Wonder Woman Unbound (6 page)

Whether he was rescuing her from kidnappers, catching her as she plummeted to her doom, or proving that he actually was faster than a speeding bullet, saving Lois was a full-time job for Superman, because her ambitious investigating always resulted in trouble. Once endangered, Lois was the perfect damsel in distress, wholly incapable of saving herself.

Lois, in the classic love interest role, was head over heels for Superman. Describing him to Clark, she exclaimed, “He’s grand! He’s glorious! He’s terrific!—He’s everything you’re not! Brave, bold, handsome—superb!” The love-struck Lois praised Superman at every turn and was the Man of Steel’s biggest fan. When Superman zoomed off after saving her, she would cry, “Don’t go! Stay with me … always.” But Superman didn’t reciprocate her feelings.

In fact, Superman was downright mean to Lois. When he saved her for the first time he told her, “I’d advise you not to print this little episode.”
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If she asked Superman about himself, he’d say, “Save the questions!” Even though he knew that news of Superman would be career-changing for her, he refused to help Lois. Superman had all the power and Lois had none.

This dynamic continued with Clark Kent in the workplace. Lois faced considerable sexism at the
Daily Star
that held her back in her career. Striving for big stories, she was often told by the editor that they were “too important!—This is no job for a girl!” She was instead relegated to a job the editor felt was far more suitable for a female reporter: the lovelorn column, where she gave relationship advice to the women of Metropolis.

However, sexism couldn’t hold back the ambitious Lois Lane. Her persistence sometimes paid off and she’d finagle her way into a potentially good story, but Clark Kent would steal it out from under her. When danger arose, Clark ducked out, leaving Lois alone and confused, and Superman would show up to save the day in spectacular fashion. If there wasn’t a phone booth nearby, Clark often knocked Lois unconscious with a nerve pinch so he could change into Superman. After all of the action, Lois would rush back to the
Daily Star
only to find Clark there already, story in hand. In
Superman
#3, after this had happened several times, Lois realized something was amiss and stated, “Oh, how I hate Clark Kent!—I tell you, he deliberately set out to take my job from me!” Later in that same issue, Clark took Lois out to console her, only to steal her big revelation about jewel smugglers and take the front-page story.

While a normal man wouldn’t have been able to keep the ambitious Lois so thoroughly restrained, Lois was dealing with a super-powered Kryptonian with the patriarchal values of 1930s America, furthering his career and holding back hers. Trying anything outside of her damsel in distress role only led to failure for Lois.
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Comparing Lois Lane and Wonder Woman isn’t really an accurate reflection of their roles in their respective comic books. Wonder Woman had far more in common with Superman, while Lois, Diana Prince, and Steve Trevor were very alike. Wonder Woman and Superman saved their particular damsels in distress, with one significant difference: Superman was an antagonistic rescuer, while Wonder Woman was benevolent. Lois’s interactions with Superman weren’t pleasant, even though she was in love with him. Superman was curt with Lois and refused to let her write about their encounters, and the only reason Lois needed rescue was because she got into dangerous situations trying to out-scoop Clark.

Steve, on the other hand, was saved from bad situations, but he wasn’t demoted or antagonized. In fact, he was regularly praised for helping to incarcerate the spies and criminals Wonder Woman captured. She singlehandedly stopped the Japanese invasion of South America, yet Steve was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross even though he showed up after the fact. With her inherent moral superiority and loving nature, Wonder Woman was created as a response to the dominant traits of male superheroes, and her dealings with Steve demonstrate the contrast Marston was trying to make.

While Wonder Woman was a criticism of superheroes like Superman, Steve and Diana were a commentary on the typical female gender role demonstrated by Lois Lane. But where Diana was all an act, Lois was no act at all and wasn’t in her situation by choice. She didn’t have a superhero alter ego to turn into. Lois tried to escape her circumstances, but in doing so she only became more firmly entrenched in them.

Lois and Steve fulfilled similar roles and the way they each saw their rescuer was virtually identical. “Don’t leave me. Stay with me always!” and “Don’t go! Stay with me … always,” are pretty much interchangeable. But Steve benefited from his connection with Wonder Woman, while Lois Lane was only suppressed in her relationship with Superman. Marston’s approach to gender roles was not only flipped but also more beneficial for everyone involved.

Robin, the Boy Wonder

In
Detective Comics
#38, published in April 1940, Bruce Wayne attended a circus that featured the Flying Graysons, a family of trapeze artists. During the performance, the ropes mysteriously snapped and John and Mary Grayson plummeted to their deaths, leaving their son, Dick, an orphan. After the show, Dick overheard some men taking credit for their deaths, but as he was about to call the police he was stopped by Batman. Batman told Dick that his parents’ deaths were orchestrated by Boss Zucco, a local mobster who was trying to extort money from the circus. Dick wanted to help Batman avenge the crime; seeing something of himself in the young boy, Batman agreed and trained him to be his assistant, Robin. Bruce Wayne took on the boy as his ward, and together they became the Dynamic Duo. Created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson, Robin was an instant hit with young readers and has remained a staple of the Bat-canon for decades.

Although Robin was male, he often fulfilled a helpless damsel in distress role, frequently being captured and subsequently rescued. A subordinate role was common among the damsels, and Robin’s character was both a child and a sidekick to Batman. Robin also replaced an actual damsel in distress. Before Robin came along, Bruce Wayne had a fiancée named Julie Madison. She appeared in a few issues of
Detective Comics,
and Batman saved her from the clutches of an evil vampire known as the Monk. After Robin showed up, Julie was mentioned a few times and appeared in one issue, but then less than a year after Robin’s debut she called off the engagement with nary a protest from Bruce. Instead of Julie, it was Robin who fulfilled the companion role in Batman comic books by serving as someone Batman could care about and save from perilous situations.

In the first twelve issues of
Batman,
Robin was knocked out, detained, or in some other way debilitated no less than fifteen times. Most of these situations required Batman’s help; the Caped Crusader had to stop chasing a villain to tend to an unconscious Robin, independently dispatch a group of thugs while Robin sat tied in a corner, or give up and allow himself to be captured because the bad guy threatened Robin’s life.

Despite his general inability to stay conscious or untied, Robin’s relationship with Batman wasn’t a subordinate one for long. The Dynamic Duo operated more as a partnership than an unbalanced power relationship. Initially, Batman tried to take charge, and was annoyed when Robin challenged him. In Robin’s first issue, he attacked Boss Zucco and his men by himself, prompting Bruce to later say to him, “You reckless young squirt. I ought to whale you for jumping those men alone. Why didn’t you wait for me?” But by the end of the story, Boss Zucco was captured and both Bruce and Dick smiled in celebration of their success.

In the following issue, Batman told Robin to stay behind while he went out, but his young ward disobeyed. Batman’s only response when he saw that Robin hadn’t listened and was instead fighting a group of thugs was “Well doggone! All I can say is, he certainly is an apt pupil!” Batman’s attempts to corral Robin lasted all of two issues. Although not quite as skilled as Batman, Robin was certainly a capable crime fighter and was eventually treated almost as an equal by Batman.

As a male embodying several aspects of a typically female role, it would seem that Robin might have had a lot in common with Steve Trevor. Beyond their uncanny knack for getting captured, however, the two shared very few traits. Despite his military rank, Steve was useless and couldn’t do anything on his own. Essentially, Steve existed to be captured. In contrast, Robin could actually do things. He had to be rescued often, but he could also be a good rescuer himself. Batman trusted Robin with solo missions and regularly gave him opportunities to demonstrate his combat abilities.

Robin more resembled Etta Candy and Paula von Gunther, Wonder Woman’s female companions. They were taught the Amazon way of life and Wonder Woman led them, but she treated them as if they were her sisters and her peers. They constantly helped Wonder Woman; a well-placed distraction by Etta’s Holliday Girls or some invention of Paula’s often played a key role in Wonder Woman’s plans, and when Wonder Woman was incapacitated it was usually Etta or Paula who came to her aid.

In conventional comic books, the gender roles were very rigid. As much as Robin appeared to have the qualities associated with a typically female role, he actually ended up as a sort of junior Batman. Marston was equally committed to his inverted approach, and Steve was never anything more than a damsel in distress while Wonder Woman mentored several junior Wonder Women.

Catwoman

Catwoman is one of the most varied and continually changing characters in comic book history. In a literal sense, her appearance changes all the time; Catwoman has had more costumes than she has lives. The character herself changes too. In current DC Comics continuity, Catwoman is a wealthy socialite named Selina Kyle, rather ambiguous in her aims. Sometimes she works with criminals and breaks the law and other times she allies with Batman or the Justice League and enforces it. Her domain is Gotham City’s East End, and she protects its residents through whatever means she sees fit.

The 1960s live-action Batman TV show demonstrated Catwoman’s proclivity for change by having three different women portray Catwoman: Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt played Catwoman on the show, and Lee Meriwether played her in the 1966 film. Change was also the hallmark of the Golden Age Catwoman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, Catwoman first appeared as the Cat, a notorious cat burglar, in the first three issues of
Batman,
but she wasn’t given a proper name. In
Batman
#10 she was called Cat-woman or Cat Woman and was identified as a wealthy socialite named Marguerite Tone. Eventually, as a beautician named Elva Barr in
Batman
#15, she arrived at Catwoman. After numerous other secret identities, she became Selina Kyle in 1952 and it stuck. Despite these variations, throughout the Golden Age Catwoman was a classic femme fatale, a woman who used her sexual wiles for personal gain, and who was punished for violating the social order. Catwoman represented the bad girl, a woman who refused to be defined by a man and who worked for her own goals. In the world of superheroes, that made her a villain.

Batman had a fondness for Catwoman, and she gladly used that attraction to her advantage. Although Catwoman occasionally seemed to take on the role of the damsel in distress, she did so only to manipulate Batman and achieve her own ends. She knew Batman would rescue her if she were truly in a dangerous situation, and she knew she could easily escape him afterward.

During their first encounter, the Dynamic Duo escorted Cat-woman back to shore after foiling her attempted robbery of a cruise ship, and she suddenly jumped overboard. As Robin prepared to jump after her, Batman bumped into him, impeding his pursuit and allowing Catwoman to escape. Robin proclaimed, “I’ll bet you bumped into me on purpose! That’s why you took her along with us … so she might try a break!” Batman flatly denied this before spending the next panel rhapsodizing about Catwoman’s lovely eyes.

Two issues later, Batman was about to arrest Catwoman, but she kissed him and, taking advantage of his distracted state, pushed him away so she could escape. Robin was about to give chase, but Batman called him off and then said, “What a night! A night for romance, eh, Robin?” Similarly, in
Batman
#10 Catwoman’s kiss left Batman in such a state that Robin had to yell at him to snap out of his preoccupied bliss long after Catwoman had left the premises. In most of these stories, Catwoman not only escaped, she also got away with jewels she’d stolen. Batman, the consummate crime fighter, was completely powerless in her presence.

Catwoman was similar to the femme fatales of crime novels or film noir. The complete opposite of the typical good girl, she was assertive instead of passive, ambitious instead of subordinate, and entirely self-defined. Her sexuality wasn’t something to be chastely protected, but rather was a tool to be used for her own enjoyment or advancement. However, femme fatales regularly ended up dead by the end of the novel or film. Because of this, many scholars view the femme fatale as a tragic figure and see her inevitable demise as a punishment for betraying the sexual codes of patriarchal society.

However, the serialized nature of comic books made death rare for major characters. New stories had to be written every month, and repopulating them would’ve been a laborious task. Any well-received heroes or villains were kept alive and became recurring characters. Catwoman may have stayed alive, but like the femme fatale had to die as condemnation for her independence, so too was Catwoman presented in a negative, villainous light. While Batman was attracted to Catwoman, he ultimately lamented, “It’s too bad she has to be a crook!”