On Supergirl
I was talking with... 
poisonivory?
greenygal? a while ago on the subject of (shock!) Supergirl, and we got to the part where I say I don't trust Mark Waid to write her because of the interview he gave once where he said he thought Supergirl's defining characteristic ought to be "sweet".
Because seriously, what is that. "Sweet" is not even a personality trait! It is a nonspecific catch-all from someone who doesn't know you very well, assuming you come off as a little bit shy or a little bit considerate or a little bit cute. No *wonder* Kara did nothing interesting when she headlined the threeboot Legion title. Dear Mark Waid, you do this professionally, you should know better.
So then I thought about what *I* would pick for Kara's defining characteristic. For context, I'm talking about the Supergirl baby!Karen built in her head out of Silver Age comics and has carried around with her since. There's recently been another wave of posts from fans who'd had trouble finding female heroes to connect to as kids. But I *did*, and I am glad for it.
1. HEROIC
Kara wants the universe to be a kinder place, and she feels urged do what she can to help make it happen. To help people. She is strong and determined and brave in the face of danger, or more exactly, she is brave in the face of danger to other people even if it's also danger to herself.
Of course, this is an utterly generic no. 1. It is a requirement for anyone staring in a Superhero title. (And yet some writers have trouble with it!) She's got her own sort of heroism - she's less sentimental in certain ways than Clark, and less focused than Batman, and less big picture than Diana - but defining characteristic no. 1 is an innate desire to do the right thing.
Strike a pose!
Still, we've got to differentiate her more than that, so let's go for top five!
2. SMART
Kara commits comic book style science! While this may not be something Kara herself considers essential to her identity, the Karen who fell in love with her was the Karen who was spending waaaay too many hours playing with the orbital vector game from Encarta. I wanted - needed - a sciencey hero, so having Supergirl occasionally fly in with bizarre and unlikely feats of engineering made me extremely happy.
This is no. 2 because my acceptance or rejection of various Karas often hinges on her physics skills. The current-est version seems given to alien science when appropriate, though, so I'm appeased!
Go baby!Kara!
3. EMPATHIC
Kara's moral view of the universe is less black and white than Superman's, so she's more likely to listen to both sides of a conflict before starting the punching. Or to find a solution that involves no punching at all! (Her problem solving logistics are pretty sound, though maybe this is an extension from no. 2.) She *cares* about the people affected by the plot; the good she's fighting for is not abstract.
This makes her a better person than I, but what else do we ask of our childhood heroes?
4. INSECURE
Kara feels a need to be approved of by authority. Who counts as authority changes from incarnation to incarnation - in Silver Age it's Superman, current era it's *really* not. High ranking Kandorians in both, though. (The flailing about in early current era, about which we Do Not Speak, might be attributed to the fact that suddenly there are no authority figures; and it's one reason why I have fun teaming up Kara and Amanda Waller.) I think part of it is the way Kryptonian society is structured, but I am trying so hard to keep my personal world building fanon out of this post. It's meant to be distillation.
Anyway, this causes Kara to second guess herself, or make less than excellent decisions when trying to impress someone *important*. One hopes she'll grow out of it eventually, gradually, and there's a coming of age story to be written. But in the meantime it causes conflict, and what audience doesn't like conflict?
Blindspots: she has them.
5. POLY*
Kara seeks emotional/romantic intimacy with the people** around her, and she draws a lot of strength when she makes a connection. (Yes, this ties into no. 3.) It makes her so happy to find somebody to talk to and make out with... But she *does not stop searching*. After a while she amasses a fair collection of boyfriends***: In the past! In the future! On other planets! Under the sea! She is not especially responsible about her relationship needs - I don't remember any conversations along the lines of "Yes, I am totally into you, but that doesn't preclude me being totally into other people as well, you cool with that?" - but I nor do I remember her actively hiding the fact she's not a one man woman (unless it interferes somehow with her secret identity) so maybe that's just how Kryptonians roll.
She falls in love easily, which means she gets her heart broken a *lot*, this being comics. If your lover survives three issues, there's a better than even chance he's a supervillain. However, she is never too broken up to provide an asskicking if one is required.
This is a panel from the story where everyone Kara kisses catches superpowers. Kryptonian cooties: WAY MORE AWESOME.
Things Kara worries about: her secret identity. Things she doesn't worry about: her reputation in a small mid 20th century American town. ♥
ETA: Can't believe I forgot this one!
*And if you are thinking now, like, I hope this is finally where someone will back me up on the obvious four-way sexual tension between Supergirl and Jerro the Merboy and Comet the Superhorse and Dick the Human! I am sorry, but no, you are lost, you want the kink meme.
**Kara seems way more straight than bi, (especially Silver Age, though femslashy moments abound) but I will play the pronoun game a bit anyway because this is Supergirl as according to baby!Karen and baby!Karen shipped Supergirl and Lois Lane. LOOK MAYBE SUPERMAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN LESS OF A DICK THEN OKAY.
***This never happened, but I would have gladly paid the ten cents for the story where all of Kara's boyfriends have to team up for some reason. So, like, Brainiac 5 charging into the fray riding Comet the Superhorse, alongside Dick Malverne and Jerro (mermen: capable of swimming in space? Why not) and the one who is a robot and the one who is a phantom zone criminal and the one who is an alien prince and the teeny Kandorian boys**** and the one who is actually a girl! (Who am I forgetting? We had a list, once...)
****I don't know if this is actually canon, but she kept hanging out in Kandor, so I can't imagine it is not the case.
There are more things I could say about Kara, but if you keep those 5, chances are I'll believe you wherever you spin the character. (And anyway, 5's such a nice round number.)
Myself, I tend to write her as somewhat angry and entitled and still bleeding from everything she's lost, and I know there are Supergirl fans who would shun me for such blasphemy. I think there's a level of alienness that she'll never (want to) lose, no matter how long she spends on our planet, and that she'll always think of herself as Kryptonian *first*. Oh, and she has superpowers, of course, of course.
--------
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, where there are
comments.
poisonivory?
greenygal? a while ago on the subject of (shock!) Supergirl, and we got to the part where I say I don't trust Mark Waid to write her because of the interview he gave once where he said he thought Supergirl's defining characteristic ought to be "sweet".
Because seriously, what is that. "Sweet" is not even a personality trait! It is a nonspecific catch-all from someone who doesn't know you very well, assuming you come off as a little bit shy or a little bit considerate or a little bit cute. No *wonder* Kara did nothing interesting when she headlined the threeboot Legion title. Dear Mark Waid, you do this professionally, you should know better.
So then I thought about what *I* would pick for Kara's defining characteristic. For context, I'm talking about the Supergirl baby!Karen built in her head out of Silver Age comics and has carried around with her since. There's recently been another wave of posts from fans who'd had trouble finding female heroes to connect to as kids. But I *did*, and I am glad for it.
1. HEROIC
Kara wants the universe to be a kinder place, and she feels urged do what she can to help make it happen. To help people. She is strong and determined and brave in the face of danger, or more exactly, she is brave in the face of danger to other people even if it's also danger to herself.
Of course, this is an utterly generic no. 1. It is a requirement for anyone staring in a Superhero title. (And yet some writers have trouble with it!) She's got her own sort of heroism - she's less sentimental in certain ways than Clark, and less focused than Batman, and less big picture than Diana - but defining characteristic no. 1 is an innate desire to do the right thing.
Strike a pose!
Still, we've got to differentiate her more than that, so let's go for top five!
2. SMART
Kara commits comic book style science! While this may not be something Kara herself considers essential to her identity, the Karen who fell in love with her was the Karen who was spending waaaay too many hours playing with the orbital vector game from Encarta. I wanted - needed - a sciencey hero, so having Supergirl occasionally fly in with bizarre and unlikely feats of engineering made me extremely happy.
This is no. 2 because my acceptance or rejection of various Karas often hinges on her physics skills. The current-est version seems given to alien science when appropriate, though, so I'm appeased!
Go baby!Kara!
3. EMPATHIC
Kara's moral view of the universe is less black and white than Superman's, so she's more likely to listen to both sides of a conflict before starting the punching. Or to find a solution that involves no punching at all! (Her problem solving logistics are pretty sound, though maybe this is an extension from no. 2.) She *cares* about the people affected by the plot; the good she's fighting for is not abstract.
This makes her a better person than I, but what else do we ask of our childhood heroes?
4. INSECURE
Kara feels a need to be approved of by authority. Who counts as authority changes from incarnation to incarnation - in Silver Age it's Superman, current era it's *really* not. High ranking Kandorians in both, though. (The flailing about in early current era, about which we Do Not Speak, might be attributed to the fact that suddenly there are no authority figures; and it's one reason why I have fun teaming up Kara and Amanda Waller.) I think part of it is the way Kryptonian society is structured, but I am trying so hard to keep my personal world building fanon out of this post. It's meant to be distillation.
Anyway, this causes Kara to second guess herself, or make less than excellent decisions when trying to impress someone *important*. One hopes she'll grow out of it eventually, gradually, and there's a coming of age story to be written. But in the meantime it causes conflict, and what audience doesn't like conflict?
Blindspots: she has them.
5. POLY*
Kara seeks emotional/romantic intimacy with the people** around her, and she draws a lot of strength when she makes a connection. (Yes, this ties into no. 3.) It makes her so happy to find somebody to talk to and make out with... But she *does not stop searching*. After a while she amasses a fair collection of boyfriends***: In the past! In the future! On other planets! Under the sea! She is not especially responsible about her relationship needs - I don't remember any conversations along the lines of "Yes, I am totally into you, but that doesn't preclude me being totally into other people as well, you cool with that?" - but I nor do I remember her actively hiding the fact she's not a one man woman (unless it interferes somehow with her secret identity) so maybe that's just how Kryptonians roll.
She falls in love easily, which means she gets her heart broken a *lot*, this being comics. If your lover survives three issues, there's a better than even chance he's a supervillain. However, she is never too broken up to provide an asskicking if one is required.
This is a panel from the story where everyone Kara kisses catches superpowers. Kryptonian cooties: WAY MORE AWESOME.
Things Kara worries about: her secret identity. Things she doesn't worry about: her reputation in a small mid 20th century American town. ♥
ETA: Can't believe I forgot this one!
*And if you are thinking now, like, I hope this is finally where someone will back me up on the obvious four-way sexual tension between Supergirl and Jerro the Merboy and Comet the Superhorse and Dick the Human! I am sorry, but no, you are lost, you want the kink meme.
**Kara seems way more straight than bi, (especially Silver Age, though femslashy moments abound) but I will play the pronoun game a bit anyway because this is Supergirl as according to baby!Karen and baby!Karen shipped Supergirl and Lois Lane. LOOK MAYBE SUPERMAN SHOULD HAVE BEEN LESS OF A DICK THEN OKAY.
***This never happened, but I would have gladly paid the ten cents for the story where all of Kara's boyfriends have to team up for some reason. So, like, Brainiac 5 charging into the fray riding Comet the Superhorse, alongside Dick Malverne and Jerro (mermen: capable of swimming in space? Why not) and the one who is a robot and the one who is a phantom zone criminal and the one who is an alien prince and the teeny Kandorian boys**** and the one who is actually a girl! (Who am I forgetting? We had a list, once...)
****I don't know if this is actually canon, but she kept hanging out in Kandor, so I can't imagine it is not the case.
There are more things I could say about Kara, but if you keep those 5, chances are I'll believe you wherever you spin the character. (And anyway, 5's such a nice round number.)
Myself, I tend to write her as somewhat angry and entitled and still bleeding from everything she's lost, and I know there are Supergirl fans who would shun me for such blasphemy. I think there's a level of alienness that she'll never (want to) lose, no matter how long she spends on our planet, and that she'll always think of herself as Kryptonian *first*. Oh, and she has superpowers, of course, of course.
--------
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, where there are
comments.