I am excited to welcome author Kelly Meding back to LE today as she celebrates the release of her third MetaWars novel, Tempest.
Two months after the discovery of the powerful, non-Meta Recombinants, the former Rangers—Meta-powered humans dedicated to preserving the peace—have made no progress in uncovering the newcomers’ origins, or convincing the public to trust them. Newly powered Metas are popping up and causing trouble, while the former Banes—Metas who harm humans and create chaos—show no inclination that they even want to leave the island prison of Manhattan. With a presidential election looming, the hot political debate is all about Meta rights—and whether they deserve to have any.
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Superman. Batman. Wonder Woman. Three iconic comic book characters and superheroes. Superman is impervious to pretty much everything, he has the perfect body, and yet he wears full pants and sleeves to his wrists. Batman is an ordinary man who bleeds when you shoot him, so it makes more sense that he wears a little more armor. Wonder Woman was blessed by mythical gods with super strength and awesome combat skills, and she wears a bathing suit.
A strapless bathing suit that is held up during combat by the superior power of her boobs.
I bet you can see where I’m going with this post?
As I was pondering blog topics, I shuffled through some papers on the disaster area that is my desk. I discovered a Post-It with different things scribbled on it, but in the middle, in big red letters, I’d written “Black Widow’s Ass.” I had to think about that for a second, and then I remembered why I wrote that down.
“The Avengers” was arguably one of the biggest, most anticipated movies of 2012. You bet I was eager to see it, and I loved the movie. I really liked the way they portrayed Black Widow’s character. She was strong, but not bitchy. She was there to absolve herself for things she’d done in her past, but she never acted like a victim of circumstance. She was not treated like a token sexual object (I’d like to nominate Thor for that position).
Except! Of course there is an exception. Except in the movie’s advertising. Character posters were released months before the film, each featuring a different Avenger. All serious, face-forward poses. Kinda.
Black Widow is the only one giving us an ass shot. Really, Marvel?
This circles back to Wonder Woman and her bathing suit. It touches on the fact that so many superheroines wear ridiculous clothes that are designed to make them into sex objects, rather than strong heroes. I found some online artwork that showed what several famous superheroines would look like wearing sleeves and leggings, instead of their customary strips of fabric and thigh-high boots (yeah, I know, heroines, not strippers, but there it is). And you know what? Elektra still looked hot. So did Supergirl.
I like what “X-Men” did in their films by putting all of the characters into sensible battle gear. Jean Grey wasn’t wearing a halter top simply because she was a girl. Storm wasn’t put in shorts and a bikini top to make her sexier. Jean might have been caught in a bizarre triangle with Scott and Logan, but that wasn’t her sole purpose in the movie.
I wanted to keep that kind of realistic balance with my own superheroines when I began the MetaWars series. Teresa is a sexual person, and she doesn’t shy away from her own needs, but those needs are secondary to the needs of her team. She’s a strong leader who would rather go fight in jeans and a Kevlar vest than in some ridiculous spandex outfit. On the other hand, Renee fully embraces her sexuality and her body by wearing a skin-tight cat-suit as a way to draw attention away from the fact that she’s blue. Dahlia’s still trying to figure out the whole superhero gig, so she’ll wear whatever she’s given.
I’m not calling for some kind of revolution in comics, because I know it’s impossible. All I want is to make people think. If Batgirl can fight effectively in a full-body suit, why does Power Girl need a bathing suit with her boobs hanging out?
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Meet Kelly Meding!
A native of the Delaware seashore, Kelly Meding briefly attempted life in the bustle of the Northern Virginia/DC Metro area, before retreating back to the relative quiet of the Eastern Shore. She lives in a small town near the beach, with a neurotic cat who occasionally meows at ghosts. Kelly received her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication in 2002 and she hasn’t used it since, preferring instead to wile away her non-writing hours on the sales floor of a national retail chain. After discovering Freddy Krueger at a very young age, Kelly began a lifelong obsession with horror, science fiction, and fantasy, on which she blames her interest in vampires, psychic powers, superheroes, and all things paranormal. When not writing, she can be found crafting jewelry, enjoying a good cup of coffee, or scouring the Internet for gossip on her favorite television shows.
Contact Info
Website: website
Blog: Organized Chaos
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | GoodReads | Pinterest
Want to purchase Kelly’s novels?
Dreg City
MetaWars
- Trance
- Changeling
- Tempest
- Chimera (Nov 11, 2013)
