Fantastic Fangirls: Comics and Culture

Posted by Jennifer Smith

Note: Today, it was announced that The Walt Disney Corporation has bought Marvel. Though there’s been much wailing and mocking and gnashing of teeth, I think there’s quite a bit of synergy already — synergy I thought I’d illustrate.

Captain America stepped into the diner and took a seat at a table. This was a favorite spot for meet ups between members of different superhero teams; he and Logan had once met here to compare notes about the recent activities of the Avengers and the X-Men.* And though this new girl wasn’t technically part of a superhero team, her corporation had recently made some new ties with SHIELD and Stark Industries, and she was going to be working with Steve and his friends more closely. It only seemed polite to set up a meeting.

(When Tony had seen the girl’s picture, he’d all but jumped at the chance to meet with her himself, but Steve had spoken up instead. Tony’s charm was good for a lot of things, but this girl was supposed to be a bit old-fashioned, and Steve had a feeling he was the better man for the job.)

When the girl walked in, Steve recognized her instantly: she wore a huge, poofy dress, her hair and makeup were immaculate, and she was followed by two singing bluebirds.

“Cinderella?” he asked, rising from his table.

“Please, call me Cindy. You must be Steve.”

Steve smiled and took Cindy’s hand, bringing it to his lips. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cindy. And, ah, Cindy’s birds.”

Cindy looked up and blushed. “Oh! I’m sorry, they just follow me everywhere. I forget that some people aren’t used to them.”

“Oh, it’s fine. My best friend has the same problem,” Steve said, pulling out Cindy’s chair.

The two sat down and put in their orders – they were quite a sight, visions in blue and white in their respective costumes, but the waitresses here were used to that sort of thing. They made polite small talk until their food came, and finally Cindy spoke up. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”

“Well, what’s to say?” Steve had never much enjoyed talking about himself, but he’d been asked the question enough times that he had his answer prepared. “I was born in New York in 1921 to a poor family; my parents both died before I reached adulthood.”

Cindy glanced down at her teacup. “I’m sorry. I know how hard that is. My friends and I, well… we know what it’s like, growing up without parents.”

Steve nodded, touched by the girl’s empathy, and swallowed a bite of his pie. “Then the war came, and I wanted to serve my country. They wouldn’t let me, at first – not as I was – but I was persistent, and eventually I found a way for them to accept me. I volunteered to become America’s first super-soldier.”

Cindy smiled, sipping her tea. “There’s nothing I admire more than people willing to give up everything for others. You should meet my friend Mulan. I think you’d get along.”

“I’d like that,” Steve replied, remembering a story he’d heard long ago about a girl in China who’d fought as a man.

“Please, continue.”

“Well, after that, I fought the war for a few years. I became Captain America, in body and soul – and when I was just normal private Steve Rogers, bumbling around at camp, no one suspected who I was in the costume.”

Cindy smiled enigmatically. “It’s a powerful thing, isn’t it? Being someone else for a time? Putting on a costume?”

“It can be dangerous,” Steve replied. “I have friends who can never reveal their true identities to anyone, for fear that someone will try to hurt them, or the ones they love. But there’s certainly a power to it.”

“So what happened next?” Cindy prompted. “You’ll excuse me for saying it, but you don’t look like a man who’s been alive since World War II. Have you spent time in Neverland?”

Steve laughed. “How kind of you. No, something happened, at the end of the war, and I was frozen in a block of ice for decades. I only awoke when the Avengers found me, and thawed me out. It was quite a shock.”

“An enchanted sleep.” Cindy nodded. “I remember Aurora having some difficulty adjusting to the passage of time when she awoke. Snow, too, though she didn’t sleep for long. Luckily she had friends, like you did, though I imagine yours are somewhat taller.”

“That depends,” Steve replied, with a grin. “One is as tall as he wants to be, but another can shrink to the size of a bee. They control it with pills.”

“Oh!” Cindy said. “Just like Alice. What a coincidence! Do all of your friends have special powers?”

“Many of them do,” Steve said. “I couldn’t even begin to name them all. Some just discovered one day that they could do things, due to a quirk of their birth – they can fly, or lift things much larger than themselves. There are some, like the Human Torch, and the Vision, who were built to be machines, though they’re more human than some of the biological humans I know. And still others gained their powers through some experiment or magic or bargain, whether or not it was in their control – to better or worse ends. It’s unfortunate, but people are sometimes afraid of what they don’t understand, and some of my mutant friends have borne the brunt of that fear.”

Cindy nodded along, murmuring a name or two under her breath – Dumbo, Hercules, Pinocchio, Ariel, Aladdin, Beast, Quasimodo. Steve didn’t know who all of the people were (though he did wonder if they knew the same Hercules), but he sensed in Cindy a profound understanding.

“What about – and this is going to sound a bit silly – but what about animals?” Cindy asked. “A lot of our corporate power has come from a rather charismatic rodent and his friends, dogs and ducks. Do you have any experience with that kind of thing?”

Steve thought for a moment. “Well, beyond my friend’s bird, one of our most ubiquitous heroes has the powers of a spider. Then there’s Wolverine – no one’s ever sure how much of an animal he is, though I’d say there’s quite a bit in him. The less said about our resident Duck, though, the better.”

Cindy smiled. “Well, that’s all wonderful. I’m sure we’ll be able to work together quite well.”

Steve returned her smile. “Yes, same here. I’m glad we had a chance to chat.” He stood, reaching out for Cindy’s hand.

Cindy removed her glove to return a firm handshake. “Indeed. Why, I’d be willing to bet that together, we can make this the happiest place on earth.”

“Oh, I think we can do one better,” Steve replied. “I think we can make it excelsior.”

*In Robert Kirkman’s Marvel Team-Up #10, True Believers! — Joyful Jennifer

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