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adamantis β Powergirl - Appearances and Assumptions
Published: 2013-06-23 21:40:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 12798; Favourites: 200; Downloads: 108
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In the spirit of her character from before the 2011 reboot, Kara gives a firm opinion...I sometimes feel Powergirl was one of DC's more misunderstood characters, with wide off the mark assumptions made about her character purely from her outfit. If her detractors actually tried to familiarise themselves with the character from 1986 to 2011, i think they would find a character who is much more interesting than she is often given credit for.
Originally i was going to draw her with her gold outfit, then i thought about drawing her most recognised outfit, but then i decided that to really make my point that people should never base their opinion about a persons personality purely on their clothing, I gave her as skimpy an outfit as possible, with a mock pinny/apron with her own opinion dividing costume on that ( the apron idea was inspired by a comedy artwork of Wonderwoman i saw and the words on the apron are inspired from one of CallMePo's artworks ).
Admittedly, and rather disappointingly, her 'New 52' DC Universe persona seems to fit the general assumptions that were made about her character.
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Comments: 76
I could give or take the boob window, but I've been a big proponent of the leotard. Let those long, lovely gams shine!
A-hem. On topic, I've been a fan of PG because of her personality and storylines as well. Same goes for Wonder Woman and She-Hulk. At the same time, many of these are fantasy characters who have no body shame (or brazen exhibitionism). Why should it have to be one or the other? * whynotboth.gif * A superhero being able to kick ass and inspire even in a cheesecake-y outfit is in a way more amazing in that she's either tough or practically curb-stomping the baddies (or even both) to not need the extra protection.
P. S. Of course, as long as the outfit doesn't get TOO weird in one way or another.
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Because being fit and proud of it is apparently a crime in USA?
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I agree to be honest, provided they don't muck up the character like they did back in 2011's New 52, i don't really mind which costume she has.
One of the things i've noticed about the character is that compared to some self assured heroines like She Hulk ( well before the recent stuff ), or the near shameless Crimson Fox ( of many years ago ) Power Girl has at times come across as more body conscious and uptight than she likes to admit. She may come across as an unashamed, unbeatable demi-goddess but behind that front are doubts and uncertainties, which make the character interesting.
I think if they really have to redesign a costume for her, they should keep it fairly simple.
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Yeah. Also, keep it consistent with the character.
The Ame-comi designs were an example of the weird, for one. I admittedly like "space bikini/cheerleader/showgirl/whatever" type costumes as long as they don't get too garish (i. e. weird cutouts).
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I agree a hero, or any person really, shouldn't be defined by what they wear nor will I make an argument over what women should wear in real life, but we can't pretend like she's empowered by her choice of outfit when most of these comics are written and illustrated by men with the male gaze in mind. It's not so much the outfit itself, but rather the underlying problem that her design represents that people are upset with.
There's literally no reason why her outfit is so skimpy beyond sex appeal, no matter what lame or defensive excuse DC makes because of it. I'm sure Powergirl is a good character and all, but lets not pretend that she's fully in control of how she dresses and is, in turn, empowered because of it. All of the power in how she looks, what she says, and what she does is all in the hands of the writers and illustrators of her comics who willfully sexualize her appearance and convince readers that, if she were real, she would consent to her costume being that way. Because she's a fictional character, she can't consent to what she wears or how well-endowed she's portrayed since all of the power falls into the creators, and the comic industry as a whole is increasingly aware that sex sells and a majority of their fans are male readers who're drawn to that sort of provocative appearance like the one PG has.
Hell, even the original illustrator for Powergirl, Wally Wood, said that editors weren't really paying attention to her that much so he just made her tits bigger until they did.Β
Yes, women should be allowed to wear what they want, I know PG has female fans, and a character can't be defined by appearance alone, but let's not pretend a fictional character, whose design was intended to grab the attention of male readers, was intended for much outside ofΒ sex appeal and PG is empowered for it so as to justify its existence, or that there isn't a systemic problem in the way she's portrayed appearance-wise.
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Well Power Girls regular costume actually has more coverage than Wonder Womans, make of that what you want.
This is a tiresome argument that just goes round in circles due to the fictional nature of the character. The real issue is why do you care about a character you're not familiar with. Also if sex appeal really sold comics, by your logic Power Girl would be outselling Batman and getting her own movie series rather than being an occasional guest character in a former second tier Batman villain comic ( Harley Quinn ) and being largely sidelined by DC.
The Wally Wood thing is an amusing myth that popped up in the 2000's and was spread by the internet. Judging from the early artwork her chest wasn't any larger than any other female character of the time, her chest size only really became notably impressive among female heroes in the late 1980's ( from around when Bart Sears was drawing her in Justice League Europe, and he exaggerated everyone ).
I presume you would prefer her and perhaps all female characters to be depicted wearing something more conservative to avoid provoking and upsetting men, a burka perhaps.
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Sorry for this being so long, I hardly get into arguments and I just want to be clear so I hopefully don't have to come back here for a bit~
Apologies for the Wally Wood thing, and thanks for clarifying it, it is true I'm not much of a comics fan; however, I am very concerned about these types of issues, even as a straight male, to answer your question as to why I care so much.Β
I didn't mention Wonder Woman, but yes, it did bother me that her outfit, being an unstoppable warrior woman and all, was relegated to a star spangled swimsuit. I do like the rebirth incarnation, it's not a huge step forward but I do like the more greek warrior aesthetic, as it suits her character more.Β
Like I said, this problem has gone on for a while, that's why there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. Normally whenever this argument is brought up, a lot of guys like to say "well superman has tights and underwear" or "Batman is super muscular" or something along those lines. Though these instances are more idealism than objectification. As said, these comics are mainly meant to appeal to men (at least in most of its history), and many men look to batman as a sort of idealism as the person they could be. At the same time, because these comics are mainly geared toward a male-majority audience, female superheroines have more accentuated sexual features and fit bodies. Not saying Batman and Superman can't be considered attractive, but the intentions are different (again, male dominated industry). What doesn't sit right with me is how disregardful a lot men are of how women in general might feel about being portrayed like this, and stick with the skimpy outfits and sexy features for super heroines cause "that's just how it is," or making the character who dresses provocatively being comfortable with her body (in comics that are mostly written and illustrated by men) to bypass any controversy and give the illusion of empowerment, or even just trying to stir up controversy and fighting back like with Frank Cho's variant covers with Spider-Gwen yelling "outrage" when next to sexy superheroines,. I'm not saying men aren't ever sexualized in comics, but it's relatively minimal compared to women.
But to your "this is a tiresome argument" point and the subtle jab you made at me at the end about more conservative outfits, I'd circle back your argument made in your picture that how a superhero dresses shouldn't affect how they popular they are. As I said previously, I'm sure Power Girl is a good character, but a lot of the attention surrounding her by people less familiar with DC is a lot of the controversy surrounding her provocative choice of costume and her being more well-endowed as being representative of a problem with sexualization that many people have taken issue with in recent times (that's why you made the picture of Power Girl wearing nothing but an apron, isn't it? To show that it doesn't matter?), it's not about the outfit itself, though it is provocative, it's about the problem that underlies it. It's not really about upsetting men, since evidently a lot of men, such as yourself, seem to have no problem with it. But because a lot of men in the comics community act like experts on how women act (in this case, Power Girl), this has given an illusion of progress while still giving into objectification, at least in terms of appearance.
To your point about her popularity, Batman has been a household name for over 80 years and is a pioneer in terms of comics (one of my favorite comic book characters, even), much like how wonder woman has been a household name, and superman has been a household name, they've accumulated much popularity due to how much time and effort has been put into developing their stories and marketing them. Power Girl, though maybe a good character, hasn't had much effort put into her popularity or marketing and hasn't been as prominent a character as Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman (also she does seem kind of similar to Superman in terms of background, so there goes a lot of the uniqueness). In your words she has been relegated to "being an occasional guest character in a former second tier Batman villain comic and being largely sidelined by DC", although a movie on PG would be pretty awesome if she's as good a character you claim she is. So that would explain the difference in popularity that you pointed to, though she has grabbed an audience outside of usual comic book readers due to her *ahem* gifts. After all, being the visual creatures we are we tend to go off what we see that first grabs our attention (hence how the marketing term: "sex-sells", came about in terms of advertising, since a lot of men tend to be drawn by sexy images) as opposed to what we eventually learn about her character, since that can take longer.
Although, I do admit, I am intrigued by the idea of a burka-wearing comic book superhero. Sure it's more conservative, though as long as she's a good character it wouldn't really matter, as you would say. Like I said, this has nothing to do with PG as a character, just her appearance.
BONUS:Β www.geeknative.com/38733/drawiβ¦
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You're well intentioned, so fair enough.
Interesting thing about that star spangled swimsuit costume was that back in the early 1970's DC thought it a good idea to change it to a white trouser suit. It was mainly women ( and i think feminist Gloria Steinem ) who pushed to have it restored back. Comic companies should always be wary of dramatic costume changes ( and notable personality/power changes ) for any character, fans of either gender tend to dislike them, the recent slight alteration to a more greek armour look with the classic colour scheme for Wonder Woman was a much wiser move.
I find the term 'sex sells' a bit derogatory in tone, still i do agree if it wasn't for the characters bright, bold design i wouldn't have paid attention to Power Girl as a kid ( she was drawn with a more regular white leotard at the time, then with a rather elegant gold outfit ) and i might have missed out on a good character. So yes, visuals play a big part in catching attention, but in which case making characters visually blander would mean less attention, and even fewer readers would find out that there was more to a character than their visual.
And she is a good character, one of the things i always liked was that she wanted to be treated on the same level as the male heroes and not have to dress or look like a man. One of the cornerstones to the character from her creation was that she sought to, and often did, prove herself as good as if not better than her male teammates ( sharing some kinship with characters like Korra or Brienne of Tarth in that regard ). It's a positive message that still applies today and it's a shame DC won't push the character.
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If she's as good as you say, then that truly is a shame.
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Yep, nice message. She is awesome, whether she wears her classic uniform or a a full suit of armor. It's what she does and who she is that matters.
Kinda reminds me of an argument I had a while back about Carol Danvers. Basically I liked her characterisation better when she had the black leather, more revealing suit. Even though I absolutely love her Captain Marvel armor and I accept it as her default look, her personality changed with it and she's less likeable now.
The point is, if people want to see boobs, the internet is there for that. PowerGirl is popular because she's a tough, confident badass with a nice sense of humor.
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ThatΒ reminds me of when DC rebooted Power Girl in 2011, giving her a full covering bodysuit costume but a personality that was at odds with how the character was perviously, so i was happy to see the New 52 one drift away in favour of the traditional version that has appeared now and again in the Harley Quinn comics.
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Me too. I didn't expect Harley Quinn of all people to be the one to restore Karen. It was pretty fun to read ^^
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What you "do" is publicly expose in revealing clothing, apron lady.
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I 666% agree. Those kind of people that complain about the skimpyness of a charaters costume never seem like they know the character on her outfit. And when they know a little they always try to cover them up in inferior costumes (Harley Quinn being the exeption and inversion) Also they always overexaggerete the skimpyness of the costume. It's not like charaters like Power Girl or Wonder Woman are running around in nothing but thong and little pastes on their nipples. Also just because you wear a somewhat skimoy outfit doesn't mean you are very promiscuos (and if that is the case then why is Martian Manhunter, B'wana Beast or Zatanna giant sluts?)
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And furtheremore i judge New 52 Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn on their character and not their outfits (though i dissaprove of both)
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Keep trying to make excuses. Your only pissed that she doesn't show her tits as much. There is no reason why she can't be a badass super and not dress like a hooker.
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She doesn't dress like a hooker. Do you even read her comic series? If you don't...you have no right to complain about her.
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I don't recall Powergirl dressing like a hooker, maybe i missed an issue.
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Her classic costume makes her look like a hooker.
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That's a bit SWERF of you, isn't it?
Sex workers are human beings too worthy of respect and consideration.
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Powergirl dresses the way she does so DC can trick losers who only care about tits into buying comics.
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So straight men, lesbians, bisexuals and infants?
I'm none of the above. But i see no issue with sexualised costumes on characters of any gender.
They're fictional creations. Objectified by design from the moment of existence. Agency-less. Devoid of self. At the mercy of the writer and artist for every thought, word and deed. Acted upon in all things.
To imagine otherwise is to lose track of a line between fiction and realities. Fiction is fantasy and all fantasies are objectified, sexual or otherwise...
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Man you really don't understand the point of immersion do you?
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Glad DC realized their mistake and gave her back her original costume.Β
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Too many nerds complained about the fact that they couldn't masturbate to her new (better) one.
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I personally love her costume, but I'm just get annoyed by the functionality of it. It's basically a big wind catcher! That has to slow down her flight...
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I'll admit, when I first saw Power Girl, I hated her since her design just came off as nothing more than over-the-top sexual appeal. However, after seeing her in the pages of Gail Simone's Wonder Woman run, I've grown more respect for Power Girl as a character.
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When handled right i think she's a great character who lends herself to fun or serious stories. I did enjoy her guest appearance in Gail Simone's Wonderwoman, and i would have liked to have seen Simone have a run with the Powergirl series.
It's a shame that the New 52 version of Powergirl just doesn't seem to be the same person where it counts.
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I think it's rather ironic that her first costume is much more capable of withstanding damage than her full-body suit.Β
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I agree, the New 52 version of Powergirl did seem to have a curiously fragile bodysuit ( by comparison Powergirls other full covering bodysuit, the Gold and white costume of the old DC Universe seemed near indestructible when she wore it ).
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I've read my share of Kara/Karen Zor'El over the years (stuff that ranges from her earliest appearances in the 70s to her monthly series and New 52 team up with Huntress) and she's a great character filled with tenacity, self doubts and sass. But I feel art like this (even with the bold message it tries to get across) is indicative of a fandom that values her for her shapely form over her as a character (which written right is a very enjoyable character to read). That's how I feel.
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Thanks for your honesty and opinion.
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If you can't be honest with strangers, who can you be honest with?
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I'm a feminist and I always loved the original costume. It's very iconic.
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While not a feminist I do consider myself pro gender equality and I always find it annoying how people misunderstand feminism to the point where it seems like they think it's anti-sex or anti-skin. :/ These people would probably be surprised at how different all the opinions they'd get when asking feminists their views on porn.
Then again these are probably the same people who are quick to forget all the male characters who show skin or go nude a lot (Wolverine) or all the female characters who wear full on body armor (Samus Aran) or normal clothes (Faith, Mirror's Edge) so they probably just assume all feminist are the same stereotype we see on Family Guy or some crap.
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Wendy McElroy was one that convinced me that it is ok that women (even feminists) can like porn. I used to think that women were supposed to hate anything that highly sexual. It's funny, I see more male nudity in superhero comics than female. Though it would be an interesting theory to test out.
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EDIT: Or this one. XD
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/520945305β¦
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Yeah, the sooner people stop reminding each other there is a double standard the sooner there will stop being one. Pointing out there is one doesn't help fight and kill it, it just keeps it alive and creates more hypocrisy and ironically creates more double standards like how beefcake in Twilight is okay but cheesecake in an action movie is wrong.
Kind of like this.
static.comicvine.com/uploads/sβ¦
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It is a pretty distinctive costume. Thanks for the comment
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Did'nt DC go back to her original design? I heard alot of people hated her new 52 design. Also she's in the new scribblenauts DC crossover game lol
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I beleive they have, and from what i've been told, with the rather disappointing reasoning that her old costume design apparently reflects her New 52 personality, which is ( judging from the first 7 issues of Worlds Finest ) pretty much an extrovert attention seeker 
To be honest, Powergirl has had a variety of outfits and always been the same character, but i feel that without her old personality she isn't Powergirl.
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