We”ve come a long way, y”all. For the last couple of years, Marvel and DC have been maneuvering their brands towards broader audience, albeit with quite a few hiccups. But you can”t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, and you can”t change an industry without poorly thought out character arcs (looking at you, Red Hood”s version of Starfire.)
But from an X-Men team consisting entirely of women to Batgirl”s new costume to better representation for LGBTQA folks, the Big Two are finally coming around to the idea that superhero series” don”t always have to be headlined by snarky, muscle-bound white men.
To that end, both companies announced today that 2015 will mark new series that focus on women. Do you think they coordinated this effort? Or is this an “accidental” case of simultaneous promotion, à la “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon”?
On the Marvel side, the Disney subsidiary announced a brand-new, all female Avengers team via USA Today. Part of the SECRET WARS arc that will end the current Marvel universe and restitch it into something new, the A-FORCE series will be written by G. Will Wilson and Marguerite Bennet, with art by Jorge Molina.
The main players in the new Avengers line-up are She-Hulk, Dazzler(!), Medusa, and Nico Minoru, along with a new character named Singularity. And here”s the kicker: Singularity is a non-binary cosmological event who identifies as female. Yay genderqueer representation!
Meanwhile, DC announced a new direction for the company starting this June. With a goal of “…[being]more expansive and modern in our approach and tell stories that better reflect the society around us,” 24 new series will be launched. An additional 25 on-going comics will be overhauled to fall in line with the new mission statement but will not restart with a #1 issue.
Among the characters getting more prominent placement in the universe are Black Canary , Cyborg, Starfire, and Power Girl. Brenden Fletcher has signed on to write for BLACK CANARY, while Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti will helm both STARFIRE and HARLEY QUINN/POWER GIRL. The writer for CYBORG was not released as of press time.
With “Captain Marvel” and “Black Panther” headed to theaters, lady Stormtroopers being canon in “Star Wars,” and now these announcements, geek media is well on their way to more accurately reflecting the people who consume it!