Wednesday, July 05, 2006

"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell..."

So, this is more up Jenn or Ragnell's alley, but I noticed something that I couldn't let slide without a little attention brought to the matter. Anydangways, I was reading last month's Wizard, which had a preview for Justice League of America #1. In the preview, the Holy DC Trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are discussing candidates for the new league. But I noticed something as they were sorting through pictures: Wonder Woman wears nail polish. Red nail polish.

Now, at first, I thought that she wore it because it was a special occasion. I mean, a Greek/Amazon warrior princess wearing nail polish? Surely, it's because she hadn't seen Clark and Bruce in awhile, right? Well, I looked back, and Diana was also wearing nail polish when she snapped Max Lord's neck (I wish I had scans of this stuff, but my scanner's not operational right now).

It could be said that the killing of Max Lord was a "special occasion", but that would mean that she planned it when she woke up that morning, and we were led to believe that the killing was a last-ditch emergency act of violence.

So, this leads me to believe that Wonder Woman commonly wears nail polish. This makes NO SENSE whatsoever. I can't even imagine her applying the stuff, let alone sitting still for someone to do it for her. Did Xena wear nail polish? NO! It's like a half-assed attempt to make her effeminate. Like, "Yeah, she kills, but look! She's still a purty girl who likes girly things!"

I see no reason whatsoever for Diana to wear nail polish. Cassie? Sure. She's just some mallrat who was given powers. Donna Troy? Sure, she's the village bicycle of the DCU. But Diana? I call shenanigans! What practical reason would she have for wearing nail polish? In battle? Is she goth? Is she in My Chemical Romance? It just seems SO against her character. I wonder if it's some post-Crisis development that I never noticed until now...

Posted by William @ 7/05/2006 11:11:00 PM
permalink | 6 comments

6 Comments:

At 7/10/2006 06:22:07 PM, Jenn said…

As far as I can tell... she's always worn nail polish.

but i'm also one of the few "feminist fangirls" who doesn't embrace WW as a feminist icon.
At 7/12/2006 01:28:02 AM, William said…

Amen! To me, the feminist reclaimation of Wonder Woman is akin to the movement to reclaim "nigger". This is a character who was created solely to be tied up. Her role in the JSA was as their secretary! But somewhere along the way, she became a symbol of strength. More power to her, but I've always felt like there were stronger feminist icons in comics.
At 7/12/2006 06:24:28 AM, Ragnell said…

Willaim -- One day I'll tell you about Wonder Woman's history, and you'll never say those things again. She started out as a symbol of strength -- Trust me on this, I've read the archives.

But I found this post late and I'm pretty tired so, I'll get into details later. Probably on my own blog, but I'll come over and link you.
At 7/12/2006 06:25:54 AM, Ragnell said…

Oh, and yes, the red nail polish is ridiculous. Fingernails are too small for most colorists to bother with anyway, so it's not a norm.
At 7/13/2006 12:15:25 AM, William said…

Sigh. Why must comic bloggers be SO condescending? Myself included. Rags, my comment was tongue-in-cheek. I know the real WW story. I know all about Martson championing women's issues. I know all about Olive. I know about the bondage fetish rumors. I've read the archives. Even so, I still think there are stronger feminist icons in comics. Sure, I'm a man, so what do I know? But I've always felt Storm, when written correctly, is more..stable than WW. In fact, WW always seemed forced. While Storm was a strong character who happened to be female, WW always came off as the strong female character. Between the lines, there's a difference. In any regard, to each his own. But I'm gonna side with Jenn here and say that I've never really bought into the "Wonder Woman as a symbol of feminism persona"...
At 7/15/2006 09:42:54 PM, Ragnell said…

Part of the culture, sorry man. I've heard too many people use Marston's fetish to trash my favorite character.

That and the secretary thing is a pet peeve of mine. I believed it until I picked up the All-Star books. Boy was I surprised.

It's usualyl brought up by people using historical sexism to justify current sexism, y'know?

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

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	Wednesday, July 05, 2006 "I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell..." So, this is more up Jenn or Ragnell's alley, but I noticed something that I couldn't let slide without a little attention brought to the matter. Anydangways, I was reading last month's Wizard, which had a preview for Justice League of America #1. In the preview, the Holy DC Trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are discussing candidates for the new league. But I noticed something as they were sorting through pictures: Wonder Woman wears nail polish. Red nail polish. Now, at first, I thought that she wore it because it was a special occasion. I mean, a Greek/Amazon warrior princess wearing nail polish? Surely, it's because she hadn't seen Clark and Bruce in awhile, right? Well, I looked back, and Diana was also wearing nail polish when she snapped Max Lord's neck (I wish I had scans of this stuff, but my scanner's not operational right now). It could be said that the killing of Max Lord was a "special occasion", but that would mean that she planned it when she woke up that morning, and we were led to believe that the killing was a last-ditch emergency act of violence. So, this leads me to believe that Wonder Woman commonly wears nail polish. This makes NO SENSE whatsoever. I can't even imagine her applying the stuff, let alone sitting still for someone to do it for her. Did Xena wear nail polish? NO! It's like a half-assed attempt to make her effeminate. Like, "Yeah, she kills, but look! She's still a purty girl who likes girly things!" I see no reason whatsoever for Diana to wear nail polish. Cassie? Sure. She's just some mallrat who was given powers. Donna Troy? Sure, she's the village bicycle of the DCU. But Diana? I call shenanigans! What practical reason would she have for wearing nail polish? In battle? Is she goth? Is she in My Chemical Romance? It just seems SO against her character. I wonder if it's some post-Crisis development that I never noticed until now... Posted by William @ 7/05/2006 11:11:00 PM permalink \| 6 comments 6 Comments: At 7/10/2006 06:22:07 PM, Jenn said… As far as I can tell... she's always worn nail polish. but i'm also one of the few "feminist fangirls" who doesn't embrace WW as a feminist icon. At 7/12/2006 01:28:02 AM, William said… Amen! To me, the feminist reclaimation of Wonder Woman is akin to the movement to reclaim "nigger". This is a character who was created solely to be tied up. Her role in the JSA was as their secretary! But somewhere along the way, she became a symbol of strength. More power to her, but I've always felt like there were stronger feminist icons in comics. At 7/12/2006 06:24:28 AM, Ragnell said… Willaim -- One day I'll tell you about Wonder Woman's history, and you'll never say those things again. She started out as a symbol of strength -- Trust me on this, I've read the archives. But I found this post late and I'm pretty tired so, I'll get into details later. Probably on my own blog, but I'll come over and link you. At 7/12/2006 06:25:54 AM, Ragnell said… Oh, and yes, the red nail polish is ridiculous. Fingernails are too small for most colorists to bother with anyway, so it's not a norm. At 7/13/2006 12:15:25 AM, William said… Sigh. Why must comic bloggers be SO condescending? Myself included. Rags, my comment was tongue-in-cheek. I know the real WW story. I know all about Martson championing women's issues. I know all about Olive. I know about the bondage fetish rumors. I've read the archives. Even so, I still think there are stronger feminist icons in comics. Sure, I'm a man, so what do I know? But I've always felt Storm, when written correctly, is more..stable than WW. In fact, WW always seemed forced. While Storm was a strong character who happened to be female, WW always came off as the strong female character. Between the lines, there's a difference. In any regard, to each his own. But I'm gonna side with Jenn here and say that I've never really bought into the "Wonder Woman as a symbol of feminism persona"... At 7/15/2006 09:42:54 PM, Ragnell said… Part of the culture, sorry man. I've heard too many people use Marston's fetish to trash my favorite character. That and the secretary thing is a pet peeve of mine. I believed it until I picked up the All-Star books. Boy was I surprised. It's usualyl brought up by people using historical sexism to justify current sexism, y'know? Post a Comment	About Will Here is some profile information about Will. Previous Posts 7/03/2006 11:02:00 PM "Papa Spank!" So, I'm starting to feel like the T... 6/25/2006 09:11:00 PM "I was gonna have sex with you, and then we were g... 6/15/2006 01:09:00 PM So, last night I was essentially present for the t... 6/12/2006 11:14:00 PM "...a job a million girls would die for." Happy L... 6/11/2006 05:19:00 AM "A computer actually does real work. 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