Dec 24th 2020 Advent Calendar

December 23, 2020

Dec 24th 2020 Advent Calendar

So, hands up if you'd happily be entranced by the gaze of this red-haired vixen?

Or maybe be dealt a killer blow by this leotarded lovely?

Or be knocked out cold by this goddess only to wake up and find her foot on your head?

In the Autumn of 1970 readers were invited to consider the issue of feminism, or women's lib as it was more commonly known then. And how did the creators at Marvel go about tackling this serious and sensitive topic? With a cover showing a group of sexily garbed hotties standing strong and proud over the incapacitated bodies of a male superhero team.

"All right, girls-- That finishes off these MALE CHAUVINIST PIGS! From now on it's the Valkyrie and her Lady LIBERATORS!"

Twenty-five years or so before the Spice Girls Marvel offered its readers their own dose of Girl Power, in the short-lived Lady Liberators, as seen in AVENGERS #83, dated Dec 1970. And at first glance they don't seem so different, do they? There's the one with long red hair, the one who does all the karate moves, the little one, the scary one and the one who stands around looking gorgeous and letting the others do all the work.

But of course appearances can be deceptive, and while the comicbook cover teasingly suggests this quintet of heroines has turned evil and incapacitated the Avengers, the truth is not quite that shocking, as you might expect. That aside, this cover fits nicely with the whole 'good girls turned bad' idea as well as ticking a few boxes in the 'women overpowering men' sphere of storytelling. I mean this lass wouldn't look out of place on the AVENGERS cover, don't you think--

Nor would Star Sapphire, seen here putting Green Lantern in his place--

It seems there's nothing some comic fans like to see more than their favourite male heroes being disabled or defeated by a beautiful woman in a skimpy outfit.

In cinema too, the ruthless female in sexy (even kinky) outfit will always appeal to viewers who find images such as this one a good incentive to watch badly made tripe like 1954's low-budget British film DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS--

So, despite the claims on the AVENGERS cover that these gals are striking a blow for feminism, it's more likely that their appearances on covers will attract male readers who rather enjoy the prospect of an issue containing perhaps more than the usual amount of comicbook female flesh on display. If this sort of image does, shall we say, ring your bell, then I'm sure the fact that these covers also depict the symbolic emasculation of men at the hands of these beauties is also something you're ok with. Because let's face it-- with Girl Power you really do get the best of both worlds--

Anyway, moving on to the other aspect of the AVENGERS cover-- in comics, as much as in other visual media, the idea of the good girl turned bad is always popular, and often accompanied by a visual transformation-- especially when the girl in question transforms into a woman of power. This is usually signalled by the wearing of more revealing clothing such as the dress split to the waist that Jean took to wearing in THE ATOM AND HAWKMAN #45. "Work or DIE-- SLAVES!" she hisses at them. As well as her crown Queen Jean is also wearing long gloves, also a popular addition to any transformed woman's wardrobe--

When Emma Peel was transformed into the 'Queen of Sin' by The Hellfire Club in the infamous TOUCH OF BRIMSTONE episode of TV's THE AVENGERS, she also adopted a more revealing style of dress complete with the long gloves. And of course that other great staple of the evil, domineering woman, the long boots--

And I note that the cover of X-MEN #134 reveals that a group of ne'er-do-wells also styling themselves The Hellfire Club transformed Phoenix into the 'Black Queen', who for her reign adopted pretty much the same outfit as the 'Queen of Sin'--

Similarly, Lt Uhura's mirror universe alter-ego was also fond of a more revealing uniform and even longer boots. And her outfit highlights another trait of these wicked women's clothing choices-- they often seem to lack practicality--

I mean check out this cover showing the Goblin Queen aka Madelyne Pryor-- Despite looking fantastic, no way is that outfit going to be without its problems in daily use--

Likewise the transformed Sue Richards' choice of spiked accessories are surely going to limit her activities, and that whole costume is hardly going to be comfortable, especially when she's engaged in overthrowing the entire Marvel universe--

And will that long hair and those bare thighs really make the job easier for this Dead Earth incarnation of Batwoman when she's cutting people's head off? I imagine that corset's going to get rather uncomfortable pretty quickly--

I think the problem is that when these ladies go bad they've obviously been keeping a mental note of the regulation dress-code for wicked women, and will have been secretly quite envious of their long high-heeled boots, saucy spikes and barely-there clothing. Case in point, The Sisters of Sin-- I mean, I know the old biddy at the back's efforts need a bit of work, but full marks to other three for ticking all the boxes in the bad girls' style guide--

Or what about Llyra seen here on the cover of SUB-MARINER #32? Her look's a bit more subdued, sure, and red makes a welcome change from all that black, but she gets extra points for the green hair and skin. Because Llyra, like all these other ladies, also understands that to be a truly dominant woman you really need to be super-sexy with it--

And talking of red outfits, we can't forget Vampirella, seen here as she debuted the comics world back in 1969-- Sexy long boots? Check. Totally impractical 'held together with a few safety pins' costume? Check. Sharp, deadly spikes? Well, she is a vampire, dear, so think about it--

Then, 'the wildest, weirdest witch ever to cast a spell' according to VAMPIRELLA #2 is Evily, apparently Vampie's cousin-- Looks like Jean Loring took a leaf out of her book-- and just look at those guys faces-- they're absolutely loving the way this gal's making them suffer--

And while we're thinking about vampires what about 2000AD's Durham Red? Lacy stockings and push-ups bras aren't the first thing I'm sure that most of us would think about when we picture a bounty hunter, but if you're a female Search/Destroy agent (or Strontium Dog), this is really the only way to dress. After all, would you rather be sent to the Doghouse by this hottie or be whacked on the head by Wulf's happy stick?

Clearly this is the sensible choice of dress for any self-respecting lady catburgler/super-villainess-- medieval torture instrument optional (BTW this was the first monthly Batman comic I bought, having been reared solely on UK comics-- I wonder what attracted me to it?)

And just as Queen Jean, the Queen of Sin, the Goblin Queen and the Black Queen all adopted regal monikers once transformed, the real bad women can also be quite partial to grandiose titles - such as Queen Bee - or, as Catwoman was once proclaimed-- 'Empress of the Underworld'--