Marvel Comics is in the midst of another controversy about its portrayal of female superheroes. With a nearly naked body and prominent, heart-shaped butt, Marvel’s latest depiction of Spider-Woman is a blatant sexualization of a female superhero some hoped would bring a dose of female strength to a male-dominates genre.
On Monday, Marvel released Milo Manara’s variant cover for Spider-Woman #1, slated to debut in November Industry sites like Comic Book Resources were quick to point out that the artwork — and one drawing in particular — was yet another disappointing example of a male artist imposing unrealistic ideas of female body and female sexuality onto a supposedly empowered female comic book character.
Image Credit: Marvel/Comic Book Resources
There’s pretty much no chance that this pose — butt raised high and face almost touching the ground — would be used to depict a male superhero. For one thing, it looks intensely uncomfortable. And how is her suit stretched that tight?
As io9‘s Rob Bricken points out, “even the dumbest, horniest teenage boy on the planet knows there’s no fabric on this earth that could possibly cling to Jessica Drew’s individual buttocks like that. She looks like she’s wearing body-paint, and that’s a big no-no for an industry still trying to remember that women exist and may perhaps read comics and also don’t want to feel completely gross when they do so.”
Spider-Woman #1, starring Jessica Drew, was announced as a new series at Comic-Con last month during a “Women of Marvel” panel. At that time it seemed like a good move for the comic behemoth, which is still trying to redeem itself for its female fans. But to give the drawing board to Manara, an artist known for his sexualized and erotic depictions, was a step in the wrong direction.
Marvel, This Is When You Send An Artist Back To The Drawing Board http://t.co/ScjwfBONSJ #SpiderWoman pic.twitter.com/egjsgytsBn
— The Mary Sue (@TheMarySue) August 19, 2014
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