buffy: Season 9

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by Gabby

When we left Buffy at the end of season 8, she was returning to her roots, staking a lowly vampire in an alley.

Joss Whedon himself confirmed the feeling I had gotten while reading the last issue of the season, “Last Gleaming, Part Five”. He wrote, in his epilogue: “If you’ve read this issue, you’ve got a sense of where we’re heading for Season 9. Back, a bit, to the everyday trials that made Buffy more than a superhero. That made her us.” (the whole thing is really worth a read; you can do so here).

I have to be honest, I had no qualms with Buffy: season 8. Yes, it was kooky and crazy. Yes, Dawn became a giant, Buffy went to the future, the scooby gang travelled the world and Angel was the Big Bad (not to mention an… *ahem*, active partner in the insane invincible-sex). However, I personally jumped in to the comics right after I finished the series finale, “Chosen”. I was just happy that the universe I’d fallen in love with wasn’t obliterated. It lives on, albeit in comic form.

I must add, though, that I was elated that Mr. Whedon himself felt a return to Buffy’s human complexities was in order. So I am happy to say that season 9 for me has been a big hit (if only for the wonderful opening cover by Steve Morris which I find breathtaking).

cover of Buffy Season 9

I will review in broad strokes the arcs of season 9, and explore a little bit more one issue in particular. I will conclude with my hopes for the culmination of this season.

FREEFALL, parts 1 to 4

In the first arc, we get a glimpse of Buffy circa season 1; the fun loving young woman who just wants to be normal.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

I loved the opening party scene (which will be a factor in a significant plot twist later on) where we are privy to the camaraderie between the scoobies. Willow spends this arc warning Buffy that destroying the seed of wonder will have consequences (which is most evident in the form of Zompires – feral vampires sired after the obliteration of the seed). Xander and Dawn are trying desperately to live a normal life, and I appreciated the authenticity of their relationship (for instance, Xander having to sleep on the couch because he forgot Dawn’s birthday).

a panel from Buffy Season 9

Spike, in the meantime, is also warning Buffy; there are rumors that a Big Bad is after her. At first, it is implied that Eldre Koh, a demon who was wrongly imprisoned by magic, was after Buffy. It turns out that he just wanted to thank her, following his release after the destruction of the seed.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

The real threat to Buffy, however, is a siphon demon named Severin. I really enjoyed his backstory: how his girlfriend wanted to turn herself into a vampire and he agreed to follow suit. However, things backfired when she turned full-on zompire and tried to kill him. This unleashed his siphon abilities and he killed her, sapping the vampire energy out of her and into himself. He then goes on a rampage, killing vampires to exact revenge. This felt real, and heartbreaking, and is a great nod to the “vampire reality TV” phenomenon that Harmony unleashed last season. In the end, Severin is exposed as a pawn. Simone, a gun-loving power hungry ex-member of the Slayer Organization, hired him to kill Buffy. It is unclear at this time what her motives are, but since the current world order prefers vampires to slayers, it is easy to imagine that Simone isn’t liking that one bit. The arc ends with my favorite TV friendship ever, Willow and Buffy, sharing a great moment.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

SLAYER, INTERRUPTED

This issue, George Jeanty took a break from pencilling and Karl Moline replaced him. I love his style; slightly cartoonish, but really precise. Here, Buffy’s having weird “slayer” dreams and feeling sick. When I first read the issue, I loved it for the moments between Willow and Buffy. They have a sleepover so that Willow can monitor Buffy’s dreams. What the First Slayer is trying to tell Buffy is that she needs to undo what she did (destroy the seed), and the slayer scythe is a clue to the undoing. But the scythe isn’t for Buffy, it’s for Willow, and the latter enters Buffy’s dream to grab it and leave. When Buffy wakes up, Willow’s gone and has left a note.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

However, upon a re-read, I paid more attention to the fairy Buffy refers to as “Tink”. She keeps telling Buffy she “isn’t the slayer” and that she’s “not a girl anymore”. I guess I just glossed it over the first time, but these clues are very important for the coming arc.

Finally, there is also shock value in this issue: the last panel is a positive pregnancy test.

ON YOUR OWN, parts 1 and 2

This arc got a lot of ink in the news.

What’s so great about a return to Buffy’s roots is that we get to see human relationships in very real situations. Buffy believes she got pregnant when she blacked out from alcohol at her party (from “Freefall”, part 1). What does Buffy do when she finds out she’s pregnant? She weighs her options, as the situation warrants. She arranges a date with Robin, the son of a slayer, to see what he has to say about the whole thing, and he gives her a ringing endorsement for future mother of the year.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

But then she invites Spike over, and tells him she’s getting an abortion. The following dialogue is very poignant, so much so that I’m reproducing it here:

Buffy: I’m going to have an abortion.
Spike: You’re pregnant?
Buffy: Robin told me how Nikki tried to run away from slaying after he was born. And I thought I could do what she couldn’t. I thought I had everything that Nikki didn’t. Dawn, Xander, Willow… You… I was ready to ask you to run away with me. But then I realized… I’m barely able to hold onto a job. I live with roommates who are about to kick me out. And I can’t even hold my alcohol well enough to remember who got me pregnant. I can handle the slayer stuff. I can do what Nikki couldn’t. But everything else? I’m not ready. At least not now. It’s not the slaying. It’s me. Will you come with me when I do this?
Spike: Yeah.

We’ll come back to this.

In part 2, Buffy lets it slip that if she were to run away with the baby, she wouldn’t have brought Spike, because that would be the antithesis of having a “normal” life. This is the catalyst Spike needs to detach himself from Buffy. He’s still in love with her, and can’t “be the dark place [she] runs to when things aren’t working”. So after the whole ordeal is over, he’s leaving San Francisco (and starring in his own miniseries).

But THEN! A zompire rips out Buffy’s arm and we learn that she’s a robot (read: “not a girl anymore”).

a panel from Buffy Season 9

Ok. So I think this could make a lot of people angry. So far, the abortion story had been handled quite brilliantly. The circumstances surrounding the pregnancy were murky at best; Buffy was, for all she knew, raped that night (like the pin stuck on my lunch box says, “drunk means no”!). She weighed the pros and cons, and decided that she, as a person, was not ready to have a child, and took the decision to end the pregnancy. It could be qualified as a cop out to have her be a robot and bypass the troubles of going through the abortion. It could be a way to appease the pro-lifers. It could, but it’s not. I don’t want to tarnish this incredibly forward way of tackling social issues in comic book form. To pick up a comic and be confronted with the reality a significant amount of young women have to face every day? That’s incredible. I can understand the disappointment that we don’t get to see the process Buffy would have had to go through, but this is an action comic after all. The plot needs to move forward. And Buffy did make a choice. And I think that is the important thing to take away from this arc.

APART OF ME, part 1 to 3

This arc felt a little disjointed, and I had a hard time following most of it. What I did understand was that Andrew was the mastermind behind making Buffy a robot. He roofied her at the party and pulled a Dollhouse: he swapped her consciousness inside a robot and stuffed her real body with a yuppie persona living in suburbia.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

I felt like this was a really elaborate way of making Buffy come to terms with the whole “having a normal life” thing. She was envious of the yuppie Buffy, living a quaint life sipping Californian merlot. But after having a conversation with that version of herself, she realized she needs to earn this life. Andrew was just trying to fast track her there.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

It was the point of departure for Spike, who reaffirmed that he can’t be her puppy dog anymore. He will explore his new found independence in a 5 part miniseries, which I will review at a later date. Oh, and Simone had something to do with this arc, too: she kidnapped Yuppie-Buffy and tried to make her join her rebel-slayer side. Then she ran away when things got punchy? I don’t know what to make of that girl.

GUARDED, parts 1 to 3

This arc introduces Kennedy as the boss of Deepscan, an organization made of ex-slayers (who still have their power) who act as bodyguards for the rich and famous. Kennedy hires Buffy, and she accepts, willing to try something other than slaying for a change. She can’t shake who she is, though. While trying to protect a client, she attacks the bellhop demon instead of the maid, acting on her slayer instincts instead of Kennedy’s orders (in a bid that reminds me of [HUNGER GAMES SPOILER] Katniss’ military test in Mockingjay).

I loved how this arc seemed to take a page out of Angel’s book; not all demons are evil, and Buffy has to deal with Wolfram&Hart (the evil interdimensional law firm) and its senior partners. They are in a hell dimension and can contact all the realms with the help of Tincan, a social networking site. The only way to sever the connection is to destroy the servers, and Buffy has to talk Theo, the C.E.O., into destroying his life’s work. Through his ordeal, Buffy confronts the fact that she had to destroy the seed. She finally accepts that she had to do it, but she also learns a lesson along the way. She can’t forget to protect the little guy, as Kennedy so brutally reminds her (speaking about Giles being a casualty of the seed’s destruction). In the end, Kennedy offers her a very high paying job at Deepscan, something that would help Buffy achieve the normal life she’s been striving for. But she refuses:

Buffy: I can’t do it.
Kennedy: Is it because of what I said about Giles? ‘Cause I was out of line. You made a tough call, and we need someone who can make decisions like that.
Buffy: But you were right. I keep trying to save the world, when sometimes I should just save a single person. It was different when I was younger. Something changed. But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. And if I took this job, I’d be doing it for just one person: me.
Kennedy: After all you’ve been through, don’t you think you deserve that? To finally have the kind of life you want.
Buffy: Maybe. But that’s just not who I am. I’m the slayer.

As for the future of Buffy: Season 9, I’ve read the first part of “Billy the Vampire Slayer” and I’m very excited to see how the dynamic between a gay boy self-made slayer and Buffy will go down. I think it’s a very positive and empowering way to move forward, and will give Buffy the motivation she needs to keep on fighting the good fight. I’m also looking forward to the Willow miniseries, especially after having seen her in Angel&Faith (which I will also review at a later date). I love the wonderful moments we’ve gotten between the characters so far, and I’m hoping they will continue.

Here’s the thing I hope to (1) get more information about and (2) see resolved.

a panel from Buffy Season 9

Something’s up with Xander. There was a really great moment, in the “Apart of me” arc, between himself and detective Dowling. Xander reminisced about killing Jesse (“The Harvest”, season 1), and while on a zompire hunt, he felt the opposite of nostalgia, remembering the feeling of being frightened for your life. But the panel above is too violent to just be about bad memories. It happened after he asked Dawn to bring him his eyepatch and she took 5 seconds too long. I think there’s something more there, and I will keep my eye on him.

This brings us up to date! I would like to hear from you, now; how are you feeling about Buffy: Season 9? Did I miss anything? Any great Scoobies moment I should’ve mentioned?

Expectation of Endings

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As I said in my recent post about Once Upon a Time I don’t believe in happy endings. In life I follow The Last Unicorn school of thought: “There are no happy endings because nothing ends.” In fiction, my reaction to series finales runs the gamut.

Law and Order was cancelled after the (20th!) season finale had been filmed, it became the series finale, and while a good episode, it was not a good send off.

Hellcats was also cancelled too late to film a finale. The end of that show is an absolute train wreck. I still haven’t recovered.

a promo poster for the short-lived series "Hellcats"

The final episode of House M.D. was brilliant, but I haven’t seen more than a handful of episodes in between it and Dr. Cameron’s last appearance a year and a half before. I’ve never seen the series finale of E.R. and thogh I did watch for years after Julianna Margulies’s departure, Carol Hathaway’s last regular episode serves as my finale for that show.

The truncated last season of La Femme Nikita rushed to tie up loose ends and when it couldn’t it blew them up, sometimes literally. But I love the ending. I love imagining Nikita turn Section into a power for good. Battlestar Galactica’s last season also felt rushed, random, and explosive. I found its finale to be equal parts bittersweet and infuriating.

a promo picture for the series "Battlestar Galactica"

I fell asleep halfway through Star Trek: Voyager’s final episode. I had a high fever, I was legitimately delirious with exhaustion and infection. I’ve never seen the ending.

Now I’m looking forward to two more series finales. Fringe is an esoteric science fiction crime drama. Gossip Girl is a sensational teen romance melodrama. It’s honestly a toss-up which is more fantastic but they both take place in a heightened reality and revolve around a close knit circle of eccentric characters. Both shows might have been cancelled last season, but were instead given a shortened final season. Ten episodes.

Serial fiction works best with definitive start and end dates. Especially end dates. I’m sure everyone can name a television or comic book series that was cancelled abruptly and “too soon” — but I bet everyone can also name a television or comic book series that was drawn out and went on “too long”. It is, of course, a matter of opinion. But it is also an ailment. And I believe, pretty strongly, that limited series are the cure.

a promo picture for the series "Gossip Girl"

The television landscape is already changing. “Seasons” are fluid (Doctor Who recently had its “Fall season finale” after 6 episodes). Summer is no longer a dead zone, it’s when USA and TNT kick into high gear. Series and seasons launch throughout the year. With DVR, On Demand, Hulu, Netflix, and channel apps, television episodes can be watched whenever and wherever and however the viewer wants to do it. The studios and stations have very limited control over how their series are watched. When they try to wrench it back we get an HBO and Game of Thrones situation. But even these squabbles are proof the concepts are evolving. Fringe and Gossip Girl were not cancelled, they were given ten episodes.

Comic books are harder because the audience is so much smaller and the financial stakes are so much higher. Serial fiction of any kind becomes formulaic because once it attracts a fanbase it wants to keep them. It makes business sense. But convoluted continuities scare away new readers; limited series could target them, and grow the audience. I believe that was some of the thought behind the DCnU and Marvel NOW! but I’m unconvinced it isn’t more of the same. End dates are important.

a promo picture from the series "Fringe"

The creators behind Fringe and Gossip Girl know these final ten episodes are the final ten episodes. They have the opportunity to tell one last story. The characters and universe are established, they know exactly how much time they have to tie up loose ends or present new ideas. When something ends often dictates how it ends. I expect Fringe and Gossip Girl to end well. Not “the way I want it to” (I don’t believe in happy endings!), not even, necessarily, the way the showrunners want it to. But with closure. With thought. With purpose.

A series being created or presented under the constant shadow of possible cancellation is never going to be as good as one that is considered safe OR one that is ending on its own terms. No one wants something they love to be cancelled. But it’s so much worse without even the possibility of a proper goodbye.

Having Sex

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In Batwoman #4, by J.H. Williams III and W. Haden Blackman, Kate Kane and Maggie Sawyer have sex. On-panel.

Very, very on-panel.

In Avengers Academy #23, by Christos Gage, Tom Raney, and Scott Hanna, two characters have a long conversation about sexual identity, sexual abuse, and coming out. It is a thoughtful conversation, age-appropriate for the characters, and does a lot for the plot and the book as a whole.

I loved both of these issues this month. I love both of these titles. I thank the creators for these scenes. I read these issues with a sense of triumph and glee, a sort-of fist-pump of joy.

Immediately followed by rage.

I spend a lot of time thinking about talking about the things I love in comics. And, I do love comics. Nothing I didn’t love could hurt quite the way comics hurts. I’ve been reading comics for twenty-five years. The character of Northstar came out around twenty years ago. And I cannot recall a scene in which two female characters have sex because they are gay and they want to in mainstream Marvel and DC titles.

Note that caveat. I’ve seen female characters make out because they were mind-controlled, I’ve seen them slink all over each other in fantasy scenes, I’ve seen heterosexual couples have sex this graphically on-panel, I’ve seen post-coital men in bed with each other, I’ve seen women as slaves and objects do all manner of sexualized things in the edges of the panels.

I am very glad to have these two issues of these books out this month. I think Gage’s Avengers Academy is one of the most thoughtfully-written titles out there. I think Batwoman is startling in its plots, its violence, and its themes and I am very glad of it. I am also resentful and angry to be so grateful.

Sometimes, getting what I want simply reminds me how long the wait has been. And how little I have.

Thank you, Marvel and DC, for … Batwoman. And Avengers Academy.

by Sigrid

Email: sigrid @ fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: sigridellis

DC Relaunch, Week One: Start at the Very Beginning

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Posted by Caroline
‘Begin at the beginning,’ the King said gravely, ‘and go on till you come to the end: then stop.’ — “Alice in Wonderland”

“Start at the beginning” is the simplest and most obvious advice to give about storytelling and, like a lot of simple and obvious advice, it isn’t of very much use. Even when you’re starting to tell an entirely new story — even when it’s one that starts with “I am born,” or “In the beginning” – there will turn out to be a lot of conditions that you have to explain (“Who were your parents and how did all this come about?”) or assume (“I know I just said it was the beginning but God was already there, okay?”) And when you simultaneously start telling fifty-two new stories based on pre-existing characters, well. . .the whole idea of a “new beginning” turns out to be complicated.

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Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger: Race in Roger Stern’s Forever Allies

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Posted by Jennifer

Next Wednesday, the trade paperback collection of Roger Stern’s Captain America: Forever Allies hits stores. The story features fantastic art by Nick Dragotta and Marco Santucci and does some great things with the original Young Allies, a group of unpowered Golden Age characters who teamed up with Bucky and Toro to fight in World War II. It even manages to rehabilitate the astounding racism of the characters’ 1940s depictions, and for that reason alone I would love to be able to recommend it wholeheartedly. But its villain plot is so full of uncritical replications of Yellow Peril tropes that the miniseries mostly serves as case study in how to get things both incredibly right and incredibly wrong when it comes to racial representation in comics.

Golden Age characters can be tricky to use in modern times, particularly those who were created with racial stereotypes firmly in mind. Such is the case with the Young Allies, a briefly-appearing, multi-ethnic group of non-powered characters (much like DC’s Newsboy Legion, also created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby) whose entire characterizations could be summed up as “the prissy rich kid,” “the fat Jewish kid,” “the angry Irish kid” and “the black kid.” Of these, “Whitewash Jones,” Marvel’s first black character, suffered the worst, depicted as an ape-like racist caricature in his 1940s appearances. He didn’t even get a real name.

But Roger Stern, with Forever Allies (and his earlier “Young Allies” oneshot for the Timely 70th anniversary celebration) sought to cleverly retcon the characters’ early appearances, finding ways to subvert the racism without pretending it never happened. In this new, updated tale, all of the characters have more realistic names and characterizations and are drawn to look like real human beings, and Jones in particular – now Washington Carver Jones – is reconceptualized as a Tuskegee Airman and later Civil Rights crusader. But the original caricatures do not disappear. Instead, Stern posits that the comics on the shelves in the real world 1940s were also the comics on the shelves within the Marvel U – unauthorized, offensive depictions of the “real” people. By reframing this history, Stern manages to acknowledge the problematic discourses in 1940s mass media while raising his actual characters above it, allowing them to be outraged by the injustice. When Toro burns down a blown-up poster of one of the offensive Young Allies covers, it’s a victory for the characters and readers alike and a strong statement for Marvel’s desire to rise above some of the more questionable parts of its past without denying them.

This sort of rehabilitation of Golden Age racism is important in an industry that thrives on nostalgia. Characters created in the past gain cultural cachet through their longevity, cachet that newer characters can never hope to match. Therefore, as a step toward a more diverse modern comic book landscape, highlighting and revitalizing the few characters of color who existed in the Golden Age is incredibly important, even if their origins are problematic. Given all of this, Stern’s willingness to highlight Jones in particular within the ensemble of the Young Allies is laudable.

Unfortunately, racism did not disappear after World War II, and traces of 1940s attitudes remain in the present day. Such is the case with Lady Lotus, a villain created in 1979 by Don Glut as part of the Invaders series. Lady Lotus is a Dragon Lady in every conceivable way, a sexy, psychic World War II-era Japanese agent with mind-control powers and racist attitudes who formed a Nazi alliance called the “Super-Axis.” That such a character was created, and retconned into Marvel’s history, less than 35 years ago is disappointing in itself, but that she appears unaltered in Stern’s 2010 comic is completely indefensible.

For the most part, Forever Allies follows Bucky, artificially youthful in the present day, as he remembers his past with the Young Allies and attends the funeral of the elderly Jones, the last surviving member of the group. Among his memories is the group’s encounter with Lady Lotus, and Bucky soon discovers that Lotus is still around, still evil, still racist toward African-Americans, and still attempting to use her sex appeal (she, too, has been kept artificially young) and mind-control powers to wreak havoc. What’s worse, though Nick Dragotta, artist of the 1940s sequences, goes to great pains to use his 1940s-inflected style in a way that renders the Young Allies themselves as full-fledged human beings, the Lady Lotus (and her male sidekick) in the 1940s scenes look just like 1940s Asian caricatures – even though they didn’t even exist in real 1940s comics.

Given what a great job Stern did with Washington Jones, I continued to read the miniseries in the hope that it would somehow subvert the Dragon Lady/Yellow Peril tropes. But, beyond a brief reference to the struggles faced during the war by Golden Girl, a 1970s-created Japanese-American character similarly retconned into the past, the plot and the stereotypes on which it relied remained straightforward and predictable, with none of the nuance present in the depiction of the Young Allies characters. If anything, the depiction of Lady Lotus only got worse. In addition to being a stereotype in and of herself, Lady Lotus – the only other person of color in the book, beyond a brief appearance by the Falcon near the end – became the primary racist force toward Jones, and, as the only woman in the book, an example of sexism as well, with her “terrifying” powers of control over men. By the end of the series, as Lady Lotus met her defeat, I found myself demoralized, empty of all the joy I’d found in Stern’s initial representational subversions.

Other writers have more successfully redeemed Yellow Peril characters and stories, most notably Jeff Parker in his Agents of Atlas. And the most recent team to take on the name “Young Allies,” Sean McKeever’s excellent short-lived series, featured a multi-ethnic, gender balanced cast with nary a stereotype in sight. If you’re looking to expand your horizons with a comic book purchase this month, I highly recommend picking up the trade collections of either or both of those. But Forever Allies, whatever its achievements, is a series I can’t in good conscience recommend to others. Stern’s keen attention to the problem of African-American stereotypes is equaled by his blindness to the problem of Asian stereotypes, ultimately tainting the series. But its few shining moments leave me hopeful that another writer might take up the call, creating more past adventures for the smartly reconceptualized Young Allies – and perhaps finding a way to redeem the Asian characters of the 1940s at the same time.

By Jennifer Smith
E-mail: Jennifer@fantasticfangirls.org
Twitter: throughthebrush