Books 1/29/06
I don’t generally post about comics, but something just happened which is so marvelous that I had to. First, let me give you a little background. I have loved Catwoman since I was a little girl. I loved that she was a supervillan, and a thief. I have every issue of the Catwoman comic, and I have to admit that recently, I haven’t really been reading them. Catwoman got a rehaul a while back, and while I loved her new look, her new “more on the side of a hero” thing kind of got to me. I don’t have a problem with her being an ambivalent character, but she was saving people more than she was stealing stuff. In the words of Tina Turner, I don’t need another hero.
Well, I read the two most recent issues, and WOO HOO! First, some more background. (Be patient, this is going somewhere.) In a mini-series that I really didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to (Identity Crisis), it was revealed that Dr. Light, one of the good guys, did something very very bad in the past, and as a result, the Justice League wiped his memory and made him a good guy. They also, I believe, (I told you, I didn’t really pay a lot of attention) wiped Batman’s memory of them wiping Dr. Light’s memory when he objected. (Something that really should come back to haunt them, because you just don’t do that to Batman.)
So what does that have to do with Catwoman? In a stroke of brilliance by DC editors and writers, the Justice League, in all it’s high and mighter than thou glory, decided to wipe Catwoman’s mind too, and make her a good guy. (Batman, of course, wasn’t there, and is pissed when he finds out.) Zatanna feels guilty and comes clean, and now Catwoman has an identity crisis of her own on her hands. What’s motivating her to do good? Is she a cold blooded villan or a humanitarian? This is fantastic, this is what I want to see. And not just the question of Catwoman, but on a broader scale, who are the good guys, and who are the bad guys? Is it ok to force someone to be good, or does that make you bad? Are actions enough to determine who you are? These are great questions, and by asking them, the superhero genre is being used to its potential, not just as an excuse to show fighting. Bravo, DC, bravo.
Hmmm, that is very interesting. If you are forced to do good is that action really good? This is a conversation my family has lots of times but it usually has to do with social programs that we are forced to pay into with taxes, and how if you are forced to give to charitable organizations then is that really charity?