Breakdown of the new "sexier" DC
By RazzaTazz 157 Comments
This is mostly a pictorial look at the recent issues of the new 52, in terms of how it has chosen to portray women, but I guess technically I am revealing some story points so read on at your own discretion.
Not as bad as it was anticipated
A lot of fans of Harley Quinn reacted poorly this summer when they saw the new version of the character as portrayed on the first issue of Suicide Squad, having seemingly compromised the aspects of the character which made her so likeable (chiefly her insanity) for a more sexual version of the character.
The Gratuitous
Granted I was expecting a series like Catwoman, which was billing itself as a lot more sexy than previous to have a fair amount of gratuitous imagery, and really it did not disappoint my expectations (even if it did disappoint a little bit my expectations of the character)
Really though this was somewhat to be expected as it billed itself in this way, and really the sex aspects were a sort of over-the-top aspect to the story which still held itself together pretty well despite it. The more shocking example of gratuitous skin though which I saw was in Wonder Woman, where there was absolutely no context or necessity to seeing Diana's naked back other than she was getting changed.
The Ridiculously Overboard Gratuity
One issue where I really couldn't believe my eyes was in Red Hood and the Outlaws. Fittingly here Jason Todd and Roy Harper are portrayed as frat house buddies, because Starfire is treated like the dream girl of a thousand frosh week movies or spring break videos.
I could just not take this issue seriously as the two main male leads spent more time discussing access to her vaginal track than they did talking about anything to do with superheroics.
Inappropriate For Younger Eyes, But In Context
To be honest one of the things I did like about the end of Catwoman was the scene where she basically jumps Batman (I already mentioned this in my review). When it comes to superheroes, their romantic lives are usually portrayed as more chivalrous in nature with a lot of flirting eventually resulting in a marriage proposal and then some baby making time (and those babies usually end up as superheroes or supervillains themselves). In reality though two young characters as portrayed here in their sexual primes might just do this. It is maybe a bit of a stretch to think about it in terms of very established characters, but this romance has taken many forms over the years and here is yet another. Also as I mentioned in my review, it is sometimes a habit which forms among people who witness death to engage in spontaneous acts of sex. This is sort of an instinctual result of death that new life is made right away. it doesn't happen all the time, or even rarely, but still for two characters that live life on the edge and where the difference between life and death is measured in inches numerous times daily, that this is not that strange of a reaction. I wouldn't be necessarily happy seeing a child read this, but for an adult I see no reason why not.
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